Hi,

wondering if anyone knows if one can leave excess gear at the Hotel Refugio (think that's the name) at Plaza de Mulas basecamp whilst climbing the mountain. Anyone know? If not, what does one do with stuff that one has brought along to Argentina but doesn't want to drag up the mountain?

Anything can be done at basecamp with pesos.

We hired Inkas to haul our gear to Plaza del Mulas and they stashed our extra gear there for free while we were at the higher camps. We didn't hire them for anything else yet they were great to us the whole time. They drove us to/from Peunta del Inca and the trailhead, let us use their latrines, let us camp in their designated area, gave us hot water every morning (while we were at base camp), all at no extra charge. Other mule operators probably offer similar services.

We went with Rudy Parra / Aconcagua Trek for mules. http://www.rudyparra.com/ Stuff we didn't want to even take to base camp we stored with them at their facilty at Los Puquios. It is then typical for people to camp around their outfitter at Mules. One reason is the required Toilet Service. This is typically included with mules.

When we moved up to Nido we left some things in a tent at Mules. By this time we had gotten to know other people around us. You can buy whatever level of service you want.

The hotel is a bit of a walk from Mules. While you might be able to store things there, it would be an extra side trip packing gear. I would check with who ever you hire mules & toilet from.

Thanks for the beta, guys. Approximately how much are the muleteers? Also, how difficult are the river crossings without them? Depending on the price, my partner & I were thinking of hiking to BC without mules.

Rudy has the mule prices posted on his web site. It is based on weight. It would be a long slog with your gear.

The couple river crossings that would be an major issue have bridges. There were a few lesser crossings where I had to look for the best spot. I never got my feet wet.

You don't travel with the mules unless you want to pay a bunch extra. The mules do a round trip each day. It would be possible for some to walk in in one day, but most people take 2 or 3 days. A lot of people do a third day (2 nights at Confluencia) for acclimation.

Confluencia is about 1/3 of the way. By the time we got our stuff checked with the mules and taken to the trailhead it was late enough in the day for Confluencia to be a nice hike. Confluencia to Mules was the longer day.

We paid $120(USD) each way in Dec 2005 for mules to carry gear for 2 people. It really is a long slog to Plaza del Mulas. I think it is about 18 miles and 4000ft gain. It would take most mortals 3 days to do that carrying a heavy load.

The river crossings weren't bad when I was there, but that could obviously vary on any given year depending on the amount of precipitation, temperature, time of day, etc. (I never even got the tops of my boots wet, but I'm a good rock hopper - and I was only carrying gear for a couple of days.)

If you're trying to reduce costs, you might consider having them pack your gear going to Plaza del Mulas and then carry your gear out. If you change your mind after you summit, just tell the BC manager the night before and they will arrange mules for you then next morning.

120 each way for one mule? I payed 80 each way for one mule. I did not understand why going up the main valley to the climb to mules basecamp I saw most people on the left side of the rivers, there is no reason to cross the rivers. Diggler take my advise or not, stay on the right side of the rivers. And save yourself for the mountain, use the mules. It`s a hot dusty trail and the last push up to mules would not be a fun one with a full pack. Also with no guiding you will soon learn even in Mendoza they help ya out even in the city with minor stuff. Take my advise or not,you do not pay for your permit at the tourist climbing main office, you need to go down the street and pay for it at a lil store. If I were you I would first go into the tourist climbing office and ask first where you pay,maybe each year the place to pat changes, do not wait in line, just go ask. It will save you a bunch of time especially if it is a busy morning.

Thanks for all the info, guys- much appreciated! Will contemplate the mules (initially thought it'd be more). We plan on hanging out at Plaza de Mulas for 2-3 days before starting up again. From there, we plan to go up the SW ridge (Ibañéz-Marmillod) route. So hopefully those days will give us some time for recovery.