Aconcagua

Trip Reports

The Horcones Route has the highest rate of success of all the routes on Aconcagua, but it is still a long climb, so make sure that you are in good shape and mentally prepared for a tough experience.

We have been organising expeditions to Aconcagua since 1992. In 2005 we re-designed our itinerary, following Jagged Globe Managing Director, Simon Lowe's 3rd expedition to the mountain. We decided to extend our expedition by a day to allow more time to acclimatise at the start of the trip, and to give team members more opportunity to "find their feet" in the initial stages of the trip.

Put simply, the better acclimatised you are, the higher your chances of success. With an acclimatisation ascent of Bonete Peak (5,004m) and three possible summit days, we have seen an increased number of our team members reaching the top in recent years. For example, on our December 2008 expedition, 11 out of 12 team members summited on New Year's Eve, including 70 year old Nick Spencer. However, despite the lack of technical difficulty, Aconcagua remains a hard mountain, and one exposed to extreme weather. We recommend climbing another 6,000er such as Mera Peak prior to trying Aconcagua.

Click to read details of the Aconcagua expedition.

'A fantastic team spirit within the group. Great enthusiasm and support from local guides. Extremely well organised. Thank you.' Aconcagua - 22 Dec to 5 Jan '06

Team Member Reports

Have you been on this trip? If you'd like to contribute a trip report then we'll post it up on the site.

Aconcagua - 8 Jan - 1 Feb '09
"The trip was amazing - not just getting to the top, but the whole expedition experience including the beautiful mountain landscapes, the hugely knowledgeable guides and friendly group members, and the delicious Argentinian food! MC -..."
report added 4th Feb 2009
Aconcagua - 15 December 2002 to 7 January 2003
"This trip was very different from my last, Kilimanjaro. The trek into base camp was harder than summit day on Kilimanjaro and then each day just got harder and harder. I was not the only one who thought this. The load carries to the..."
report added 8th Feb 2003 by shauna sim
Aconcagua 1996
"The expedition that had begun 18 days earlier on a deserted, hot and empty hillside on the Chilean/Argentine border ended, through a bizarre quirk of fate, at a remote crossing on the Indo-Tibetan border. The wooden bridge over the river..."
report added 21st Nov 2002 by Mark Perry
Aconcagua (Horcones) 11 February - 6 March 2001
"Leader : Helena Winston. Warm and gregarious, endeared herself to the group in the short period of time before being medivaced out of Plaza de Mulas with HAPE. Left a lasting impression and the grp and many decisions were made based on..."
report added 8th May 2001 by Shani Tan

Photo Gallery

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Leader Reports

Aconcagua - 21 Jan to 14 Feb '10
"Having arrived in Mendoza in a sweltering 35 degrees it was time to relax by the hotel pool before preparing our..."
report added 17th Feb 2010

Aconcagua - 7 to 31 Jan '10
"On a rest day visit to Aconcagua’s Artist-in-Residence, something made us all sit up and take notice. Mike was not..."
report added 3rd Feb 2010

Aconcagua - 8 Jan - 1 Feb '09
"A bit of pushing on summit day saw eight of us gasping, exhausted at the end of the very windy Traverse – just..."
report added 9th Feb 2009

Aconcagua - 14 Dec to 7 Jan '09
"Three simple steps for our entire group to make it to the top of the Caneletta, and eleven of twelve on to the..."
report added 9th Jan 2009

Aconcagua - 17 Jan to 10 Feb '08
"After a long and unfortunate delayed flight out to South America, we eventually arrived in Buenos Aires and after..."
report added 12th Feb 2008

Show 14 older reports »

Aconcagua - 10 Jan to 3 Feb '08
"With the majority of the team (Ian, Phil, Ken, Julie, Pip, Pete and Gwenda) assembled at Gatwick (Bill and Mark..."
report added 11th Feb 2008

Aconcagua - 11 Jan to 18 Feb '07
"Once upon a time there was a sword sticking out of a rock and along came a dude dressed in really tight clothing..."
report added 16th Feb 2007

Aconcagua - 11 Jan to 4 Feb '07
"A philosophical team unite in their disappointment not to summit! After two days of travelling from the UK to..."
report added 1st Feb 2007

Aconcagua - 17 Dec to 10 Jan '07
"This expedition didn't get off to the best of starts. Flying at Christmas time with as group was never going to be..."
report added 24th Jan 2007

Aconcagua - 10 Dec to 3 Jan '07
"The flight to Buenos Aires went smoothly and we even had time for a swift café stopover downtown, before our..."
report added 9th Jan 2007

Aconcagua - 19 Jan to 12 Feb '06
"Our first opportunity for the summit coincided with a rare, perfect day, and seven team members took the..."
report added 15th Feb 2006

Aconcagua - 12 Jan to 5 Feb '06
"The team, minus two who were meeting us in Mendoza, met up at North Terminal, Gatwick and had a very quiet,..."
report added 3rd Feb 2006

Aconcagua - 22 Dec to 15 Jan '06
"Despite fierce winds, eight determined team members reached the summit of Aconcagua on Monday 9 January at 2:00pm,..."
report added 13th Jan 2006

Aconcagua - 15 Dec to 8 Jan '06
"At 6am on 1 January a complete (12 members) and very strong team left Berlin Huts (5,933m) in perfect, if cold..."
report added 4th Jan 2006

Aconcagua 2003/04 season
"We ran six expeditions to Aconcagua this season, between 14 December ’03 and 2 March ’04. On five out of six..."
report added 9th Mar 2004

Aconcagua - 26 January to 18 February 2003
"The Aconcagua team arrived at base camp during a period of settled weather. With only a little snow on the..."
report added 11th Mar 2003

Aconcagua - 2 to 25 February 2003
"The Aconcagua I 2003 Expedition has recently returned from a very enjoyable expedition. For the majority of the..."
report added 26th Feb 2003

Aconcagua - 17 December 2002 to 9 January 2003
"The weather this season on Aconcagua has been exceptionally cold and when the Aconcagua IV team arrived in base..."
report added 3rd Feb 2003

Aconcagua - 3 to 27 February 2002
"This was a very enjoyable expedition with 5 team members and two guides reaching the summit in snow showers and no..."
report added 19th Mar 2002

News Items

Video Clips

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Aconcagua - Camp 1 @ 5,000m
Jan 2010

Photo Gallery

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Summit of Mt Aconcagua, February 2010 (www2) Photo: © James Wells 1 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Summit of Mt Aconcagua, February 2010 (www2)	Mules carrying loads on the way in Photo: © James Wells 2 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Mules carrying loads on the way in	Mules Photo: © James Wells 3 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Mules	Walking to Plaza de Mulas Photo: © James Wells 4 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Walking to Plaza de Mulas
Wild cloud formations above Aconcagua Photo: © Julie McCulloch 5 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Wild cloud formations above Aconcagua	A snowy Aconcagua, showing base camp, taken from Bonete Peak Photo: © James Wells 6 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition A snowy Aconcagua, showing base camp, taken from...	Mules and Gaucho Photo: © Simon Lowe 7 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Mules and Gaucho	Confluencia - upper Horcones Valley Photo: © Simon Lowe 8 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Confluencia - upper Horcones Valley
Confluencia to Plaza de Mulas Photo: © Simon Lowe 9 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Confluencia to Plaza de Mulas	On the way to Plaza Francia Photo: © Simon Lowe 10 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition On the way to Plaza Francia	Plaza de Mulas - base camp (4,365m) Photo: © Ron Holt 11 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Plaza de Mulas - base camp (4,365m)	Base camp tents Photo: © James Wells 12 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Base camp tents
Evening sunlight on Aconcagua (overview) Photo: © Joe Gittins 13 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Evening sunlight on Aconcagua (overview)	Our base camp crew with Louisa Redman Photo: © Simon Lowe 14 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Our base camp crew with Louisa Redman	Inside the base camp tent Photo: © Tim Hirst 15 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Inside the base camp tent	Acclimatising on Bonete Peak Photo: © Tomaz Jakofcic 16 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Acclimatising on Bonete Peak
Penitentes on Bonete Peak Photo: © James Wells 17 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Penitentes on Bonete Peak	Descending through penitentes on Bonete Peak Photo: © James Wells 18 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Descending through penitentes on Bonete Peak	Easy ground low down on Aconcagua Photo: © Martin Delap 19 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Easy ground low down on Aconcagua	On the way to Canada Camp (c5,000m) Photo: © Simon Lowe 20 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition On the way to Canada Camp (c5,000m)
Heading up to Camp 2 Photo: © Tomaz Jakofcic 21 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Heading up to Camp 2	Camp 1 - Canada Place Photo: © Simon Lowe 22 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Camp 1 - Canada Place	Evening at Camp 1 Photo: © Tomaz Jakofcic 23 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Evening at Camp 1	Looking back to Canada Photo: © Simon Lowe 24 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Looking back to Canada
En route to Nido de Condores Photo: © Simon Lowe 25 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition En route to Nido de Condores	Evening sunlight on Aconcagua Photo: © Steve Bell 26 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Evening sunlight on Aconcagua	South Face of Aconcagua Photo: © Tomaz Jakofcic 27 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition South Face of Aconcagua	A light dusting of snow on the South face of Aconcagua Photo: © Joe Gittins 28 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition A light dusting of snow on the South face of...
Nido de Condores (5,560m) and Aconcagua's upper slopes Photo: © Simon Lowe 29 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Nido de Condores (5,560m) and Aconcagua's upper...	Putting up tents (not ours!) at Nido Photo: © Tim Hirst 30 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Putting up tents (not ours!) at Nido	looking north from Nido Photo: © Simon Lowe 31 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition looking north from Nido	Above Nido Photo: © Martin Delap 32 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Above Nido
c5,700m on Aconcagua Photo: © Joe Gittins 33 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition c5,700m on Aconcagua	Sunset from Nido Photo: © Simon Lowe 34 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Sunset from Nido	Sunrise from Nido Photo: © Mungo Ross 35 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Sunrise from Nido	Nido de Condores camp after snow Photo: © John Armstrong 36 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Nido de Condores camp after snow
En route to Berlin Camp in awful conditions Photo: © John Armstrong 37 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition En route to Berlin Camp in awful conditions	Horrendous conditions at Berlin Camp 27 Dec '07 Photo: © John Armstrong 38 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Horrendous conditions at Berlin Camp 27 Dec '07	Sunrise Photo: © Tomaz Jakofcic 39 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Sunrise	Early morning Photo: © Alun Richardson 40 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Early morning
Jagged Globe Terra Nova tents pitched at Berlin Huts (5,900m) Photo: © Tim Hirst 41 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Jagged Globe Terra Nova tents pitched at Berlin Huts...	Local guide - Quique, prepares dinner Photo: © Simon Lowe 42 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Local guide - Quique, prepares dinner	Early morning during summit day at around 6,000m Photo: © Simon Lowe 43 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Early morning during summit day at around 6,000m	The traverse (c6,300m) in snowy conditions Photo: © Alun Richardson 44 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition The traverse (c6,300m) in snowy conditions
Cold conditions and wearing crampons from Camp 2 in February 2010 Photo: © James Wells 45 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Cold conditions and wearing crampons from Camp 2 in...	Taking a break, summit day on Aconcagua Photo: © James Wells 46 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Taking a break, summit day on Aconcagua	Below the summit Photo: © Tomaz Jakofcic 47 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Below the summit	Summit - 9 February 2010 Photo: © James Wells 48 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Summit - 9 February 2010
Summit - John Armstrongs Dec 2008 Team Photo: © 49 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Summit - John Armstrongs Dec 2008 Team	View from the summit of Aconcagua Photo: © Tomaz Jakofcic 50 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition View from the summit of Aconcagua	Jagged Globe team on the summit, Feb '07 Photo: © Doug Maughan 51 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Jagged Globe team on the summit, Feb '07	Jagged Globe team on the summit, Dec '06 Photo: © Neil O'Gorman 52 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Jagged Globe team on the summit, Dec '06
Descent to camp 3 after a successful summit Photo: © Neil O'Gorman 53 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Descent to camp 3 after a successful summit	Descending to Berlin Huts Photo: © Simon Lowe 54 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Descending to Berlin Huts	Descending back to Nido de Condores Photo: © Simon Lowe 55 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Descending back to Nido de Condores	Descending from Nido, Bonete Peak beyond Photo: © Simon Lowe 56 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Descending from Nido, Bonete Peak beyond
Aconcagua sky Photo: © Alun Richardson 57 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Aconcagua sky	Aconcagua cloud Photo: © Fred McArthur 58 of 58 Read about the Aconcagua expedition Aconcagua cloud