At 22837 feet (6960 metres) above sea level Cerro Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayan Range. Twenty odd years ago when I was lean and fit and hardened with many high altitude treks I toyed with the idea of attempting an ascent. This mountain is not a technical climb at all and is more of a high altitude trek with the need for crampons near the top but nothing more. For whatever reason this never happened but I still have Aconcagua on my bucket list to see and photograph.
As luck would have it it is an easy 2 hour drive up from Mendoza along a sealed road that zig zags up the Andes and right over to Chile.
In fact, Aconcagua straddles the border between Argentina and Chile and is actually in the “no man’s land” section of the road between customs check points. I have rented a car and leaving Mendoza, early morning cloud clears to blue skies as I drive up with the stark, dry brown Andes rising sheer before me. Further upwards and we arrive at the town of Puente del Inca very close to the border. The translation is Bridge of the Inca which refers to the limestone formation that straddles a deep valley. In 1835 Charles Darwin visited this place and in the early 20th century a spa was constructed making use of the thermal hot springs. Visitors and patients would take the long train up and the tracks and station is still there.
At about this time my GPS ceased to function and I was anxious of crossing too far especially as things are not well signposted here. Luckily I found the park entrance at a windswept saddle and got the view and a walk around the base of the mountain at 9000 feet above sea level.
