Aconcagua has a variety of Routes, and covers all the mountaineering levels.
The Normal Route or Northern Route requires a strong physically and mentally endurance, with all the climbing skills and equipment requirements of a Big mountain (over 18,000 ft.)
An excellent fitness, a proper acclimatization, a good logistic service and experienced, trustworthy guides, increases the success possibilities for all climbers.
Aconcagua, with an altitude of 6.962 meters high (22,842 ft), has (33) thirty-three different routes.
1-Sun Line (12-1-1988)
Slavko Sveticic and Milan Romih. It goes up the south edge from Sargento Mas' Col not from the gulch with the same name, going by the "Cerro Pirámide". Graduation: ED, VII, A3, 90º.
2-Yugoslavian or Slovenian (1982)
Gantar Zlatko, Iván Rejc, Pavel and Peter Podgornik. The South summit is reached through the southern mixed pillar (VI, A3, 90º). You can only climb it during the first or the last hours of the day.
3-Polish variant(31-1-1987)
Leszek Cichy and Ryszard kotakowski. Entrance of 1.000 m (V, 90º), being this different from the southern ram next to the Central corridor. It is so far the most difficult route in Aconcagua.
4-Yugoslavian or Slovenian variant(22-1-1982)
Slavko Sveticic, Milan Crnilogar, Igor Skamperle and Bodgan Biscak. It joins the Frech route in the base of the Big Towers.
5-The French route, La Paragot (25-2-1954)
Robert Paragot, Lucien Berardini, Guy Poulet, Adrien Dagory, Edmond Denis and Pierre Lesueuer. This is the first route that goes up the wall. It travels the central ram. The camps are located at 4.900 (16,076ft), 5.800 (19,029ft), 6400 (20,998ft) and 6.700 meters high (21,982 ft).
6-Argentinean Inferior Variant
Gustavo and Daniel Pizarro straighten a bit the entrance of the French Route. If it was not considered as a distinct route, it would mean the non classification of other routes.
7- Argentinean Superior Variant (February, 1992)
Gustavo and Daniel Pizarro. It was opened during the course of the same climbing of the above route. It abandons the Messner route in a ram with a difficulty of V+.
8- Messner Exit (23-1-1974)
Messner (Jörgl Mayer). It goes from the Superior glacier towards the left, for slopes of 55º toward a water-course among both summits in the "Arista del Guanaco". The camps were at 5.200 (17,061ft) y 6.000 meters high (19,686ft).
9- Japanese Variant (29-1-1981)
Hironobu Kamuro and Masayoshi Yamamoto. This is another variant of the French exit. After the Superior glacier, it goes towards the North summit, climbing a ram of broken rock that is on the right and that is almost unmarked. The camps were at 5.200 (17,061ft) y 6.100 meters high (20,014ft).
10- The Russian roulette (1988)
Slavko Sveticic and Milan Romih. It confronts the seracs (95º) and it joins the Central route in the intermediate glacier.
11-The Central Route or Fonrouge/ Schonberger (9-2-1966)
The Argentinean José Luis Fonrouge and the Austrian Hans Schonberger. This route goes all throughout the Intermediate glacier and joins with the French route before confonting the the seracs barrier. Camps at 6.290 (20,637ft), 6.400 (20,998ft) and 6.800 meters high (22,310ft). This is the easyest route of the wall but the most dangerous due to the landslides from the Superior Glacier.
12-French Direct Route(22-1-1985)
Pierre Raveneau, Jean Marcel Dufour, Bernard Vallet and Jean Pierre Chassagne. From the Central it attacks the Southeast ram and is connected to the Argentinean at 6.000 meters high (19,686ft) in the superior glacier.
13- Slovenian Route(1986)
Milan Romih and Danilo Tic. Till the moment …
However, in the recopilation made by Alegandro Randis in 1983, it represents a variant of the Central ascending to the left of the previous one.
14- Argentinean Route or Pasic Route(2-2-1966)
Omar Pellegrini and Jorge Aikes. The longest and the safer on the wall. The camps are at 4.800(15,748ft), 5.400 (17,717ft), 6.000 (19,686ft) and 6.400 (20,998ft) meters high. It ascends over a seracs stair that connects the Relinchos snowdrift, also called Pasic Glacier, with the Superior glacier.
15-Southeast Edge(24-2-1966)
Rolf Röcker, Tomar Horak y Dieter Sause. It goes from Plaza Argentina to the Pasic Glacier and reaches the Esat edge to join the Route of the East Glacier. This route has been made going from Plaza Francia, crossing through the
16-Argentinean Route or Route of the East Glacier(27-1-1978)
Guillermo Vieiro, Edgardo Porcellana and Jorge Jasón. It goes all throughout the East Glacier, which is also called the English glacier. The three men opening this route had to do six vivacs during an alpine style climbing. The glacier is divided into three part. It does not surpass 50º and it joins the East boundary at 6.200 meters high (20,342ft). At this point emerges a 400 meters rock wall which is quite bad, with a first exposed strech of V+.
17-Polish Glacier(8-3-1934)
Stefan Daszynski, Stefan Osiecki, Wiktor Ostrowski and Konstanty Narkiewicz-Jodko. It goes all throughout the Polish Glacier from 5.600 m by its right side. It has a constant inclination of about 40º-45º. The caps are at 5.500 (18,045ft), 5.900 (19,357ft), 6.350 (20,834ft) (going by Piedra Bandera) and the last one at 6.800 meters (22,310ft) Nowadays, the summit can be reached during the day if taken this route starting from Nido de Cóndores. It is a desired aim of many skiers.
18-Polish Variant
The most common variation among the possible ones, crosses the glacier through its center,…the seracs and arrives at the East edge. In "El Cuello de la Botella" this route is harder that the original one.
19-Direct Route to the Polish Glacier (Jan. 1961)
Orlando Bravo, Tato Bellomio y Dado Liebich. It goes by the left side of the glacier and presents similar difficulties to the original one. In the part called "Cuello de Botella", the slope becomes more steep. Nowadays, this route is more visited than than the original, due to the fact that is located nearer when walking from Nido de Condores to Berlin.
20-Altoaragonés Variant (18-1-1995)
Javier Subías, José Antonio Hidalgo, José Vilalta y Javier Alvira. A number of corridors arrive at the Polish Glacier at 5.900 meters high (19,357ft), with a maximun inclination of 75º and steps of IV+; after a long crossing at 6500 mts (21,326ft) they join again with the Direct route.
21-False of the Polish
It is a long diagonal crossing from an altitude of 5.900 mt (19,357 ft) (Polish Camp II) searching the Normal route between Piedras Blancas and Independencia. It can be done the other way about as a possibility of coming back from the summit. This is relatively common due to the glacier conditions or just to change the landscapes. It is an easy route.
22-Crossing from Nido de Cóndores to Polacos
This is also possible in the inverted direction. It can be done by almost anywhere.
23-Crossing from Berlin to Polacos
Going by this route is common to join the Polish Direct Route before reaching the Cuello de Botella.
24-North Face (27-1-1986)
Claudio Schranz. Starting from Berlin it is easy. The complication begins when trying to find the path between the corridors and the
25-Normal, Southwest (14-1-1897)
Matthias Zurbriggen. This is the first route of the mountain, the easiest and the most visited one
26-The Direct one (April 1991)
Luis Miguel López Soriano and Ángel Martín Martínez. From Canada Camp, it opens towards the North ram of the West Wall. It is located near the Normal one, at a distance of 650 mt. Rocky path (III), at 5600 mt (18,373) and a corridor at 50º. It finishes in the entrance of the Canaleta (Great channel).
27-Route of the Mendocinean Guides
Alejandro Randis, Rodolfo Gabrielli, Arturo Lafalla, Daniel Rodríguez, Jorge Giaquinta, Carlos Santilli y Domingo Álvarez. It goes by the right side of the Normal one and by the left side of the Southwest edge. The camp are located at 5150mt (16,897 ft) and 5750 mt (18,865 ft).
28 -West face, West Edge(January 1965)
Gene Mason, Ralph Mackey and Richard Hill. It goes out of the …to join the great…, at 5.800m (19,298 ft), at the right side of the Antártida refuge. There are passages of bad rocks till the South Summit. There is a camp at 5200mt (17,061 ft).
29-Mendocinean route. Route of the Tapia de Felipe (January 1988)
Daniel Rodríguez and Daniel Alessio. It begins going by the west edge searching the entrance of the corridor of the Esteban Escaiola route. Then they leave this corrridor on the left side to place themselves almost in the vertical line of the summit, going by a narrow dangerous channel, with rock barriers and ice falls. This route can be also started by the Canada camp. Three camps.
30-Esteban Escaiola route (1991)
Carlos Varela and Antonio Mir. They climb … of rocks on the South of Plaza de Mulas and then a couloir that surpasses the superior steps of the West face and then go to the right side towards the South Summit. The camps are at 4800mt (15,748 ft).
31-Southwest edge, Ibáñez/ Grajales/ Marmillod route(23-1-1953)
Francisco Ibáñez, Fernando Grajales and Frederic and Doris Marmillod. This is a difficult route to follow. From the… it looks for a key channel of the West Face that goes through several subsidiary channels till first finding two vertical towers and then to the left to reach the Grajales couloir. This couloir flows into the South Edge at 6.700mt (21,9827 ft) and then into the South Summit. The camps are at 5300 mts (17,389 ft), 5700 mts (18,701 ft) and 6400mts (20,998 ft).
32-Variant of the Southwest edge, Zabaleta variant (2-1-1979)
Martín Zabaleta, Xavier Erro and Joan Hugas. Instead of choosing the channel next to Cerro Piramide under the Marmillod towers, they overcome big steps of bad rock till they find a platform under a…that flows into the Grajales couloir. The camps are at 5300mts (17,389ft), 5500mts (18,045 ft), another one at an unknown altitude, and at 6.400 mts (20,998 ft)
33-Mendocinean route, variant of the Mendocineans (1982)
Carlos Sansón and Sergio Buglio. It goes by the South edge from the quebrada del Sargento Mas and the Cerro piramide summit. To reach the edge, it makes a land crossing and then an aerial ram. It makes a rappel from the Cerro Piramides to take the Grajales couloir.
The Polish´s Glacier Route is a High altitude Ice Climb, of moderated difficulty for the intermediate climbers. This route requires good Ice Climbing acknowledge, and provides an excellent training and experience in high altitude for climbers preparing to the Himalayas. (*)
Whatever the chosen route, the main difficulties for Aconcagua climbers are the high altitude and the extreme weather. The prize for climber's dedication and hard work is the highest summit of the western hemisphere.
