In planning my food requirements for my upcoming trip to climb Aconcagua I am trying to find a source for energy bars, energy gel packs, protein bars, cliff bars...... or something similar in Mendoza. I would rather buy them there than take them with me on the plane.

I'm not real partial to any one brand or flavor. I'm more concerned whether they are to be found in town at the grocery or one of the gear stores. I have sent this question off to INKA as well and hope they have some feed back. The more I can buy there the better. It saves on weight and space and also supports the local economy in Mendoza. Every little bit helps .

I have located a couple gear stores in town but haven't found a website for any of them. If you know of any gear stores with a website please post it and I'll contact them directly.

Thank you.... or should I say Gracias (my Spanish is horrible )

Travis

Try posting this on the South America section. In a city of a million people, I'm sure you'll find something (try supermarkets and drugstores in the more upscale/touristy areas of town). Worst case, dried sausage travels quite well. Try the naturally freeze-dried potatoes, too. But skip the donkey noses, they have a bad calorie / weight x bulk ratio and take forever to cook.

I'm sure the INKA people can give you specific store names if you feel you need that info in advance of your trip.

When I was in Mendoza prior to heading out to Aconcagua, I found everything I needed in the local supermarkets incl energy bars. I don't remember the name but there is a pretty big gear store right on the main drag in the center of the city.

Thanks guys but I'm looking specifically for Energy bars, energy gels or chews. More so things like GU packs. My body does well with these and they are a good source of carbs when you need them. Plus they are small. I'm getting mixed responses from various sources on what is available to purchase down there.

I'm just trying to avoid having to take everything with me from the states and avoid surcharges on overweight bags and other fees. Just trying to plan ahead so I'm not looking all over town for things. INKA has come back and said there are some but not many energy bars for sale there. They also said they were very expensive at $3 a piece but didn't know much else. I can live with $3/bar. That's not terribly priced.

I'm not sure which energy bars you want, but searching online shows they are typically available for $1.00 - $1.50 per bar. If you are saving $1.50 - $2.00 per bar, it seems like you would make up for any overweight baggage fees pretty quickly.

Cab, don' take this the wrong way but have you flown anywhere recently? $200 per overweight bag for my United flights and that's one way. Plus there could be fees for oversized bags as well. It can add up in a hurry. Gosh only knows what the extra costs could be on the connecting flights in SA. I don't want to chance it so i was hoping to find as much as I can in Mendoza.

Yes, I have been on a plane before. I was in England just a few weeks ago.

International flights typically allow two checked bags at 50 lbs each. In addition, you are allowed a carry-on bag which would get you a little more weight so you could probably bring nearly 120 lbs of gear for free.

I'm headed to Aconcagua this year as well and don't plan on bringing that much weight. I'm flying American Airlines and their rules say that you are only allowed 1 50 lb bag for trips to SA, but there are many exceptions (including if you have purchased a full fare economy class ticket) that allow you to bring an additional 50 lb bag without any additional charge:

The following passengers will be allowed a 1st and/or 2nd checked bag at no additional charge provided it falls within the size and weight limitations. These free checked bag allowances apply on flights operated by American Airlines, American Eagle and American Connection®. On flights operated by other carriers, different baggage charges may apply. Be sure to check your itinerary and receipt to see which airlines’ charges apply.

-For customers traveling to or from destinations in Brazil, Chile and Peru
-Customers who purchase full-fare tickets in Economy Class
-Customers who purchase Business or First Class tickets
-Active U.S. Military personnel traveling on orders or personal travel
-Active U.S. Military dependents traveling on orders
-American Airlines AAdvantage® Executive Platinum AAdvantage Platinum or AAdvantage Gold members
-Alaska Airlines MVP Gold 75K, MVP Gold and MVP members
oneworld alliance Emerald, Sapphire or Ruby members
-Customers flying on the same reservation as an American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum, AAdvantage Platinum or AAdvantage Gold member or oneworld alliance Emerald, Sapphire or Ruby member regardless of frequent flyer status or fare type (not applicable to group bookings)
-First and Business Class MileSAAver® Awards
-First, Business and Economy Class AAnytime® Awards
-First and Business Class upgrades confirmed prior to check-in

Maybe United has different rules, I'm not sure.

For those flying to SA from the USA, LAN has good baggage allowances. I just booked this morning for Aconcagua actually. Two checked bags at 50lbs each plus carry-on.

If United really charges $200 each way for an overweight bag they'd never get my business, that's beyond insane. I was under the impression that only LAN and Aero Argentinas flew into Mendoza anyway.

There is a difference between extra bag charges, and overweight bag charges. For flying American from the US to South America, you get 1 bag up to 50 lb free, second bag up to 50 lb is free given the conditions cab noted above. If you don't meet those conditions the second bag is $70. If a bag is 50-70 lb, the overweight charge on it is $100 and if 70-100 lb, it is $200. This is all listed on their website.

You should also check the bag limits on connecting domestic flights. American and LAN are partners, so on some (but not all) flights you can buy a domestic LAN segment as part of a single ticket with your American flights. This has some advantages.

Unfortunately on United on the the flights I have you only get 1 bag free. It appears my second bag would run only $100 each way as opposed to the $200 that I quoted earlier. I contacted United with my flight #'s and that is what they said. It's still an extra $200 I'd like to avoid if I can. So I'm sorting out things that can be purchased or hopefully purchased there.

I think a dry run with a scale is in order one of these weekends. I am taking all of own gear and not renting anything so I don't think it's going to take too long to fill a 50lb bag and one carry on.

Thanks for the insight everyone.

Herdbull, what route are you doing? Our team is doing the Polish Glacier, arriving Dec. 17th.

One consideration when planning gear is the cost of mules. Especially if you're going the Plaza Argentina side where it's $360 each way (!) for one mule (60kg).

I'm bringing energy gels since I doubt they're available. And a few Mountain Houses that may get confiscated anyway. Everything else I'll pick up at Wal-Mart.

I already have the mules lined up but thanks.

Confiscate Mtn House???? Really, this is the first I've heard of that. I was planning on bringing quite a few with me from the states. Anyone else had this problem?

Check the post from Damien Gildea here:

http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB3/food-in-chile-argentina-t63520.html

Thanks for the heads up. After a bit more research and some digging I don't think there's much to worry about with taking the Mtn. House or other prepackaged dehydrated meals with you. Just leave them sealed and in the original packaging and you should be alright. Other things will for certain get their attention though but for me it's just the dehydrated meals I want to take. And maybe some energy gels/bars if i have the room and weight left to fill.

I was going to re-vacuum pack some of my meals but I think I'll forgo that idea just to be on the safe side. Sounds like it makes sense to declare everything you have and don't try to hide anything or you might run into trouble.

mtvalley wrote:Herdbull, what route are you doing? Our team is doing the Polish Glacier, arriving Dec. 17th.

sorry bout that. I am taking the normal route through PDM.

Good luck!