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Adventures/Aconcagua expedition

Itinerary in Detail

Day Itinerary
Day 1 International flight from your home, overnight to Buenos Aires the capital of Argentina.
Day 2 Arrive in Buenos Aires and transfer for the one and a half hour flight to Mendoza. You will be met on arrival and transported to your overnight hotel, close to the city centre. Mendoza is a bustling, vibrant city with tree lined avenues, and pavement cafes. Food and wine are superb, and there are many well equipped gear shops, for last minute purchases.
Day 3 The morning will be spent getting our Aconcagua permit, checking equipment and clothing before departing on our 3 hour drive to Puente del Inca. Here we’ll stay overnight at the hostel, explore the village, have dinner and prepare for the start of our trek tomorrow morning.
Day 4 After breakfast we have a short drive to the start of our route. We will be trekking with light day sacks, with most of our gear and equipment carried by mules.After 4 to 5 hours trekking we arrive at our campsite Pampa de Lenas 2,700m. It’s an easy days walk, always interesting, with very little elevation gained. We camp under high cliffs with the river alongside.
Day 5 Our trek today is similar to yesterdays, in duration and elevation gain. Early afternoon we will get our first view of Aconcagua, before we reach our campsite at Casa de Piedra 3,200m
Day 6 Today we trek to our base camp at Plaza Argentina 4,200m, taking us 5 to 6 hours. There are 2 river crossings to make and continually fine views of Aconcagua and other nearby peaks. The camp lies on undulating glacial terrain, with a good view of our route to camp 1.
Day 7 Today it’s a rest day, so we can build on our acclimatization. We will prepare our equipment and food for the days ahead, catch up on diaries and books, talk with fellow mountaineers, and you can explore the interesting areas around base camp.
Day 8 Today we will make a carry of food, fuel and equipment to camp 1, at 4850m. It’s a steep trail of about 5 hours. Initially, open, with fine views, then through a maze of penitentes (wind formed ice spikes). In the afternoon a quick descent back to base camp.
Day 9 Today we will explore more of the area around base camp and ascend some of the lower peaks, to build on our fitness and acclimatization.
Day 10 After breakfast we will carry our remaining gear, food, tents and sleeping bags to camp 1, where we will camp overnight.
Day 11 Today we make a carry of food and gear to camp 2 at 5,600m. It’s a steady trek, gradually gaining height, with an excellent sheltered spot midway for lunch. At the camp site there are great views of the polish glacier and the summit. In the afternoon we descend to camp 1.
Day 12 Today we stay at camp 1. Good food, plenty of liquids and lots of rest.
Day 13 After breakfast we ascend once more to camp 2 with our remaining equipment and stay overnight.
Day 14 Our final rest day to complete our acclimatization program will be spent at camp 2. Its an opportunity to talk to climbers often descending from the summit and get the latest conditions of the terrain and weather.
Day 15 This morning, a long ascending traverse brings us to Rocas Blancas camp 3, at 6,100m our last campsite on the mountain before our summit attempt. We have now joined the normal route on Aconcagua and would expect to meet a lot more climbers. It will take us about 3 hours so we will have plenty of time to rest and prepare everything for our summit attempt in the morning.
Day 16 An early start, will see a steady climb to a col at 6,250m, then a long traverse to a ridge known as cresta del viento. More traversing and we come to the base of the canaleta. It’s a 400m steep ascent on a mixture of loose sand , scree and snow, and then a final gentle traverse to the summit. After photographs, celebrations, and fantastic views, we start our descent back to camp3.
Day 17 If we don’t have favorable conditions on our summit attempt, we also have today. Otherwise it’s a long descent to base camp on the normal route at Plaza de Mulas. Here we camp overnight.
Day 18/19 After breakfast we get an early start to the road head, and meet our transport to take us to Puente del Inca. We stay overnight in the hostel and celebrate our achievements.
Day 20 Transport will return us to Mendoza to catch our return flight to Buenos Aires and our international flight home.
Day 21 Arrive home


N.B. The exact itinerary is flexible , and will depend on the fitness, acclimatization, and goals of the group.