Aconcagua Expeditions – Never give up on a mountain

This section of Aconcágua is much shorter than the previous one, but we must consider the altitude effects, which at this height cause great confusion. The pace becomes decidedly slower.The path continues upward to the east until it gains a series of switchbacks that join different rocky headlands. The view to the north becomes more and more spectacular as we emerge below most of the nearby peaks. In this way, you reach another distinctive point on the route, the “yellow balcony” (5,800 m), an aesthetic rock formation that invites you to have a well-deserved rest before the last effort.During the Aconcagua Mountain Guides, the path continues east, and after a couple of turns, you will find one that faces the direct diagonal that leads to Berlin. Right here, another approach comes out to the left of the main one, leading to a rocky pass with yellow tones. This is the path that reaches the Plaza Cólera (5,970 m), another alternative to a central camp in Colera from this point.This is how to get to Colera (5,930 m). Here are located three small shelters on the first platform, all constructions made in the 1950s. They are low maintenance, and it is not convenient to keep them in mind for an overnight stay. I recommend taking the store. A little higher up is the new Berlin, a pleasant shelter able to receive 7 to 9 persons. As the previous ones, this refuge is usually very busy during the season, so it is convenient not to consider spending a night. Anyway, on both platforms, there are several places to install tents. Then we came to another isolated rock in the middle of a monotonous haul, the “Conway Stones” (4,750 m).Continue the ascent of my Aconcagua treks to an ascending to the left and then exit in a zigzag the rocky pinnacle that forms the port of Plaza Canada, at 5,050 meters. From Mulas, the journey takes between 3 and 4 hours. From this place (camp 1) to Nido de Cóndores (field 2, at 5,500 m), it is possible to cover the 500-meter gradient in 4 to 5 hours. Upward diagonal leads to a prominent rock in the middle of the haul, called the 5,000 stone. From here, the zigzags are followed to reach a landmark, Slope Change (5,300m), a suitable place for camping with the option to set only two courses: Slope Change and Berlin.From here, there are two possibilities: the zigzags that climb towards the northern slopes in the direction of the Great Carry and then set off in a network crossing to Nido. or the direct one that ascends through the center of the circus formed by the Gran Acarreo with the Manso hill, as long as this route is free of penitents. This is how you get to Nido de Cóndores, formed by shocking rocks in the form of converted peaks, the exact stones Fitz Gerald and his people found on a summer afternoon in 1897 and served as a natural refuge against the strong gusts of the West.