A friend and I are hoping to climb Aconcagua this coming February. As we will not be joining an organized expedition, a few questions have come up:

Are there appropriate lightweight foods (especially freeze-dried backpacking stuff) available in Mendoza at reasonable prices, or would it be best for us to bring these with us from the US? Generally, what is the food situation there?

Do the mule companies provide bags into which to place gear and packs for transport to the base camps, or will we be required to provide these?

Has pilferage and theft been a problem recently in the camps? Would a security device like a PacSafe bag be helpful in this regard, or are there other steps we could take to prevent gear loss?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

david

best to bring freeze-dried food from home - most food supplies (including gas) are readily available in mendoza - the larger supermarkets will have most of what you need - there is also an indoor farmer market that has great options for nuts, dried fruits, grain, produce, etc. - certain items (e.g. peanut butter) are hard to find, but dulce de leche is a fun alternative

the mule packers do not generally provide bags - backpacks and duffels are fine - you can get some potato/rice sacks at the farmer market (i think they call them fundos) - those things pack real well and they are quite sturdy

I had no trouble with theft, but I did keep a lock on my duffel bag - if you hire mules to take your stuff to plaza de mullas, the fee generally includes: cargo transport, use of a bag storage tent and a cook tent, a tent site (informally), and toilet privileges
bags

I got all my food in Mendoza no probs at the huge supermarkets. They don't carry the typical freeze dried food found in camping stores, but they had everything I needed.

For mules, I only took my backpack, and packed the food and, fuel and extra gear into smallish cardboard boxes which were stuffed into simple hessian type sacks provided by the mule operator which were then strapped to the mules. It worked out ok for me.

I believe there are freeze-dried foods available but are expensive so it might be best to bring these types of food from home. As others have pointed out you can most of what you may want at the large Carrefour Supermarket at the corner of Av. Belgrano and Av. Las Heras.

You can check with the mule service providers about containers for your loads going to base camp if you need them. I know that Fernando Grajales Expeditions will provide plastics barrels free of charge. We usually just use two large, heavy duty nylon duffles each.

At base camp I have never heard of any theft but that doesn't mean it want happen and I usually place everything I leave there in a large duffle, lock it and place it inside our mule service storage tent.

Good luck with your planning. If you need any more info send me an email.

Thanks to all for your imput; it is helpful. I'm sure I will have more questions. In fact, I sense some perculating right now...

Not trying to hijack this thread, but it seemed like adding to it would be better than starting a new one.

Just a few quick questions:

1) Is there Jetboil type fuel available in Mendoza? Suggestions on finding it quickly? Is it quality stuff that will light up at 18,000' or the spray-paint-can stuff that is iffy above 14,000'?

2) Guidebooks vague. If the Normal Route is "dry" where is water obtained? and is it consistently available into March?

3) Cold. Does it get warmer or colder into March? (assuming of course that weather is as weather does and no one really knows for sure, just a generality is good enough).

Thanks.