Ralph Waldo Emerson was right, he says " what you do speaks so loud that I can not hear what you say". Just go and do it. Do not talk about it. Just write a trip report afterward.

Stayed out of this one for a while.
- not something I would recommend.
- 10 days wont allow you to summit let alone acclimatize properly unless you live at altitude.
- if you just want to ski up and down the Horcones Valley and possibly up to Nido des Condores once, that is all the time you would have. The snow conditions would have to cooperate. The original base camp at lower Plaza de Mulas was complete destroyed by avalanche years ago. If you see that tangled mess you can imagine the avalanches that happen in the winter season.
- You would have to dress like you were doing Everest in Winter. Meaning you would also have to haul all that gear yourself. On sled I imagine. A lot of work for a non summit. Remember on this side you do not see the mountain much just a series of ridges all the way. (some steep). And while beautiful there are so many better places that others have recommended at this time of year to use your energy.
- If you had 3 weeks and had lots of experience at altitude, the ability to withstand the extreme weather and ascertain the snow conditions. It might be possible. People have done winter season climbs in the Himalaya.
- I would do a lot more winter type climbs at lower altitudes before tackleing this summit in winter season. The fact that you need to ask what to bring tells me you have not much experience in this. Do some of the peaks mentioned above. They are worthwhile and rewarding.
- If you do decide to go and try this please write a trip report. I for one will be interested on hearing about the trip.
Good fortune on whatever you decide to do.
Cheers William

Im new to SP so is this some sort of test the older guys do on the message boards? Or a joke maybe?

Im new to SP so is this some sort of test the older guys do on the message boards? Or a joke maybe?

LoL, perhaps, or perhaps not.





Just remember, you can fix ignorance; but not stupidity.

It should be a joke...it was one of the most ridiculous posts that I've read in 6+ years of SummitPosting.

You (and conquistador - I'm not sure if you are the same person?) may want to contact Peter Bakwin about this. His experiences are from February, not July, but I'm sure he could give you some solid advice.

http://pbakwin.home.comcast.net/SA2005/aconcagua.html

He did a couple speedy ascents of Aconcagua. On the second, his companion Buzz Burrell flew in from the US on Monday, hiked to base camp Tuesday, and summitted on Thursday.

In Peter's first summit, he took 9 hrs from camp(14K) to summit wearing lightweight shoes and crampons.

I suppose over 99.9% of humans would fail and or die trying this sort of thing, but apparently some can do it.

Layne Bracy wrote:In Peter's first summit, he took 9 hrs from camp(14K) to summit wearing lightweight shoes and crampons.

I suppose over 99.9% of humans would fail and or die trying this sort of thing, but apparently some can do it.

I have yet to hear of someone doing something like this on Aconcagua IN THE WINTER!!!

Neither have I. However, you can sign up for a guided winter ascent of Aconcagua for only 3800 USD. They also seem flexible in giving their clients as much independence as they choose. Hurry- only 3 spots available for September 2007!

http://www.fieldtouring.com/expeditions ... winter.php