Why Climb Aconcagua with Alpine Ascents?

Aconcagua has become our home in the southern hemisphere as many of our top guides spend the winter months guiding this great peak. We offer the highest quality of services and have an ample number of extra days built into our schedule. Detailed logistics have been developed and honed over the last fifteen years by Willi Prittie and Alpine Ascents’ staff. We are pleased to say that no other company can offer the depth and accumulation of experience that Alpine Ascents brings to this expedition. We have likely led more expeditions than any other guide service and have had many teams with 100% success.

A word on success rates: We encourage you to review our cybercasts to see how many team members actually made the summit. Some guide services note 100% success or the like, this merely means that one of the guides summitted and may not reflect how many team members actually summitted.

Simply put, we have an Expedition Summit Success of 98%

Since 1999 Alpine Ascents has had all but one team reach the summit of Aconcagua. We have lead numerous expeditions in which all climbers have reached the summit, and for those we have reached Camp III, we are confident our summit success is the finest in the industry. The success is a testament to our guides and the hard work and team spirit of our climbers. We believe our guides and acclimatization schedule, along with our pre trip assistance, Alpine Ascents offers the best possible chance for you to reach the summit of Aconcagua.

Our guides have found that enjoyment and success rates on Aconcagua are significantly increased by Alpine Ascent’s focus on the following key elements. The combination of our expert guiding staff, our base and high camp managers, and an outstanding route, help create an unrivaled alpine experience.

• Honest Approach. We are very clear as to the demands of climbing Aconcagua, (see letter from Willi Prittie). If you call our office and say "Hey, I’ve climbed Kilimanjaro", we will be very frank about the demands of climbing Aconcagua. We go to great lengths to educate and prepare our climbers. Aconcagua is a serious, rigorous climb and being properly prepared is of primary importance.
• Guides. Alpine Ascents carefully selects each Aconcagua guide team. Only guides who have led ascents of Aconcagua lead each team. Our guide staff is the most experienced on the mountain.
• We have a lead guide from Alpine Ascents on every trip while utilizing the expertise of local guides to assist with the climb. Our groups of 4-6 will have two guides and our teams of 10 will have at least 3 guides. We also have a permanent base camp to assist with climbers' needs and lodgings before and after the climb.
• Porters available upon request.
• Base Camp Manager. In addition to our lead guide, we have a Base Camp Guide to coordinate incoming and outgoing expeditions, handle specific needs of teams and clients, communicate between teams at various points on the mountain and to generally lend a hand wherever necessary.
• With our local outfitter we maintain a base camp that serves as a communication center for climbers and guides with use of two-way radios.
• Second High Camp. Alpine Ascents pioneered a second high camp, our Camp IV at 20,600’. This extra camp helps prepare for our final summit bid and is one of the main factors in our incredibly high summit success rate. Other companies have now follwed our lead.
• Extended Itinerary. A slightly extended itinerary includes extra days that allows us to wait out bad weather, acclimatize properly and should we have early success, enjoy life in the charming city of Mendoza.
• Vacas Valley Route. We ascend via the less traveled and more aesthetically pleasing variation of the Vacas Valley route. This beautiful ascent offers a rare climbing opportunity as we encounter fewer climbers and spend quiet evenings in the rich mountain wilderness. We ascend the mountain by establishing a series of progressively higher camps. For the 3 day trek to and from base camp, our gear is carried by mules.
• Continual assessment of itinerary and location of camps.
• We have likely led more expeditions than any other guide service and have had many teams with 100% success.
• Utlizing Leave No Trace practices and environmental ethics, Alpine Ascents has initiated a waste removal system on our climbs with the WAG Bag system.

Success on Aconcagua
Over the past 15 years Alpine Ascents has had outstanding success on Aconcagua. While this is a mountain that is known for low success rates, our frank upfront information has helped prepare climbers for the challenge. We encourage your to review our cybercasts over the last few years, which paint an excellent picture of our success and expertise. With lead guides such as Willi Prittie, Vernon Tejas and numerous assistants for our staff of guides, we offer an excellent chance to reach the summit and climb with some superb guides.

Cybercasts
Alpine Ascents provides family and friends the opportunity to follow our climbs as they proceed. Utilizing state-of-the art technology, we receive regular dispatches from the climbers and post them on our web site. Not only does one feel the excitement of watching a team as it moves up the mountain, the archived cybercasts provide an excellent resource and learning tool when researching expeditions. Enjoy the show!

Our Guiding Team
Our guiding team is comprised of seasoned, professional mountaineers. These guides are a part of the Alpine Ascents family because they understand and share our climbing principles. These individuals are dedicated to sharing their excellence with others. The role of an Alpine Ascents guide is to impart knowledge, use calculated judgement, and assist individual climber development. Our guides are experienced educators who measure their success by monitoring climbers’ achievements. We stress our acute ability to provide expedition members with personal attention, realizing the commitment to assist each climber in obtaining their goals.