Aconcagua Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 - Arrive Mendoza Our expedition begins in Mendoza, Argentina. On your arrival to the international airport in Mendoza, an Inspire Alpine® representative will be waiting for you. After receiving you, you’ll be transferred to your Hotel to rest. We’ll have a group meeting & you’ll be introduced to your guides and team members. Your leader Ricky Munday will give an inspirational talk about his failure & success on Everest.

Day 2 - Pick up permits, transfer to Los Penitentes After breakfast we’ll go to the Aconcagua Park authority office to personally pick up and pay for our climbing permits. We’ll finish sorting our kit then finalise arrangements at our local agent’s office. We’ll drive 3 hours to Villa Los Penitentes, where we stay at a Hotel overnight. In the afternoon, we prepare equipment for transportation to the base camp by mules.

Day 3 - Trek to Confluencia (3,390m) We drive to the Aconcagua Park Entrance at Horcones, where we get our first view of the mountain. After permits have been checked at the Ranger station, we start trekking to Confluencia (3,390m) where we’ll spend our first night under canvas. (8km, 2.5 hours)

Day 4 - Acclimatisation trek to Plaza Francia (4,000m) This is an acclimatisation day to increase your chances to summit. We’ll trek for around 5 hours to Plaza Francia Viewpoint (4,000m), where we enjoy magnificent views of the impressive Aconcagua South Wall.

Day 5 - Trek to Base Camp at Plaza de Mulas (4,300m) Today is a long, tough day with a trek into Plaza de Mulas (4,300m), our base camp for our expedition. Early in the morning we start trekking across Playa Ancha (wide beach), which is a deserted and always windy valley. We slowly gain altitude as we walk up to the Horcones Superior Valley. After 8-9 hours of hiking across Playa Ancha and ascending a steep path (Cuesta Brava - Rugged Slope), we finally reach Plaza de Mulas at 4300 m. (28km, 8 hours)

Day 6 - Rest Day The first day in Base Camp is a rest day and provides a good opportunity to familiarise yourself with camp, take a shower and explore the area. You’ll have a medical check-up with the Park doctor, reorganise and review your gear, prepare our loads for the first carry and organise food for transport the following day.

Day 7 - Acclimatisation, ascent of Cerro Bonete (5,000m) Today we’ll make an ascent of Cerro Bonete (5,000m) to help our acclimatisation. After breakfast we start the ascent to the summit, from where we can enjoy views Aconcagua’s sprawling west face, as well the huge Plaza de Mulas Base Camp.

Day 8 - Rest Day Today is another rest day at Plaza de Mulas to recover from the ascent of Cerro Bonete. We’ll divide expedition loads to carry to the high camps (group gear, fuel and food). We double carry to keep pack weights down and help ensure good acclimatisation.

Day 9 - Load carry to Camp Canada (5,050m) We’ll load carry some of our equipment and food to Camp 1, (Plaza Canada – 5,050m, 3km, 5 hours)). We keep our packs light and carry as little as possible in order to gradually adapt to the altitude, and we’ll drop back down to Plaza de Mulas to sleep.

Day 10 - Rest Day Rest day at Base Camp.

Day 11 - Move to Camp Canada (5,050m) We begin our move up the summit, and head up to Plaza Canada (5,050m).

Day 12 - Move to Nido de Condores (5,550m) We move from Plaza Canada to Camp 2 Nido de Cóndores 5,550m, 4km, 5 hours), where we’ll have spectacular views of the High Andes.

Day 13 - Rest Day Acclimatisation day at Nido de Condores (5,550m). Depending on the condition of the group, we may choose to be active or to fully rest.

Day 14 - Move to Camp Colera (5,970m) We move up to Camp 3 (Plaza Colera – 5,970m). From here, we have superb views of the highest peaks of the Central Andes. This is our final high-altitude camp. (5km, 4.5 hours)

Day 15 - Summit Day! We start climbing at 5:00 am and continue north to 6200m, then climb up to Independence Refuge (6,380m) for a short rest break. This is normally where we see the sun’s first rays of the day. We ascend the Portezuelo del Viento traverse, where we can experience strong winds, even on calm days. From here, we climb La Canaleta, a 300m rocky gully that is the crux of the ascent, which takes us to Filo del Guanaco, the ridge between Aconcagua’s two main summits. We turn left along the ridge, which leads us to the summit at 6,962m – we’re now standing on the highest point in the Western & Southern hemispheres and the highest point outside the Himalayan ranges. We descend to spend the night at Plaza Colera.

Day 16 - Descend to Base Camp Return from Camp 3 to Base Camp for a celebration dinner.

Day 17 & 18 - Spare Days Spare days for weather

Day 19 - Trek to Penitentes & return to Mendoza We begin the long descent from Plaza de Mulas to Penitentes (36km, 9 hours) for onward transport to our hotel in Mendoza City.

Day 20 - Fly Home End of services & fly home

Note - The exact climbing itinerary is not fixed to allow for the optimal acclimatisation program to take account of poor weather, such as inclement cold temperatures and storms