Hiking Aconcagua 360 Route

Estimated time: 7 – 10 hours 1032m elevation gain Always is said that arriving at Berlín is the first half of the jouney and the ascent. Summit day is the second half. Summit day starts pretty early. The route is clear and extends among rock formations up to an area known as “Piedras Blancas” (6060m), where is continues on the northern edge of the mountain to later reach -through a narrow path- its northeastern side. From there on, the ascent continues to a zigzagging area which, in turn, leads to one of the key spots on Summit day: “Refugio Independencia” (6380m).This is the right time to assess energy supplies and general conditions to face the final steps. Decisions about going ahead must be taken after serious consideration.The journey now continues up a ridge known as “Portezuelo del Viento”, situated west of the shelter. Then, the long trekking goes above the Gran Acarreo from the east to west . Conditions here may vary greatly. Strong morning gusts usually come up from the valley, which accounts for serious wind chill. Regarding terrain, some huge stretches of frozen snow -or even ice- may appear, so the use of crampons and axes is recommended. Although the slope is only about 30 degrees, slipping on the ice at this height might cause serious physical problems. The route leads to a much steeper diagonal and this, in turn, to the base of the so-called “La Canaleta”, where there is a rocky, concave-base wall of conglomerate known as “La Cueva” (6650m).

The paths up La Canaleta are rather steep and extend along its west end, near the rocky wall, which narrows down untill it disappears in El Acarreo. Progress to the right among loose rocks becomes slow at this point, where the route it steep. Short zigzags will now lead to the mountains ridge. A few meters before the ridge is the path which goes slightly up across “El Filo del Guanaco”, thus avoiding excessive exposure to the Southern Wall. This spot is 6800m high and the Summit can be seen toward the east, at the end of the journey. Exhaustion caused by hipoxia is critical here: walking becames extremely slow and frequent stops are necessary for hikers to stretch their legs and recover the normal pulse rate. I recommend at this point forcing ventilation a little so as to provide lungs with more oxygen. Also, frequent candy intake (sugar) will help keep high levels of sugar in the bloodstream. Finally, a flask with a hot beverage will prevent dehydration, a problem which will not be completely avoided, due to hyperventilation, the dry air and the impossibility to carry enough drinks for the whole journey.Short as it seem, this final stage might take as much as forty-five to sixty minutes of hard trekking. This is the point where climbers´physical, mental and acclimatization training is really tested. Toward the end of the Filo del Guanaco, there is a very rocky passage up the northern peak and a few rocky steps which finally lead to the Summit.This is the way in which Stuart Vines explains the view that opens up before his eyes from the Summit of the Americas at 360 degrees, in his second ascent in 1897:

“This wonderful panorama of mountains, glaciers and snow-covered fields opened up some 23000 feet above see level. Penitente valley was cut by Mercedario, Güssfeldt route, with a reputation of invincible and its gigantic, 20-degree, white-colored mountain sides, presented no obstacles. In the middle of this inmense view, numerous giants towered up like perfect pyramids of volcanic appearance. Red, brown and yellow rocks endlessly alternated with cliffs in a sea of mountains 60 miles wide and 13000 feet high. Towards the south, the bordering Tolosa and the Gemelos could be seen as silent guardians on the way to Chile. The Juncal glaciers, the snow-capped peaks of Navarro and Polleras, Leones, Plomo and Tupungato. Neither the camera, nor the pen would be able to accurately describe this view. The Pacific was shining blue under the afternoon sun, now turning red. Everything appeared to be close at hand. Quillota and Robles were there, and then valleys, full of clouds like arms of the sea, amongst which rocky islands emerged from ghostly waters. Ten miles away, the heads of the Horcones and the Vacas appeared surrounded by black cliffs, reddish mountain sides and nearby glaciers of icy peaks. The Penitentes offered its greatest ice fields on the other side. Tiny Almacenes cast some doubt: could that colorful rock we usually saw above our heads from the valley be so small? Everything seemed so distant …”