For anyone interested in mountaineering, Aconcagua 360 Route is a great name. Every year, the highest mountain outside the Himalayas attracts people from all over the world during its climbing season, which runs from November to March. Anyone looking for a mountain challenge sooner or later faces Aconcagua.
That is what happened to Miroslav, a Russian living in Scotland. The sporty, running guy is always looking for a challenge, call it a marathon or an Aconcagua guided climb. Since his childhood, the mountains were part of his life when he spent several vacations in Mount Elbrus and the summit at the age of 14. For this reason, since the idea of Aconcagua first crossed his mind, he put all his efforts into reaching the top.
In preparation, he climbed Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, three months before going to Argentina. He did well with the physical challenge, and the high altitude was not a problem for him. The next step was the final stretch to make the Aconcagua dream come true. And for that, he needed to find the perfect mountain guide to take him to the top.
Here the mountain guide Juan Gomez enters the scene. He found his profile while browsing Explore-Share and wrote to him. It was the end of November 2015, and 2 months later, they were already at the Mendoza airport to go to the ‘Stone Sentinel,’ the Rock Sentinel, as Aconcagua is often called. How to climb Aconcagua?
But Juan is not just another guide. He is one of the central historical figures of Chilean mountaineering. He was part of the first Chilean expedition to the Himalayas in 1979, and when he went with Oleksii, it was his 36th time on the “roof of America.” The kind of guy that kids who are getting into the world of guides look up to, and not just in Chile. This year, he plans to ascend Mount Cho Oyu, one of the 8000-meter peaks in Nepal.
So it’s not a bad start if you want your Aconcagua experience to be a good one. Gastón picked up Oleksii at the airport and, after processing the permits, they headed directly to Penitentes. In this small ski resort, most people spend the night before starting the expedition. They were lucky enough to avoid a landslide that blocked the road a few hours after their passage, so good luck was on their side. The group was of 3: Oleksii, Juan, and Francisca, a student of Juan who was there as an assistant and to learn in the field, and according to Oleksii, he was a great help and a critical factor in the success of the expedition.