When to go: The season for an Aconcagua ascents begins in mid-November and ends in mid-March. Eighty percent of hikers go in December and January.
How to get there: To get to Aconcagua and do an Aconcagua hike, you can fly to Buenos Aires or Santiago de Chile and take an internal flight or a bus to Mendoza. The closest town is Puente del Inca. Another stopping point is the Los Penitentes ski resort.
Permits: You need a permit to climb the mountain.
Guides – Although you can independently climb the mountain if you wish, most climbers register with an operator for a list of licensed guides.
Acclimatization: three-quarters of climbers do not reach the top often due to altitude sickness. How to climb Aconcagua? Take acclimatization seriously and use medical tents at base camp.
As part of their preparation to climb the highest mountain in North America, Denali in Alaska, Peter Dest and his teammate Nicolas Lopez had planned to climb Aconcagua (6962m), Argentina, on Wednesday in record time. Climbing the highest mountain outside the Himalayas via the south face is one of the most demanding and deadly mountain routes globally. But an avalanche on the planned route thwarted his plans. The world record attempt was canceled at base camp (4250m) before starting the main ascent. Karl Egloff holds the world record for climbing Aconcagua on the normal route since 2015. The Ecuadorian Swiss has taken on the challenge of climbing the seven continents’ highest peaks in world record time, with the final destination on Mount Everest. We had just arrived at the Aconcagua base camp, and we already saw a large avalanche falling on the south wall. The following day, when we opened our store, we realized the avalanche’s magnitude and luck. Because if we had been up there, we would be completely locked in. We put the security on before the world record attempt and stopped it. Now I will fully prepare for promotion next season. They both met in 2009 and have successfully climbed together since 2012, when they set the world record in Cotopaxi, Ecuador. Nicolas is an internationally renowned mountain guide who also competes in ultramarathons alongside speed climbing. Many people think that Aconcagua is simple just because it is not a “technical” mountain. This is one of the biggest mistakes that inexperienced people make. Factors such as the arid climate, the cold, and the altitude make Aconcagua a challenging mountain for climbing. Not for nothing is the highest mountain in the world outside the Himalayas part of the seven summits circuit. That is why I advise you not to relax or trust when it comes to climbing this hill. Remember that the first thing is to preserve the health and safety of the expedition, the summit in these cases is secondary.
