The highest batholith on earth (a large intrusive massif of igneous rock) is located in Argentina. It is the highest point in South America and the southern and western hemispheres.
Where is Mount Aconcagua? Why is she called that? Everything related to this natural miracle will be briefly described in this article.
General information: origin, location
The massif arose in the process of collision of two tectonic plates: South American and Nazca.
The mountain is located in the Main Cordillera (in the center of the Andes - the High Andes). The massif is bounded on the north and east by the Valle de las Vacas mountain range, and on the west and south by Valle de los Orcones Inferior.
There are many glaciers on the mountain, the largest of them are located on the eastern and northeastern (Polish Glacier) part of it.
The location of the mountain is the territory of the Aconcagua National Park. 32.65 degrees south latitude and 70.02 degrees west longitude, respectively, are the coordinates of Mount Aconcagua.
Midwest of Argentina - the location of the mountain,surrounded by several neighboring, no less interesting, mountain peaks. All of them attract the attention of many climbers and tourists (more than 10,000 per year).
Description of the surroundings
Steep mountains with little greenery surround the gorge leading to the famous national park and further to the Chilean border. At the entrance to the park you can still see some vegetation, but there is practically no further. In this regard, it may seem that the landscapes here are rather boring. However, the fantastic magnificent colors of the surrounding peaks fully compensate for the lack of greenery (trees, flowers and other vegetation).
Mountain slopes have a wide variety of tones: red, gold and even green. It all looks amazingly beautiful.
The height of Mount Aconcagua is 6962 m. For climbers, this mountain is considered technically relatively easy, especially its northern slopes. In any case, the influence of altitude is felt almost everywhere, since at the very top the atmospheric pressure is approximately 40% of the pressure at sea level.
In 1991, the minimum time for passing the route was recorded - 5 hours 45 minutes.
The emergence of the name
There is no exact origin of the name of the mountain. It is believed that it originated from the Araucan language (translated "from the other side of the Aconcagua River"). Another version is the origin of the name from the Quechua language Ackon Cahuak, which means "stone guard".
What attracts tourists to Mount Aconcagua?
All lovers of romance, nature, mountains and travel will finddoing things to your liking here. Ordinary tourists can go on an interesting day trip (trekking), and professional climbers can try climbing the more difficult South Faces of Aconcagua on any of the many routes.
Aconcagua is part of the "Seven Summits" program (these are the highest points of all continents).
Climbing the classic route to the summit is easy even for non-professional climbers. There is enough for climbing and other beautiful neighboring peaks, also interesting.
The magnificent surrounding nature will be interesting for people who are not very interested in mountaineering.
Climatic conditions
Mount Aconcagua is the highest peak, so the weather is often bad here. Cloudy is often observed. It should be noted that a sharp and frequent change in weather is characteristic of these places. A clear sunny day can turn into a very windy and unpleasantly overcast day at any moment.
The most terrible moment and the most notorious phenomenon in these places is Viento Blanco (white wind). This rather terrible phenomenon is usually preceded by the appearance of clouds (loose as cotton wool, and constantly changing shape) over the highest peaks. This means that a terrible storm with strong winds and an unexpected significant drop in temperature may soon break out. Heavy snowfall usually follows a storm. Such cataclysms usually come from the west.
Another of the most common weather patterns is a clear day with cool clean air but strong winds. This weather is the most stable, so it is the most successful for climbing the peaks.
Mount Aconcagua can also please with warm, sunny, good weather conditions that usually persist for a long time. How lucky.
In conclusion, some interesting facts
Due to the fact that Mount Aconcagua is considered relatively easy to climb (northern route), hooks, ropes and other climbing equipment are not required.
Edward Fitzgerald (British) was the first to conquer this peak in 1897.
The youngest climber to reach the summit of Aconcagua in December 2008 is 10-year-old Monitz Mathew, and the oldest (87 years old) is Scott Lewis (2007).
The French were the first to conquer the South Face. It was a hard struggle for life for several days. In this campaign, young Lucien Berardini helped his comrades, eventually losing the phalanges of his fingers.
