Cerro Aconcagua is the tallest peak in the Americas. In fact, outside of the Himalaya Mountains in Asia, it´s the tallest peak in the world! Once in Mendoza, I set out to get the information I needed to see the mountain and possibly climb it. After some research I found that it would be several thousand dollars to actually climb the mountain. As Aconcagua is one of the "Seven Summits", the highest peak on each of the continents, guides can charge prices as high as the mountain itself! Climbers from all around the world want to climb all seven summits and are willing to pay almost any price. Getting to the summit was not that important to me, I would rather spend my money traveling to more places and seeing different things than spend it all climbing one mountain. So I decided that trekking into the area and climbing to base camp would be a more realistic option for my budget.
I hit all the local guiding agencies to find out how it all worked and how much it would be to hike to base camp. It was quite expensive still, just to trek into the area. I thought it was crazy to pay money for a guide to take me hiking in the mountains which is something I do all the time. So I picked up a map of the mountain and was also required to buy a permit to get into the backcountry. Once I had accomplished these things I bought a bus ticket to the town of Puente de Inka, a small village near the trailhead on the south side of the mountain. I was off! I had been in the city for many days. As enjoyable as eating steak and drinking delicious wine at outdoor cafes´can be, I was ready to get into the mountains, it is where I feel most at home.
Day 1 was arduous. The bus broke down on the way to the mountain causing us to arrive very late in the afternoon. I got off the bus in Puente de Inka, thinking it was a very short distance to the ranger station where I needed to register. Come to find out the bus continued up the mountain road to the trailhead. I hiked and additional 6 or so kilometers with my overloaded pack of about 65 pounds. After having too little food on my Choro Trek I went in the other direction and had too much food. One of these days I´ll get it right!! So I registered at 5 pm and began what was listed as a four hour hike, I had my headlamp ready. As slow as I was moving with the heavy pack(throw 65 lbs. of dead weight on your back and see how fast you can climb a mountain!) I still made it to camp by dark. The valley leading up to "Confluencia" or camp 1 was massive! The scale is difficult to comprehend, like an insect crossing a Wal-Mart parking lot. Frequent stops to catch my breath and rest my legs were good opportunities to take in the scenery around me. I'm not sure how to describe the atmosphere in the mountains, it doesn´t seem real. Like it's not possible that you are there, in an environment so remote and harsh yet beautiful. There is something addicting about it! Once at camp I set up my tent, had some food and did a recon walk of the camp with all of the major outfitters preping their groups to go up the mountain. We (the hikers) were kept in a seperate area than the climbers. Time to sleep.
Day 2 Very exciting day as I climbed up alongside the Horncones Glacier and up to the South Face of Aconcagua! The glacier is an enormous river of ice. Hiking alongside this for hours, I began to better understand the process of how glaciers carve through rock, carry them for distances and drop them in unsuspecting places when they receed. I reached the south wall late in the afternoon and just smiled. Partly because my feet hurt a lot and I could finally rest. But mostly because I was standing on one of the tallest mountains in the world! It had gotten cold the last hour or so as I made my way further up into the ravine which acted like an ice box. The south wall, thousands of feet high was awesome. At first it seemed silent, but as I sat stationary, there were "mountain" sounds. Chilling sounds, almost spooky. Sounds of wind moving, ice cracking and the feeling of being on the edge of the sky. As I was leaving I heard a thunderous crack. I turned and saw an avalanche! I watched a wall of snow slide over a cliff and crash onto a ledge below in an explosion of white. Wow! Avalaches are fun to watch on a video screen but to see one happen in front of me was wild. A day to remember for sure!
Day 3 worked out to be my out day. I had planned on staying longer but stomach problems, distances I needed to trek to the next camp and the excessive weight of my pack changed my plans. So it worked out to be a relaxing day, sleeping late and moving slow. This allowed me to absorb the experience and enjoy a long lunch with a view of Aconcagua's summit in the distance. A sunny ride through the Andes mountains back to Mendoza with thoughts of steak and good wine finished this excursion. Looking forward to the next one!! Life is good! Jeff.
I hit all the local guiding agencies to find out how it all worked and how much it would be to hike to base camp. It was quite expensive still, just to trek into the area. I thought it was crazy to pay money for a guide to take me hiking in the mountains which is something I do all the time. So I picked up a map of the mountain and was also required to buy a permit to get into the backcountry. Once I had accomplished these things I bought a bus ticket to the town of Puente de Inka, a small village near the trailhead on the south side of the mountain. I was off! I had been in the city for many days. As enjoyable as eating steak and drinking delicious wine at outdoor cafes´can be, I was ready to get into the mountains, it is where I feel most at home.
Day 1 was arduous. The bus broke down on the way to the mountain causing us to arrive very late in the afternoon. I got off the bus in Puente de Inka, thinking it was a very short distance to the ranger station where I needed to register. Come to find out the bus continued up the mountain road to the trailhead. I hiked and additional 6 or so kilometers with my overloaded pack of about 65 pounds. After having too little food on my Choro Trek I went in the other direction and had too much food. One of these days I´ll get it right!! So I registered at 5 pm and began what was listed as a four hour hike, I had my headlamp ready. As slow as I was moving with the heavy pack(throw 65 lbs. of dead weight on your back and see how fast you can climb a mountain!) I still made it to camp by dark. The valley leading up to "Confluencia" or camp 1 was massive! The scale is difficult to comprehend, like an insect crossing a Wal-Mart parking lot. Frequent stops to catch my breath and rest my legs were good opportunities to take in the scenery around me. I'm not sure how to describe the atmosphere in the mountains, it doesn´t seem real. Like it's not possible that you are there, in an environment so remote and harsh yet beautiful. There is something addicting about it! Once at camp I set up my tent, had some food and did a recon walk of the camp with all of the major outfitters preping their groups to go up the mountain. We (the hikers) were kept in a seperate area than the climbers. Time to sleep.
Day 2 Very exciting day as I climbed up alongside the Horncones Glacier and up to the South Face of Aconcagua! The glacier is an enormous river of ice. Hiking alongside this for hours, I began to better understand the process of how glaciers carve through rock, carry them for distances and drop them in unsuspecting places when they receed. I reached the south wall late in the afternoon and just smiled. Partly because my feet hurt a lot and I could finally rest. But mostly because I was standing on one of the tallest mountains in the world! It had gotten cold the last hour or so as I made my way further up into the ravine which acted like an ice box. The south wall, thousands of feet high was awesome. At first it seemed silent, but as I sat stationary, there were "mountain" sounds. Chilling sounds, almost spooky. Sounds of wind moving, ice cracking and the feeling of being on the edge of the sky. As I was leaving I heard a thunderous crack. I turned and saw an avalanche! I watched a wall of snow slide over a cliff and crash onto a ledge below in an explosion of white. Wow! Avalaches are fun to watch on a video screen but to see one happen in front of me was wild. A day to remember for sure!
Day 3 worked out to be my out day. I had planned on staying longer but stomach problems, distances I needed to trek to the next camp and the excessive weight of my pack changed my plans. So it worked out to be a relaxing day, sleeping late and moving slow. This allowed me to absorb the experience and enjoy a long lunch with a view of Aconcagua's summit in the distance. A sunny ride through the Andes mountains back to Mendoza with thoughts of steak and good wine finished this excursion. Looking forward to the next one!! Life is good! Jeff.
posted by Phlip | 9:43 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home