MOUNTAIN HIGH CIRCUIT

HIGH MOUNTAIN

Polvaredas and Punta de Vacas From the town of Uspallata to Los Penitentes, along N° 7 National Route, and after crossing a succession of tunnels, we reach two outstanding locations: Polvaredas and Punta de Vacas.

Polvaredas (Dusts) is an old and empty train station at 2050 m.a.s.l. Its name is due to the intense dust raised by colliding wind currents. Very near, we will find Punta de Vacas, a village formed by several hamlets, and where there is a National Gendarmerie post.

From this location we can observe, in its full magnificence, the Cerro Tupungato Mountain, 6800 m.a.s.l, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Here we find one of the entrances to Aconcagua National Park.

The Andinista Cemetery
Further on, always along Ruta Nacional N° 7 National Route, we will find the Andinista Cemetery. It is a resting place for those who, coming from different parts of the world, lost their lives while trying to reach the Aconcagua summit. There are also plaques that honour missing mountaneirs. Among them, the Argentinean climber Nicolas Plantamura, who reached the summit the year 1934.

Penitentes
At 165 kms from the City of Mendoza, and at 65 kms from Uspallata, along N° 7 National Route, we find Los Penitentes, a winter resort with several hotels, hostels, apartments, coffee and pastry shops, restaurants and a service station.

It is located beside the Rio Las Cuevas River and the Santa Maria and Cruz de Caña Streams, at 2580 m.a.s.l, and owes its name to the surprising relief formations carved by erosion on the high slopes that resemble a procession of monks.

It has a skiing surface of 300 has, in 17 tracks of different degrees of difficulty. Their length ranges between 7,000 and 60,000 ms. It possesses eight different elevation systems such as chair lifts, ski lifts and carrousel. We can practice cross-country, Nordic and Alpine downhill skiing, competition ski, snow games, sledges, snowboard and snow scooters.

During summer time it also offers trekking, mountain climbing and landscape watching.

It is also an important meeting place for Andean mountain climbers who come,from all over the world, especially in summer, to climb the magnificent Aconcagua.

The Puente del Inca Bridge
At 71 kms from Uspallata, and at 2719 m.a.s.l, we find a natural geological bridge formation that crosses the Las Cuevas River. It has been declared a Natural Monument and was formed by thermal erosion caused by the sulphurous waters of the river, which gives it a peculiar ochre, reddish yellow and orange colouration. In winter it is practically covered by snow.

If we cross the Puente Del Inca towards the Andes mountain range, we will see three natural pools with thermal waters at a temperature between 33 °C and 39 °C, ideal for therapeutic treatments.

The excellent Hotel Puente del Inca was built in 1925, and was destroyed by a landslide in 1965. From that disaster, only La Capilla remains, a chapel built at the foot of the slope in 1902, and which has been reconstructed many times due to the avalanches it has withstood in this place.

In handicraft stores we can purchase various objects that have been petrified or solidified by the sulphurous waters of the region. Nearby there is a hostel visited by Andean mountain climber expeditions that come to climb the Aconcagua.

We suggest visiting it in summer or the beginning of autumn. In those seasons trekking and horse riding expeditions from Puente del Inca to Aconcagua are organised. They last between three and eleven days.

Los Puquios
It is a base camp for ascending the Aconcagua. On its right margin there is a group of five hot springs that became famous for their saline components, which can petrify objects in 40 days. It provides hostel services, shelters, lodging in a military zone, a post office, telephones, restaurants, stalls with petrified objects handcraft, and a ski lift for the ski grounds.

The Aconcagua Provincial Park
At 165 kms from the City of Mendoza, and at 75 kms from Uspallata, along N° 7 National Route, we find the Aconcagua Provincial Park, which holds the colossus of the Americas, The Cerro Aconcagua Mountain, at 6959 m.a.s.l.

It is a Protected Natural Area since 1983 and one of the 10 Natural Reservations that form the system of Protected Natural Areas of Mendoza Province. The Park holds big glaciers, which make an excellent reserve of fresh water. This area also has important archaeological sites.

It is the scenery preferred by Andean mountain climbers from the entire world. Its total surface borders 71000 has, and next to the Aconcagua a series of snow-capped mountains rise over 5,000 m.a.s.l. Amongst them we have Dedos, Tolosa, Mexico, Almacenes, Ameguino, Cuerno, Pan de Azucar, Cupula Güssfeldt, La Mano and Catedral.

The Aconcagua, Watchtower or Stone Sentinel, translated from quechua, shows imposing slopes that change colour, a rocky texture, snow-capped summits, enormous icicles, big moraines, subterranean rivers, streams, hanging glaciers, and perpetual snow.

On the Aconcagua Mountain, relative humidity is extremely low and oxygen percentage also diminishes and the low-pressure zones produced by the winds intensify these effects. It must be taken into account that Base Camps, from where the ascent begins, lie at more than 4,200 ms over sea level.

In 1883, the German climber Paul Güssfeldt, under adverse conditions, was able to reach only an altitude of 6560 ms, but he opened the way for future expeditions. The Swiss climber Mathias Zurbriggen wa the first one to reach the summit on January 14th, 1897.

The mountaintop is 12 kms from the border with Chile, and 18 kms from the international route. To the north and southwest lie the Los Horcones Gorge and valley, where the Los Horcones River runs; to the south lies the Horcones Inferior Lower River Gorge; to the north and east lies the Las Vacas Valley.

Access Route: Horcones
A few kilometres away from the Puente Inca Bridge, this is the most common ascent route. About 80 percent of the mountain climbers enter through here. At the beginning of the road we will find the Central Commanding Post of the Park in the Horcones Shelter. All managing activities of the Park are coordinated from this post. Through this route we reach the Plaza de Mulas (4300 m.a.s.l.), and the Plaza Francia (4200 m.a.s.l.) at the foot of the Pared Sur or Southern Wall. The intermediate camp is called Confluencia (3300 m.a.s.l.) and is four hours away from Horcones.

Access Route: Rio Vacas
Andean mountain climbers who attempt ascending through the Polish Glacier enter through here. The approach takes longer than it takes departing from Horcones and we reach Plaza Argentina, Base Camp at the foot of the glacier, at 4200 m.a.s.l. Approaching on foot takes about three days, and on the route we will find the Pampa de Leñas and the Casa de Piedra intermediate camps.