To celebrate the New Year (and my second year on sabbatical, but who’s counting), I climbed Mount Aconcagua in Argentina last week. Aconcagua, at 22,841 feet/6,962 m, has several rather impressive statistics about it’s height:
Facts about Aconcagua: Height
- It’s the tallest mountain in South America. This makes it an uncontested member of the seven summits club. (Not all mountains are so lucky as there is some controversy regarding the European and Oceaniac peaks )
- It is the tallest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayan range.
- The current height was caused by the subduction of the Nazca Plate under the South American plate. This process started 8-10 million years ago and it largely responsible for the formation of the Andes range. (Sorry. Science teacher.)
The climb took about two weeks. We slept in tents in sub-zero temperatures and hiked for close to 15 hours on the summit day.
There were no showers. We ate our body weight in cous-cous. I cuddled my boot liners in my sleeping bag so they didn’t freeze to the ground. Near the base camp, I got to wear this cool outfit/disguise that made me look like a Wild West bank robber:
Overall? I had a great time. (Disclaimer: It’s not for everyone. As I’ve mentioned before, I like mountaineering. And I don’t particularly miss showers when they’re not around.)
Here’s a quick list of interesting facts about the mountain:
Three Fun Facts about Aconcagua (with pictures!):
The name Aconcagua has two possible meanings: ‘comes from the other side’ or ‘Sentinel of Stone’. Sentinel of Stone is the more popular translation, probably due to the vast expanses of otherworldly, rock-strewn surfaces.
Before getting up into the adorable ‘lifeless zone’ pictured above, there are areas populated by guanacos. These Argentinian llama-relatives are pictured on some of the camp signs (possibly to remind climbers that there are, in fact, areas of the planet with cute animal life.)
There is a significant glacier coverage on the mountain, which means that during most climbing years (including ours) you can drink untreated mountain water. (Again, not for everyone. Some people brought and used a healthy stockpile of water decontamination supplies.)
If you are considering a trip to Aconcagua, I highly recommend it. I travelled through Adventure Consultants and we used Aconcagua Vision as our local partner. Both organizations were wonderful.
Happy trails! One more picture below.
Seriously impressed, Ms. Schley! The photos are amazing. This must feel like a lifetime ago in these days of lockdown and restriction. I’ve had asthma since birth and tend not to do well at high altitudes; I feel sluggish when we go to Lake Tahoe (!). I really admire people with the discipline and commitment to meet the challenges Mother Earth presents to us. Hopefully you’ll get another opportunity sooner rather than later.