May 11, 2020 · Revista Cumbres
An interesting project called “Argentines to Aconcagua,” carried out last season, will be run again next summer by the company Argentina Extrema, the organization behind the initiative.
This is a program that, on one hand, aims to curb the trend of recent years of people tackling the continent's highest and most demanding mountain without the physical preparation or necessary experience. And on the other, “Argentines to Aconcagua” seeks to make this great mountain adventure economically accessible for Argentines.
“The world of high mountains has become an accessible world for tourists without much thought for the consequences,” sums up Griselda Moreno, an experienced mountain photographer who covered the expedition, a member of the Makalu Team. “Finding people climbing the continent's and the world's most important mountains without physical preparation and without experience climbing smaller mountains is a trend that has plagued mountaineering for several years now and is somewhat worrying.” The risks are real, not only for the life of the novice climber, but also for the group that eventually accompanies them, and for the people who must be deployed for avoidable evacuations.
Fernando Robledo and Leandro Scheurle, owners of Argentina Extrema, are the creators of the project, and Adrián “Roger” Cangiani, an experienced local guide, led the experience, which was successful, completed in the 2016 season.
On February 20th the expedition entered Aconcagua Provincial Park and on March 2nd part of the group reached the highest summit in the Americas. The support of the local firm “Juan Herrera Travel Service,” which handled logistics at the Plaza de Mulas and Confluencia base camps, was essential.
“Aconcagua via the normal route is not an unreachable goal reserved for experts, but to experience it fully you need proper preparation, without improvising,” adds Griselda, and lists, among other things, a thorough knowledge of one's own body and its reactions to altitude, understanding the bond and the experience one intends to have on the mountain, cultivating commitment and responsibility for oneself and one's companions to prevent accidents or bad experiences, and ultimately respecting the mountain and life itself.
Throughout the year, the group that will take on the highest summit in the world outside the Himalayas comes together. The program combines physical and mental preparation at this stage with outings to various smaller mountains. In the preparatory meetings, this fine-tuning is complemented with audiovisual work and specific talks.
Every month, outings to hills and mountains are organized with the group, focused on proper preparation for the big occasion. These preliminary expeditions include peaks such as Lanín, Tronador, Domuyo, Chañi and others. And immediately before Aconcagua, a climb up one of the peaks of the Cordón del Plata in Mendoza is proposed, as necessary acclimatization.
The groups are made up of Argentine men and women from different provinces, since the firm also offers remote advisory services, including equipment selection.
