East Ridge

Approach

This route begins at the Salto Base camp in the Cordon del Plata Mountains. Please refer to the main page for details on how to get to Vallecitos.

From the Vallecitos Ski Area, or one of the nearby refugios, head up the main valley (NOT the one with the ski lift) towards Las Vegas, or Las Veguitas, camp. This is an easy hike on a well defined trail. You will cross the main river drainage for the valley shortly after leaving the refugio area. From there, follow the trail along a more minor stream to the meadow which marks the Las Vegas Camp at 3200 meters (1-2 hours).

From Las Vegas, continue following the trail up the Valley to Camp 2 at Piedra Grande, elevation 3600 meters. This is another 2 hours up the mostly well defined trail.

Salto Base Camp is located at 4200 meters and is surrounded by rubble covered glaciers and glacial debris. This is another 4 hours or so up from Piedra Grande, depending on your level of fitness and degree of acclimitization. The trail is well defined the entire way from Piedra Grande to Salto.

Route Description

From Salto Base Camp, head North across the rubble strewn glacier to the main ridge leading down towards the East from Rincon's summit. Pick your route carefully to avoid the any steep ice faces and to arrive at an easy point across the valley stream. Ascend the scree covered slopes to the East Ridge, perhaps towards the minor summit at the beginning of the ridge. From the top of the ridge, follow the crest to the small snow filled col just below the steepest part of the climb. Water is available here on sunny summer days, and the snow fields are full of Penitentes up to 2 meters high.

The next portion of the climb is the most difficult. Either ascend the steep, scree covered slopes to the left of, or follow the rock directly on the crest of the main spur leading down from the summit plateau. You will likely end up doing a combination of the two, with some YDS 3 scrambling along the way. Approximately half-way up you can traverse over to the right hand side of the main spur, where easier scree covered slopes are encountered leading to the summit plateau. From here, it is a simple slog to the top of Cerro Rincon.

Essential Gear

Sturdy Hiking boots are all that is required for this climb. Trekking poles are highly recommended to aid your balance during ascent and descent of the steep scree slopes.

Miscellaneous Info

If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.

Images

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