Blog

Written by Robert Kyte

We are so excited to announce our return to the famed 360° Route for the 2022 climbing season!

There exists a multitude of reasons why Aconcagua should sit high on any mountaineer’s to-do list. At 6962 meters (22,837 ft.), Aconcagua is the tallest summit in South America and thus one of the storied Seven Summits, making it the perfect jumping-off point for anyone with Himalayan aspirations. Additionally, the 360° Route offers non-technical climbing all the way to the summit: consisting almost entirely of dirt and the occasional seasonal snowfield,…

By preacclimatizing at home before the start of the trip, our teams spend a mere 14 days attempting Aconcagua, versus the industry standard of 21+ days.

“That’s the beauty of the Rapid Ascent system — it distills the experience down to where you get ALL the altitude challenge ALL the incredible uniqueness of the place without spending so many days that perhaps your trip gets sidelined by external factors like work, sickness, or family obligations. Rapid Ascent enables us to start climbing…

In our last post, we talked about the team of Justin and Topo on their Aconcagua Rapid Ascent™, taking on the Polish Direct Route. Here’s an update on their progress.

The guys had a final good night of rest in base camp, and in the morning they finalized all packing and sent a few loads of camp gear up the mountains with porters.  The first reports of challenging weather were beginning to trickle in and Topo was seeing a forecast that included a big wind event on the horizon. The plan at this point…

Normally, Alpenglow Expeditions Rapid Ascent™ teams climb the “360 route” on Aconcagua. The 360 route begins in Plaza de Argentina and ascends a less traveled route up the mountain, allowing our teams to move quickly by avoiding the crowds of the more popular Plaza de Mulas side of the peak. After attaining the summit, these teams descend the opposite side of the mountain ending their climb in Plaza de Mulas.

In January of 2020 though, we have a single climber in a 1:1 guide ratio led by Esteban “Topo”…

You’ve gotten a taste of high altitude in Ecuador, Peru or Bolivia – and now you’re probably thinking about your next step in the high peaks of the world. Whether you’re on The Road to Everest or just looking to test yourself at higher altitudes, climbing Aconcagua is the perfect next step after you’ve conquered peaks in the 5000m – 6000m range.

A Rapid Ascent™ team leaving base camp on Aconcagua

You have been to 6000 meters, and you felt great. Now you’re ready to test yourself at…

Aconcagua Rapid Ascent – Update From the Mountain

Alpenglow’s first Aconcagua Rapid Ascent team of the season is currently (December 29) at camp 2 on Aconcagua dealing with windy conditions but feeling strong and in good spirits. But first, a little recap of what’s happened so far…

Smooth Arrivals, Quickly into the Mountains

Bus ride to Penitentes.

Between Saturday (December 22) and Sunday (December 23), all 8 clients arrived safely in Mendoza and were picked up by guides Jaime Avila and Carla Perez. No missing baggage made the transition smooth and before we knew it the whole team…

Cumbre!!

We’ll go with the most exciting news first – this morning at 10am local time we had 4 members of our climbing team summit Aconcagua. Conditions were breezy up there but winds were noticeably less than forecasted. Our teams are psyched they stuck it out and pushed up the mountain looking for that coveted summit window, and they sure did find it!

The Final Push

Prior to the successful summit push this morning, the climbing team made solid moves from camp 1 to camp 2 on January 29th, with everyone feeling pretty good as the altitude progressed. They spent two nights at…

We last left off with the team heading to Camp 1 on Aconcagua. That day Adrian’s team made it up in a peppy 3.5 hours. The next team followed up with a nice time themselves, 5 hours to camp 1 and everyone feeling good. Our porter team keeps treating us well, and the climbers were super happy to see a spread of charcuterie for lunch upon arrival. Weather for the climbing that day was perfect – sunny and calm in the morning while they made their move. The wind decided to pick up in the afternoon though and was at…

Just a few short days ago, our team of 6 coalesced in Mendoza from various parts of the U.S. and South America. The lead guides for this group are the one and only Adrian Ballinger who is working alongside the man the myth the legend, Jaime Avila. Dinner of course was delicious as it always is in Mendoza accompanied by world class Malbec wines. The easy going atmosphere wouldn’t last long though as the next day the team was in a shuttle heading towards the town of Penitentes where the plan was to hitch a ride with the local helicopter to base…

The cold temperatures of fall here in the northern hemisphere reminds us that the Aconcagua climbing season is coming into view. This season Alpenglow Expeditions has eight different expeditions to South America – 2 in Ecuador, 1 in Patagonia, and 5 separate teams heading to the tallest peak outside of Asia, the one and only Aconcagua. We love this time of year as our South American expeditions are truly special to our entire program.

Ecuador is Next on the tick list…

Our first team arriving in Ecuador aims to climb Cotopaxi (conditions dependent, more on that in a moment) in 5 days…