Book description
Extended and updated new edition of the definitive guidebook to
climbing Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America. At 6962m,
Aconcagua is the highest peak outside the Himalayas and is accessible to
both trekkers and mountaineers. Route descriptions up the Normal and
Polish Glacier routes, plus trekking routes in the Argentinian and
Chilean southern Andes and the Maipo Volcano. Outstanding maps and
photographs. The guide provides all the practical information on getting
to South America, using time in Santiago and Mendoza (en route to the
mountains) to prepare, and travel into the mountains. It also covers
preparation for high altitude mountaineering - equipment, altitude and
acclimatisation. In addition it provides strategies for the ascent,
including preparations, food and water, whether to have a guide or not,
mules and muleteers, and staying healthy. Finally, the author provides
background information to help you gain the most from your experience -
on the exploration and discovery of the mountain and the surrounding
region, its geology, wildlife and flora, the people and local culture.
An engineer by profession, Jim Ryan has travelled, and written
extensively, on some of the great walks of the world, in Nepal, Lesotho,
Tanzania and on the island of Reunion. Aconcagua and the region around
it made a great impression on him on his first expedition there almost
10 years ago.
