I have just arrived at the Hyatt Park Hotel Mendoza after a 29-hour journey from Oslo. It’s 8:00 pm here, while it’s already past midnight at home. So we are 4 hours behind Norway.
I will meet the rest of the team for the first time at the hotel tomorrow. We are a small group, only 4 climbers. I am also traveling with Benegas Brothers for the first time, so it will be very exciting to meet new people.
The highest mountain in South America, Aconcagua.
Was lucky to get a 3-seater to myself on the trip over the Atlantic. 22 + 24 KG Me and our guide Nani.
Some practical information:
Packing:
I have packed almost the same things as on the trip to Nepal this fall, but then I had “only” 36 kg with me in two large duffel bags, but now it became a total of 46 kg divided into two duffel bags. In addition, the carry-on luggage weighs 11 kg.
What I have more for this trip is clothes and equipment for the time after we have been to Aconcagua. More on this later 🙂
This is the packing list from Benegas Brothers, in addition, I make my own checklist for each trip.
Price:
The trip to Aconcagua with Benegas Brothers costs 5300 USD, about 50,000 Norwegian kroner.
In addition, there is:
- The flight, about 4000 to 5000 kr each way.
- Hotel before/after the Aconcagua trip, about 3000 kr for my part. One night before and one night after at a very luxurious hotel in the middle of Mendoza.
- Food in Mendoza, about 1500 kr.
- Permits, about 8000. Everyone needs this to go to Aconcagua.
- Equipment, most of which I had in place after the trip to Nepal last fall, but I bought a satellite phone and GPS – because I needed it, an ice axe – because my previous one was lost in Nepal, a new headlamp – because my previous one wasn’t good enough, a new backpack – because I needed a slightly bigger one…About 20,000 kr.
- Single room in Mendoza (1 night before the trip) and a single tent the nights before we reach Base camp. Mostly because I find it very nice to have some alone time and because there are only strangers on the trip. From Base Camp and up, several people should sleep in each tent to make it warmer.
In total, I’m spending about 100,000 kr of my savings on this trip. In addition, I have rented out my apartment in Oslo, so that covers it. I will be in Argentina for about a month after the trip, so that will cost some money too, but it won’t come close to this, and then it will be hostels and buses instead of luxury hotels and flights.
Program:
The program has 20 days set aside for Aconcagua. (Attach program picture). A couple of extra days are set aside in case of bad weather, or if someone in the group needs an extra rest day due to fitness or health.
Here is the program set up day by day:
The whole gang has received their permits and is ready for the trip.
Planning the next trip and the upcoming months
We are likely to return to Mendoza on Saturday, January 25th. Then, I have planned to find a hostel here in Mendoza and stay here for about 10 days before taking a bus to Bariloche.
The plan was to run a 3-day race here, but now it seems to be canceled. So I got the opportunity to join a training camp instead.
After that, I plan to take a bus to Patagonia, where I hope to meet Matoco, Pepo, and Stephen – all of whom I met on the trip to Nepal last fall.
I have not booked a ticket home to Norway, but according to plan, I will travel to Oslo around February 25th and further to Bjerkvik on February 26th, where my godson will be baptized on March 1st.
Then, it will be a trip to my favorite city Tromsø, before a peak climbing weekend in Øksfjord on March 6th-8th.
After that, I will start skiing from Alta on March 9th and plan to be in Vadsø on March 22nd.
I have currently rented out my apartment until the end of March, so I will spend some days in Vadsø and Tromsø before returning to Oslo on April 1st.
It will be some exciting and challenging (training) months ahead!
Kristin
