| Day 1 |
Mendoza (2,428 ft).You should arrange your flight in order to arrive to Santiago (Chile) or Buenos Aires in the morning of Day 1 and connect to Mendoza the same day. We'll be waiting for you at the airport and then we'll drive to the Hotel. After having an introductory meeting and checking gear we'll go out for a welcome dinner in one of the best restaurants in town. |
| Day 2 |
Mendoza – Refugio Vallecitos (10,000 ft). Early in the morning we'll obtain the mandatory permits and immediately drive to Cordon del Plata area where we'll spend the night in a mountain hut. |
| Day 3 |
Refugio Vallecitos. This day we'll start our acclimatization doing a light hike around the hut. |
| Day 4 |
Piedra Grande Camp. We‘ll move to our next camp at 10,900 ft, situated after a beautiful green valley. You'll also start to get familiar with specific camping techniques. |
| Day 5 |
El Salto camp. This spot, between Mt Plata and Vallecitos, will be our last camp. Great views. |
| Day 6 |
El Salto camp. Rest day. We'll do a short trek to the glacier and get some practice on using our crampons and ice axes. |
| Day 7 |
Mt Vallecitos (17,500 ft). During this day, we'll start climbing towards Mt. Plata until reaching Vallecito's ridge. Then we'll be climbing straight to our first summit, enjoying great views, Aconcagua included. |
| Day 8 |
Penitentes. We'll descend to the base where we'll load our van to drive to our Hotel in Penitentes. |
| Day 9 |
Penitentes. At Hotel Ayelen, we'll spend a rest day, while preparing the loads for the mules. |
| Day 10 |
Plaza de Mulas. We'll hike to Plaza de Mulas base camp (14,300 ft) passing Confluencia camp, crossing "Playa Ancha" and then climbing "Cuesta Brava". |
| Day 11 |
Plaza de Mulas. We'll have a full resting day, good time for a shower and last email checking. |
| Day 12 |
Cambio Camp. We'll move to up to 17,000 ft, setting up our camp there, with the help of porters. 4/6 hours hike |
| Day 13 |
Cambio Camp (22,841 ft). We'll have a full resting day, getting ready for the next push. |
| Day 14 |
Berlin/Colera camp. Reaching the highest camp will be our goal this day. After a 4-6 hour hike we'll reach 19,600 ft and get prepared for summit day. |
| Day 15 |
Aconcagua summit (22,841 ft). Early in the morning we'll start our summit day. After reaching Independencia shelter at 21,476 ft and crossing the "big traverse" we'll start climbing the groove "Canaleta". After this strenuous section we'll traverse the Guanaco's ridge, which will take us straight to the highest point in the Western hemisphere. |
| Day 16 |
Plaza de Mulas We'll wake up late and hike down to base camp, where we'll arrive for lunch. In the evening we'll prepare the mule's loads to go down the day after. |
| Day 17 |
Plaza de Mulas- Penitentes. This day we'll put on our hiking shoes again and go all the way down to the Park entrance and then to our hotel in Penitentes. On our way we"ll be able to contemplate the magnificent South Face, as well to cross the Playa ancha and the Horcones River. |
| Day 18 |
Penitentes - Mendoza. After breakfast we'll drive to Mendoza, check-in to our hotel and have some free time. This night we'll get together at a local Bodega for a wine tour and the last dinner to celebrate the climb. |
| Day 19 |
Flight back Home. Transfer to the airport. End of our services. |
| Days 20/21 |
Extra days. We include two extra days in case of bad weather or for further acclimatization. |
