Greetings from Mendoza

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.

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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.

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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:

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