Argentina 

 

Exotic Land Of The Gauchos

 

Argentina is famous for its excellent beef, world class wines, and for losing to Great Britain in the 1982 Falkland Islands War. Argentina forms the eastern half of South America's long southern coast. It is the eighth largest country in the world, the second largest on the South American continent, and accounts for almost the entire southern half of South America. Argentina borders Chile to the west, and Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and Bolivia to the north and east.

Argentina's topography is affected by both latitude and altitude, and is generally grouped into four major physiographic divisions: the Andes to the west, with its arid basins, cultivated foothills, glacial mountains and the Lake District; the fertile lowland north, with subtropical rainforests; the central Pampas, comprised of flat expanses alternating between humid and arid; and Patagonia, a combination of pastoral steppes and glacial regions.

Our expeditions begin in Mendoza, a spotlessly clean city characterized by its wide, tree-lined streets, manicured parks and squares, and abundant nightlife.

Mendoza is the largest city in the Cuyo region, and has undergone extensive commercial, industrial and cultural development; it is the tourism center for the Andes Mountains, which includes Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere. After a night in Mendoza we transfer to the ski resort of Los Penitentes, where we begin our acclimatization and spend another night. The next morning we move to the trailhead of Punta de Vacas and begin our approach hike to Aconcagua basecamp.

Cerro Aconcagua (22,845’) is one of the world’s seven highest summits. Nevertheless, it is also a relatively easy mountain to climb and a great place to gain high altitude experience. Aconcagua has often been disparaged as a choss pile and a walk-up by armchair morons who spend their time on online climbing forums while toiling away at the cube farm. These are the same people who would likely get reaped in one of Aconcagua's frequent killer wind storms.

Our climbs on Aconcagua are the Polish Traverse via the Vacas Valley approach, and the Northwest Ridge (Ruta Normal).

Click on the links below to learn more about our Argentina expeditions, view itineraries, prices and dates, and to submit an Online Application. Join us for an exciting mountaineering adventure in Argentina!