While sitting here in the airport in transit to Mendoza, a lively Argentine city known for remarkable wine, soft tender steaks, stunning women and of course the start town for the great Aconcagua adventure (the trip I am on my way to guide), my thoughts inevitably drift North to where the 6 expedition members who have signed up for this big climb are in their final stages of prep, counting out their socks, double checking their boot laces, figuring out how to pack a therma-rest in the same duffle as an ice axe, and wondering if the airline will forgive the 12 lbs of excess luggage or will that extra bag of gorp cost them $90 in fees?!?

A chilly ascent up the mighty Aconcagua

Before any trip I wonder what is going on in my clients minds these last few days? What are they expecting? Will they like it? Will we like each other? I am sure they are thinking the same!

I too underwent this very process not more than 10 hours ago; the loving caress given to each piece of gear has become a ritual of sorts, gathering my climbing essentials and carefully placing them in their respective place within my pack and duffle. Knowing that the next time I unravel my sleeping bag I will be on the approach to Aconcagua added its due sense of excitement to this age old process.

Summit day

Aconcagua is a mountain unto itself with up to 300 people reaching the summit on a good day. In the high-season months of January and February, Aconcagua climbers swarm to its slopes for as many reasons as there are climbers. For some Aconcagua has become the testing grounds for future expeditions to the higher peaks in the Himalaya, for others it represents the climax of a lifestyle change made long ago to be more active, fit and daring. For many the draw of Aconcagua is that it is one of the few “7 summits” that can be climbed without a long resume of technical accomplishments under your belt. For whatever reason, a climb up Aconcagua is a chance to test your endurance, perseverance and survival-ability on one of the most widely known, bitter cold slopes in the Americas.

The popularity of Aconcagua generates a sense of community among those whom are striving towards the summit. The basecamps of Aconcagua are places where an encouraging word, a congratulations, a good luck and be safe, are spoken in earnest and whether you are a friend, from the same country, or speak the same language, the backdrop of the mountain reminds everyone of their common objective and fills in the difference between climbing parties with a warm sense of bonhomie that is perhaps the essence of why we are drawn to such an adventure in the first place.

For more information on scheduled departures to Aconcagua or anywhere within the Cordillera Blanca with Skyline Adventures or any questions, check us out at www.skyline-adventures.com or send us an email to info@skyline-adventures.com