Aconcaqua at 22,831 feet high, located in the Andes in Argentina is the highest peak in the Western hemisphere.

Aconcagua is bounded by the Valle de las Vacas to the north and east and the Valle de los Horcones Inferior to the west and south. The mountain and its surroundings are part of the Aconcagua Provincial Park. The mountain has several glaciers. Aconcagua lies in the Southern Andes Mountains; although its peak is in Argentina, its western flanks build up from the coastal lowlands of Chile, just north of Santiago. Its name probably originated from the Quechua Ackon Cahuak (“Sentinel of Stone”).

The largest glacier is the Ventisquero Horcones Inferior at about 10 km (6 mi) long, which descends from the south face to about 3,600 m (11,800 ft) in altitude near the Confluencia camp. It has two summits—north and south—connected by a ridge (Cresta del Guanaco) that is about 0.6 mile (1 km) long. The first attempted ascent, made in 1883, failed; the highest (north) summit was first reached in 1897 by Swiss climber Matthias Zurbriggen. The mountain is one of the so-called Seven Summits of the seven continents. The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents.

Climbing to the summit of all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass. Successfully ascending the Seven Summits and additionally reaching the North and South poles has been dubbed the Explorers Grand Slam. The mountain and its surroundings are part of the Aconcagua Provincial Park.

The mountain has several glaciers; the largest glacier is the Ventisquero Horcones Inferior at about 10 km long. In mountaineering terms, Aconcagua is technically an easy mountain if approached from the north via the normal route. The second most frequented route is the Polish Glacier Traverse route, also known as the “Falso de los Polacos” route. This approaches the mountain through the Vacas valley, ascends to the base of the Polish Glacier, then traverses across to the normal route for the final ascent to the summit. The third most popular route is the Polish Glacier itself.

The routes to the peak from the south and south-west ridges are more demanding and the south face climb is considered very difficult. In all routes, the effects of altitude are severe with the atmospheric pressure only 40% of sea-level at the summit.

Tours

2023 Traditional Aconcagua Mountain Tour

2023 Full-Day Aconcagua Experience provided by Kahuak Aventura

Hotels

Villa Mansa
 Avenida Roque Saenz Peña 4900, Lujan De Cuyo, 5507 Vistalba, Argentina

Entre Cielos
Guardia Vieja 1998, 5509 Vistalba, Argentina

LindaMorada
Cabins for Rent – Guardia Vieja 3851 (and Panamericana) Vistalba – Luján de Cuyo – Mendoza – Argentina

Gallery

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