Climb Aconcagua at 6962 meters

Entry requirements depend on your nationality. Citizens of many countries can enter Argentina without a visa for stays of up to three months, provided they hold a valid passport for the entire duration of their stay. For longer stays or other purposes, a visa corresponding to the actual reason for the stay is required. Check with the Argentine consulate or embassy in your home country and with your national foreign affairs ministry before booking, as conditions may change.

What is the Aconcagua climbing permit and how do I obtain it? Access to Aconcagua Provincial Park requires a mandatory permit for any route. For the 2025/2026 season, the fee for non-Latin American foreign visitors ranges from USD 1,170 (Horcones route with assistance) to USD 2,000 (Vacas route without assistance). The permit is obtained in person at the Dirección de Recursos Naturales Renovables office in Mendoza before setting off for the mountain, with a valid passport. Fees are set in US dollars and may change each season; check with the Mendoza provincial authorities for the current season’s rates.

This varies depending on the package and the season. It is strongly recommended to confirm explicitly with the team before booking, in order to understand precisely what is included in the displayed price and what remains the participant’s responsibility.

No vaccination is mandatory to enter Argentina. Routine vaccinations (diphtheria, tetanus, polio, hepatitis A) should be up to date before departure. The Aconcagua area is located in a high-altitude Andean zone where malaria is absent; no antimalarial prophylaxis is needed for this destination. Consult a travel health physician for personalised advice based on your medical history.

The primary risk is acute mountain sickness (AMS), which can progress to serious conditions such as high-altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPE) or high-altitude cerebral oedema (HACE). Both require immediate descent if severe symptoms appear. The acclimatisation programme built into each itinerary is designed to reduce this risk significantly. Frostbite is an additional hazard, particularly on summit day, when temperatures can be extreme and winds exceptionally violent.

Insurance specifically covering high-altitude mountaineering activities is essential. It must include medical repatriation and helicopter evacuation costs. Rescue helicopter operational limits are generally between 5000 m and 6000 m; above that altitude, evacuation is carried out on foot until a point accessible by air is reached. The policy must explicitly cover the maximum altitude of the expedition (6962 m) to be fully valid.

Argentina is generally considered a safe destination for travellers. Standard precautions apply in major cities such as Mendoza and Buenos Aires. On the mountain, daily weather monitoring by the guiding team is a key safety element at high altitude. Check your national foreign affairs ministry website for regularly updated travel advisories before departure.

The normal route does not require technical mountaineering skills: no roped climbing or technical ice technique is needed. It does, however, demand excellent physical fitness and solid experience of high-altitude hiking. Prior experience above 4500 m is a genuine advantage for a successful acclimatisation process. The Polish Glacier route requires a basic level of mountaineering ability, including crampon use and ice axe technique.

Acclimatisation is the main challenge on Aconcagua, and preparation should reflect this. A sustained cardiovascular training programme over several months before departure is expected, with regular outings in the mountains, ideally above 3000 m. A medical certificate of fitness for sustained high-altitude effort is generally required at the time of registration.

The normal route and the traverse are graded Easy (F) on the alpine scale; their main challenge is physical and altitude-related rather than technical. The Polish Glacier route is graded Slightly Difficult (PD), with glacier sections requiring crampons and an ice axe, and a demanding 1100 m elevation gain between 6000 m and 6962 m on summit day.

The climbing season runs from early December to mid-February, during the austral summer. This period offers the most favourable weather conditions, although high-altitude winds remain a constant and sometimes decisive challenge on summit day. December and January departures concentrate the majority of ascent attempts.

Three routes are available. The normal route, from the northwest face (base camp Plaza de Mulas), is the most accessible and most frequently climbed option. The traverse starts from the east side and crosses to the north side, offering a complete circuit of the mountain in a wilder and more remote setting. The Polish Glacier route, from the east side, is the most alpine and the most physically demanding option, with a particularly intense summit day. The choice depends on previous mountaineering experience, personal appetite for commitment and available budget.

Programmes start from €7,950 for the normal route and the traverse (21 days) and from €12,950 for the Polish Glacier route (22 days). These prices do not include the international flight. Additional costs to budget for include the climbing permit (official USD fee depending on the route chosen), high-altitude specific insurance, personal technical equipment and expenses in Mendoza at the start and end of the trip.

No, the international flight is not included in the displayed prices. The usual arrival airport is Buenos Aires (Ezeiza), from which a domestic flight or a bus connection leads to Mendoza, the departure city for all Aconcagua expeditions.

Programmes accept between 1 and 15 participants. Solo registration is entirely possible, allowing you to join a group that is forming. Full privatisation of the expedition is also available for groups wishing to travel together, on request.

Expeditions are led by professional mountain guides. On the normal route and the traverse, porters are available to carry collective equipment, allowing participants to focus fully on their progression and acclimatisation. The maximum group size of 15 participants ensures personalised follow-up throughout the ascent.

Each participant’s acclimatisation is monitored throughout the expedition. In the event of acute mountain sickness symptoms, the guiding team has the appropriate protocols in place and can decide on a precautionary descent. Specialised altitude medicine resources, including IFREMMONT the group’s medical partner, are available if needed.

Yes. At 6962 m, Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America and one of the seven summits of the Seven Summits challenge. It also features in the Grand Slam and other multi-continent high-altitude challenges. It is the second most visited summit in the world after Kilimanjaro.