In total there were 12 of us; 3 middle aged Spanish blokes (Jose-Luis, Paco and Ramon), 3 younger Spanish guys (Daniel, Mercedes and Rafael), 2 Swedes (Henrik and Mats), one Italian (Davide) and myself. 2 more Argentinians (Matias and Veronica) were due to meet us the next night. The language of choice was Spanish – only one of the Swedes couldn't speak it.
The next morning we headed off early to get our Park Permits – a cool $300 for permission to climb Aconcagua. The cost did include free medical care at base camps and helicopter evacuation if needed, and it's a lot cheaper than the Everest permit ($10000!). After a bit of last minute emergency gear shopping, we left Mendoza for the Andes. Aconcagua lies about 40km to the north of the Trans-Andean Highway (which is also part of the Pan-American Highway), some 20km inside Argentina.
We stopped for the night in a hostel in Los Penitentes, an out of season ski resort. It was cool and a strong wind was blowing. The hostel had a warm atmosphere, helped by the wood cladding and cramped quarters. From here our warm and heavy high-altitude equipment that we needed for Aconcagua would be taken by mule to the base camp at Plaza de Mulas.
The following morning, equipped with basic trekking gear, we set off for Las Horcones, the entry point to Aconcagua Provincial Park. On the way we stopped at the incredible natural bridge at Puente del Inca, a famous Argentinian tourist spot. The bridge is the product of some volcanic processes too complicated for me to understand, but has lots of hot springs and has been developed in the past as such.
Puente del Inca
After the normal due process with the Guardaparques at the park entrance, we began the walk to La Confluencia, the camp a third of the way to base camp, where we would spend a couple of days acclimatising to the altitude (3300m at this point). We had our first views of the south face of Aconcagua, rising several kilometers into the sky to the north.
Entrance to Horcones Valley, with Aconcagua in background
On the way to La Confluencia, with Aconcagua in background
We arrived at La Confluencia to be met by Matias, a half mad Argentinian who could cook pretty well and managed our part of the camp. When the sun went down it wasn't too cold, but I was glad when I crawled into my (hired) down sleeping bag that night.
La Confluencia in the sun; Aconcagua in far background
The next morning the plan was to walk up to Plaza Francia, the base camp for the south face, sitting at a height of 4200m. La Confluencia , as it's name suggests, lies at the confluence or two valleys – the Inferior and Superior Horcones Valleys, and the walk took us up the Inferior Valley, past the similarly named glacier.
Walking up to Plaza Francia
There were excellent views to start with, but after a few hours the sky clouded over and wind picked up. It became really cold and after reaching a good viewpoint we stopped and ate lunch, trying not to freeze. The south face was obscured by cloud and sadly 2 French climbers disappeared in the weather, never to be seen again.
South face of Aconcagua, in the gathering storm
We headed back to Confluencia quickly, where a lot of the team had altitude related headaches. After some ibuprofen and a sleep I felt a lot better, but woke up to a world of white. Snow had been falling for 2 hours and showed no sign of abating. Having been assured by our guide Apu that we could probably wear shorts, most of us were pretty ill-equipped for the degree of cold (-5°C approx) and we passed a cold night as the snow continued to fall.
Snow falling at La Confluencia
Pepe (Jose-Luis), Daniel, Rafael and Mercedes in the snow
Then next day was planned as a rest day, which was fortunate as overnight everything in camp had frozen and there was no running water anywhere. By mid-morning the clouds had lifted and after lunch the sun had re-emerged. The snow melted quickly and the area returned to it's former glory quickly.
After the snow, at La Confluencia
After the snow, near base camp (self timed!)
The following morning we set out early for Plaza de Mulas, main base camp for Aconcagua where we would spend a further 5 or so days acclimatising before trying for the summit.
The team at base camp before leaving; from left to right – me, Matias (camp manager), Matias, Veronica, Ramon, Davide, Pepe, Paco, (another Italian who wasn't in our group), Mercedes, Rafael, Mats, Henrik (kneeling), Kim (also not in our group), and Daniel
The 28km walk included a 15km stretch along Playa Ancha, literally “Wide Beach”, that seemed to go on forever, before we started the climb at the end of the day up to Plaza de Mulas at 4260m.
The beginning of Playa Ancha
Arriving in Plaza de Mulas
We got to Plaza de Mulas at 7.30pm after a gruelling day. Most of us has headaches again and anything more than a slow walk required effort to breathe. After an excellent dinner we all crashed out in our 12 bed dorm tent, looking forward to a tomorrow, a rest day.
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