For those who do not have previous experience or want to start gradually, it is a great path with wonderful landscapes. Valley of Horcones Day circuit: Horcones – Confluence – Horcones (Duration: 3-4 hours) This trekking allows the ascent from Horcones to the Confluencia approach camp. An experience that gives fascinating views of the path that is accompanied by the unique landscapes of Aconcagua. short circuit: 1st day: Horcones – Confluence (Duration: 3-4 hours) 2nd day: Confluence – Plaza Francia – Confluence (Duration: 5 hours) 3rd day: Confluencia – Horcones (Duration: 3-4 hours) This trek allows Aconcagua 360 Route to […]
Blog - Aconcagua Tips and Stories
How should I prepare to climb Aconcagua?
Its environmental particularities make the place cold and dry throughout the year with temperatures ranging from -2º at night to 30º during the day in summer and -15º at night to 10º during the day in winter at 2800m; conversely, as altitude increases, the temperature begins to decrease. The area is windy and sometimes supports violent gusts that exceed 200km/h. The Park’s water resources include numerous glaciers that cover an area of approximately 32km 2 , among which are the Güssfeldt Glaciers, Horcones Inferior and Superior, the Cows and Polish Glacier. The melting of these icy giants pours its waters […]
Is personal equipment for Aconcagua very expensive?
The technical equipment necessary to make the ascent to Aconcagua is one of the most important points to face this challenge, since in most cases it avoids injuries and health problems that could prevent you from reaching your goal of reaching the summit. That is why when choosing clothing, keep in mind to bring the following elements: – First skin: This clothing is in direct contact with the skin and its function is to evacuate sweat, keeping the skin dry. Clothing of this type has two characteristics: it maintains body heat, but it is permeable to air, which also allows […]
Aconcagua Climbing – Never underestimate the “age” of Aconcagua
The cabinet tests carried out on the matrix of the deposits were carried out according to the operating conditions and are described below. Mineralogical analysis: The mineralogical composition, except clays, has been analyzed from 2-3 grams of an 80-gram sample, ground to a size less than 35 μm, through X-ray diffraction, using a D5000 diffractometer ( Bruker AXS). The Aconcagua 360 Route used Cu radiation and an accessory graphite monochromator. Diffraction data were taken from 4° to 70° 2θ, with a scan width of 0.02° and a counter tube scan time of 2 seconds per step. We worked with 40 KV and […]
Aconcagua Climbing – Expedition or climbing alone?
Some small sinkholes in the distal part of the deposit and very few depressions with lagoons, which indicates the presence of an impermeable substrate. The mounds are rounded and smooth on the surface and soils have developed in the depressions. In a profile product of a road cut, a soil has been observed in these depressions, covered by detrital material from the mounds that surround the hollow, as converging microslopes. This remobilization of material from the top of the mounds into the surrounding depressions has considerably smoothed the original surface of the deposit. In addition to gravity, periglacial processes, Aconcagua Argentina […]
Information about the type of terrain on the hill
This characteristic meant that various types of deposits were located there. Espizua (1989) described six drifts in the area (Punta de Vacas, Penitentes, Horcones, Almacenes, Confluencia and undifferentiated moraines). Of these, the moraines of the Punta de Vacas, Confluencia and Penitentes drifts can be identified in the Confluencia zone as glacial deposits because they preserve the morphology imposed by the process. But part of the deposits mapped as Horcones moraine, Almacenes moraine and undifferentiated moraines have a morphology and composition that complicates their interpretation as glacial deposits. The detailed genetic characterization of Aconcagua Expeditions constitutes, consequently, one of the objectives […]
Aconcagua Climbing – A hill of millions of years
For all these analyses, a photo interpretation was carried out, with frames at a scale of 1:50,000; Aster satellite images were also interpreted, from which digital topographic models were made and, finally, field tasks were carried out. During the latter, observations were made of the sedimentological characteristics of the deposits located along the aforementioned valleys, collecting samples to carry out Climb Aconcagua compositional (mineralogy) and textural (granulometry and roundness) analyzes in order to fully define the lithological characteristics of the same. Lastly, absolute dating was done using carbon 14C methods on fluvial and lacustrine deposits, and cosmogenic nuclides (NC) on surface blocks […]
Do I need technical knowledge to climb Aconcagua?
If we move from the foothills to the high basin of the Mendoza River, Espizua (1989) describes the Penitentes, Horcones and Almacenes drifts. Subsequently, the Horcones deposits were assigned by Pereyra and González Díaz (1993) to flows originating from rotational landslides. Recently Fauqué et al. (2008a and b) considered the three drift deposits as distal flows of rock avalanches. In this case there is no doubt that the area was glaciated during the Pleistocene, but what is being discussed here is the Aconcagua Mountain Guides validity of the glacial stratigraphy of the Mendoza river basin, based on the mass shear deposits identified […]
Brief tips for climbing the Colossus
In the event of the preparation of a susceptibility map to the mass removal processes that affect the town of Puente del Inca, the controversial genesis of the Horcones deposit was reviewed. The morphology of the deposit and the surrounding landscape, the mineralogy and texture of its materials were analyzed and finally radiometric dating was performed. Based on these studies, it is concluded that the Horcones deposit is the result of a saturated flow derived from a rock avalanche or mega-slide, caused by the collapse of a watershed on the southern wall of Mount Aconcagua, during times late glacial or […]
Aconcagua Climbing – The challenge of reaching Colera
Finally we arrived in Berlin, we made the tents since there was no room in the shelters, Esteban, who arrived first with Graciela, had a strong dispute with the guide of another expedition who was reserving places inside the shelter, as you can see the “criolla liveliness” it is immune to high altitudes, we look for snow far from the shelters so that it is not contaminated and we make water. Aconcagua Guided Climb The fatigue at this height is incredible, to set up the tent, look for snow or simply change clothes. I took photos on the ascent. We are […]