Ac – Confluencia

Today the team will begin the trek, heading for the first camp at Confluencia (3400m) which, as the name suggests is the meeting point of two turbulent mountain streams.  It is a beautiful camp on flat ground. The ‘stroll’  to Confluencia will take about 4 hours.   Here the crew will spend two nights, with an acclimatisation trek to Plaza Francia (4200m) tomorrow where they will get to see the South side of Mt Aconcagua.

Excerpt from Sean’s book ‘Freeze Frame’ (Seven Summits – Mt Aconcagua  2002 expedition)…’From Puente del Inca it is a short drive to the gate of the Aconcagua National Park.  Mt Aconcagua is not visible from the town, but soon after we left the outskirts, we crested a knoll to be met with our first sight of the brooding beast!  If Aconcagua were a comic book super hero, it would be the Incredible Hulk!  It is a beast of a mountain.  It does not have the picture postcard grandeur of the Alps, but the sheer size of this monster lump of rock is easily as breathtaking.  The south face is a 3-km high gigantic mass of stone.  It fills the sky east of the Chilean capital of Santiago and even 100km away at the Pacific coast, it can be seen standing guard over the Andes…’.

National Park Gate

Reflection of Ac

Rescue helicopter

Scene along the route

The trek to Confluencia

Confluencia

Tags: Confluencia, Mt Aconcagua, Plaza Francia