Aconcagua
The Highest Mountain Outside Asia (About 6,961 M) And One Of The Seven Summits; Protected As Parque Provincial Aconcagua, Created 1983. Coordinates Are The Summit · Las Heras, Mendoza
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the world outside Asia, at about 6,961 metres, and the highest in both the western and southern hemispheres. It rises in the Andes of Mendoza on the main road between Argentina and Chile, and most people who see it do so from a lagoon a short walk from the highway, with its huge south face filling the head of the Horcones valley. For climbers it is one of the Seven Summits and among the most attempted high peaks on earth, because the normal route needs no technical climbing skills. That is also what makes it dangerous: the altitude, wind and cold are fully Himalayan, climbers die on it most seasons, and roughly half of those who try do not reach the top. An expedition takes about three weeks, with mules carrying gear to base camp at Plaza de Mulas and compulsory medical checks on the way. Shorter permits let trekkers walk to Confluencia or the foot of the south face. The drive from Mendoza, through the high Andes past Puente del Inca, is spectacular in itself.
Ruta Nacional 7, Parque Provincial Aconcagua, Las Heras, Mendoza, Las Heras, Mendoza, M5545, Argentina
The Horcones entrance and the short viewpoint trail are open in daylight whenever the Andes road is open. The climbing and long-trekking season runs from roughly mid-November to late March; outside it, expeditions need special authorisation. Ruta 7 over the pass to Chile closes during winter snowstorms.