Aconcagua Expeditions – Basic training for mountain

It is the option and most traveled route to reach the summit of the Aconcagua guided climb and is considered in the »Easy« category according to the IFAS (French International Adjectives System) grading scale.Its starting point is the Horcones Park Ranger post (2,950 m), and the base camp is Plaza de Mulas (4,300 m).This route on January 14, 1897, by Matías Zürbriggen in what constitutes the first absolute ascent to Mount Aconcagua.The first section of the approach between Horcones and Confluencia (3,390 m) has 440 meters of unevenness, and its trekking lasts approximately 4 hours.After the park ranger post process, the Aconcagua Expedition takes place through the Horcones stream that passes by the lagoon. You must follow the well-marked path; you will reach the bridge that crosses the Horcones River (built for the movie “7 Years in Tibet”). The route continues along the right bank of the river in a gentle and sustained incline to Confluencia. It is better to stay a day in this camp to acclimatize, in which you can (and should) walk to the Plaza Francia viewpoint (4,000 m).At the Plaza de Mulas base camp, the drop is 910 meters, and it usually takes between 7 and 9 hours to arrive. As you leave the Confluencia camp, you will cross the lower Horcones river until you reach Playa Ancha, an extensive 10 km plain. Long alluvial material with stones.After several hours of trekking, the Cuesta Brava begins, undoubtedly one of the most challenging sections of the Aconcagua hike, not very long but very steep, which finally leads to the camp.Plaza de Mulas is a valid city of tents, with several companies, provide services of shops, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, shower, internet, etc. In Plaza de Mulas and the park rangers, there is a medical service and a rescue patrol. From the Mendoza police.Many climbers come every year to discover this “city on the mountain.” Muleteers, campers, cooks, park rangers, porters share unique experiences for some weeks under the starry sky of the mountain range; its summit is the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere; of the six thousand that surround it, none compares in height to create doubts; its glaciers can be seen from the Valparaíso bay in Chile and Mendoza; his messy and bulging physiognomy is notorious. In no way can this huge hill go unnoticed.It is dry and abundant in streambeds and rocky areas to the north and has a very amorphous figure. To the south, it has a triangular shape, being very rocky and steep. The rock is not good on this site, and few try to climb this slope. It also has the classic figure of a triangular hill to the East, although adorned by the Polacos glacier. To the south, it is simply imposing: a wall with more than 3000m of unevenness from its base. The south face is intimidating and, most of the time, creepy.