Aconcagua Expedition - Polish Glacier Traverse

Aconcagua (22,841 feet/ 6,962 M) is the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere, is one of the seven summits, and is a busy place during the climbing season. In an effort to avoid some of the crowds our Aconcagua Expeditions start late or early in the season and climb via the Polish Glacier Traverse Route (Aka the False Polish). A slightly longer approach, fewer climbers, and a more interesting route give this route an advantage over Aconcagua's Ruta Normal on the opposite side of the mountain. In an effort to keep the climb fresh and interesting we do not go to Aconcagua every season and we are looking forward to getting back down in the winter of 2008-09. We have several people registered for our upcoming small group trip and are looking for a couple more. This trip can also be run as a reasonably priced private group if you have 4-6 climbers.

Your small group Aconcagua expedition begins when we meet in the lovely provincial city of Mendoza, Argentina. The founders of Mendoza had the forethought to build a series of canals to irrigate the city and then they planted trees along all the main streets, the result being an oasis in a desert surrounded by many excellent wineries. No trip to the area is complete without dining in one of the fine restaurants in Mendoza and sampling some of the world class Malbec, the wine that put Mendoza on the wine map. We start the trip by spending one night here, which allows us to recover from our flights to South America, to register for our climb, and to enjoy the good life that Mendoza offers.

Upon leaving Mendoza we drive several hours high into the mountains to the ski area at Penitentes, where we rendezvous with our outfitter, Fernandito Grajales of Grajales Expeditions and our mule drivers. Here in Penitentes we spend an afternoon packing mule loads for the dusty three-day hike into base camp, enjoy one last steak and Malbec feast, spend the night, and then drive to the foot of the Vacas Valley - starting point of the trekking portion of our expedition. Over the next three days we climb from 7,600' to 13,800" making two camps in this austere, arid, and beautiful valley. This helps us acclimate with light packs, while the mules transport the bulk of our gear to the Plaza Argentina, base camp for our Aconcagua summit attempt.

From Plaza Argentina we begin a series of acclimation hikes and carries as we establish camps higher up the mountain. For additional fees you can hire local porters to help with your load, or you can choose to use the weight as preparation for your eventual summit bid, which usually occurs around 15 to 17 days after leaving the US. Porters or no porters, what is critical at this point is to walk and climb slowly, to take rest days, and concentrate on staying healthy.

We generally place camps at 16,200' and 19,200 with the option of one camp at around 18,500 and another at 20,500 if these additional camps seem likely to help our small team. Having the flexibility to customize the itinerary to fit the group is one advantage of a small group expedition. Once acclimated and established at our high camp we make our summit bid.

After 20 years of guiding in Alaska and the Himalaya, John is always amazed at how strenuous and cold the summit day on Aconcagua can be. Most of the days leading up to summit day seem easier than similar days on peaks such as Denali, but the summit day levels all this out and is tough. Despite the difficulty, most people that make it to high camp go on to reach the summit. It is in the final climb that a low ratio between guides and climbers pays off as you are given very personal attention and coaching at the most critical stage of the trip

General Aconcagua Expedition Itinerary

Our Aconcagua climbing strategy is similar to our Denali strategy. We start the trip with a slow, relaxed climb to altitude and build in frequent rest days. Our itinerary has extra days built in which generally give us a sufficiently long summit window with which to wait out storms, minor illness, etc. We operate on the philosophy that it is far better to take a couple of extra days to get the job done the first time then to take another three weeks and try again next year. As we do all the scheduling and are a small company, you don't need to worry about vacating camp for the team behind you or your guides needing to be somewhere else.

We do all of the cooking along the way and pack in a substantial kitchen for use at base camp. We have gotten very good at organizing a clean kitchen and camp scene after many years of living outside the US in mountain areas. Many illnesses that strike during a long expedition actually originate within the group and close attention to hygiene amongst the cooks is always worth the effort. It is often not the strongest climbers that reach the summit, just those who still have their stomachs intact.

We bring top quality mountaineering tents and stoves, and provide all group equipment. The mules are used to transport most of the group and personal gear to and from base camp and we plan carefully to keep things light.

Aconcagua Expedition - Polish Glacier Traverse Itinerary*:

*Weather, group strength, and the normal ebb and flow of expedition life rarely allow us to run the same itinerary on two trips in a row. Our aim is to take plenty of time to acclimate and to have the option of multiple summit days. IT is not unusual for a trip to end a day or two early, at which point we generally enjoy the good life offered by lovely Mendoza.

Qualifications

All Aconcagua particpants must be familiar with the use of ice axe and crampons and need to be in very good to excellent physical condition for this program. Although it is possible to arrange porters for portions of this climb, participants should be able to carry some group load (50+ lbs total) or be willing to pay additional fees directly to local porters to have these loads moved.

Why pay more to climb Aconcagua with the Northwest Mountain School?

Your trip will be led by John Race and Olivia Cussen, both fully certified IFMGA guides who have a combined total of over 50 high altitude expeditions to mountains as diverse as Mt. Everest, Cho Oyu, Denali, Aconcagua, Chimborazo, Mt. Sanford, and a dozen other big mountains. We keep our groups small, hire the best local outfitters, and don't cut any corners logistically, with our equipment, or with our schedule. In addition to being one of only 2 couples working in the US to both have reached IFMGA certification we each carry a US level 3 avalanche certification, are current Wilderness First Responders (WFR's) and together we have been guiding for 28 years. Our prices are comparable to those offered by the most reputable outfits based in the US today and in many cases we have worked for those same outfits prior to branching out on our own. We want to run an Aconcagua expedition that is as near to perfect as possible, and this is what it costs to run that program. We are not the cheapest, but we aim to be the best.

These trips are modeled after other small group Aconcagua trips we have run in the past, which resulted in a high summit success rate. References available upon request.