Global Expeditions Argentina South America

Normal Route

Aconcagua

Your First True High-Altitude Expedition · 22,841 ft / 6,962 m · 19 Days

19 days Group: Maximum 6 climbers $8,500 per person

The Climb

Aconcagua Normal Route · 22,841 ft / 6,962 m · 19 Days · Mendoza, Argentina

At 22,841 ft / 6,962 m, Aconcagua is the highest mountain in South America, the highest mountain outside Asia and one of the Seven Summits.

19Days, airport to airport

6Climbers, maximum

4Days acclimatizing around Las Cuevas before the park

1:3One guide for every three climbers above base camp

2Built-in weather and flexibility days

100+Aconcagua summits between Willie and Damian

Drone view of Cólera Camp on Aconcagua at sunset, at 6,000 m — Sunset over Cólera Camp · 6,000 m

Climbers on the summit-day trail below Independencia, above a sea of clouds — Below Independencia · about 6,300 m · Day 14 · summit day

Sunset over Nido de Cóndores camp on Aconcagua — Nido de Cóndores · 5,550 m · Day 12

The Normal Route is called non-technical, and in good conditions it is. Don’t confuse that with easy. Altitude, cold, long days, loaded carries and some of the strongest winds in the Andes turn back many fit climbers every season. Our expedition is built around the things that can be influenced: acclimatization, team size, guide attention, weather flexibility and honest decisions.

Four Questions. Answered Before You Book.

Can I do this?You do not need to be an expert alpinist. You do need to arrive ready for consecutive mountain days, loaded carries, cold, wind and sustained effort at altitude. Is This for Me? →

How long does it take?19 days, airport to airport — including four days of acclimatization at Las Cuevas, built-in weather days and the descent. Day by Day →

What will it really cost?We publish the price, what is included, what is not, and the other expenses you should expect — including the park permit, which is paid separately. What to Budget For · Dates & Prices →

When can I go?Scheduled departures run during the Aconcagua summer season. Need different dates or have your own group? Ask about a private departure. Dates & Prices →

The Mountain and the Route

The Normal Route approaches from the west, up the Horcones Valley. From the park entrance at Horcones, you trek to Confluencia and then across the long, exposed Playa Ancha to Plaza de Mulas Base Camp at 14,300 ft / 4,350 m, beneath Aconcagua’s west face.

Trail up the Horcones Valley toward the south face of Aconcagua — Horcones Valley, trail to Confluencia · Day 6 · Photo: BBP

Above base camp the expedition moves through three high camps:

Camp Canadá — 16,570 ft / 5,050 m
Nido de Cóndores — 18,210 ft / 5,550 m
Cólera — 19,685 ft / 6,000 m

Summit day climbs past Independencia, crosses the long traverse below the summit ridge, climbs the steep Canaleta and follows the Guanaco ridge to the top. It is a 10- to 13-hour round trip from high camp, starting in the dark.

Mules carry designated loads on the approach. On the upper mountain, the team climbs high and sleeps low: carry loads to the next camp, return to sleep, then move up. That rhythm is how the body adapts.

The full 19-day schedule is on Day by Day.

Where Altitude Becomes an Expedition

Kilimanjaro can introduce you to altitude. Mexico and Ecuador can take you higher and start building mountaineering skills. Aconcagua asks something different.

Drone view of tents at Cólera Camp, Aconcagua's highest camp — Cólera Camp (Camp 3) · 6,000 m · Day 13 · Photo: BBP

You are not climbing to a high summit and returning to a lodge. You are living on the mountain — moving through base camp and a series of higher camps, carrying part of what you need, sleeping higher, recovering, moving again, and managing your energy and your body over many consecutive days at altitude.

That makes Aconcagua one of the most valuable steps in high-altitude mountaineering. It is also a major objective in its own right: the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere.

For some climbers, Aconcagua is the mountain they have been working toward for years. For others, it is the first serious step toward Denali, the Himalaya or an 8,000-meter peak. Either way, it is a real expedition — and it deserves to be run like one.

The BBE difference

We Start Acclimatizing Before Aconcagua

The biggest difference in our program happens before we enter the park.

Small BBE team climbing switchbacks on an acclimatization hike above Las Cuevas — Above Las Cuevas · Day 3 · Photo: BBP

Most expeditions drive from Mendoza to the park entrance and start walking. We don’t. Our teams spend four days based around Las Cuevas, near the Argentine–Chilean border:

Sleeping at about 10,500 ft / 3,200 m
One night in expedition tents near 12,800 ft / 3,900 m
Acclimatization climbs reaching about 14,100–14,500 ft / 4,300–4,420 m

The purpose is not sightseeing. It is to give your body more time at altitude before the expedition goes high, so that by the time you reach Plaza de Mulas you have already been living and moving there for days. More time at moderate altitude gives the body a better chance to adapt. It does not guarantee acclimatization — nothing does — but it is the step we will not skip.

Highest point reached each day. The first five days happen before the park entrance. See the full itinerary, day by day.

These days also give your guide time to learn something important: how you are actually responding. How are you sleeping? Eating? Hydrating? Recovering? Moving? We use the same days for a gear check and to settle camp routines close to a road, not at 18,000 feet.

A high-altitude expedition should adapt to the people climbing it, not just to the dates on the itinerary.

Small Teams. Real Guide Attention.

Scheduled departures are capped at six climbers, with a ratio of one guide for every three climbers:

1–3 climbers: one guide for the whole expedition
4 climbers: one guide from Mendoza; a second guide joins at Plaza de Mulas for the rest of the expedition
5–6 climbers: two guides from Mendoza

Plaza de Mulas also has local base camp staff — camp managers and cooks — who support the expedition. We don’t count them as climbing guides.

Once the expedition is on Aconcagua, porters support each move from one camp to the next, at one porter for every two climbers. They carry part of the group equipment and supplies along with some personal gear; your own pack weight on those days depends on how much group gear, food and personal equipment is left to carry. During the Las Cuevas phase and on carry days, you carry your own load. Optional personal porter service is available if you want to lighten your pack further.

Climber carrying a heavy pack up a snowy slope at Cambio de Pendiente — Cambio de Pendiente · about 5,200 m · Day 11 · Photo: BBP

A small team isn’t about exclusivity. It is about being able to watch each climber closely and make decisions for individuals — because six people never acclimatize, recover or move exactly the same way. On summit day it is the difference between moving at a pace you can sustain and standing still in the cold waiting for others.

If you are comparing operators, compare team size, guide ratio, guide certification and the acclimatization schedule. Those answers tell you more than a price list.

Certified Guides

The program is built and managed to IFMGA standards — the international benchmark in the guiding profession. Every expedition is led by an internationally or nationally certified guide selected to BBE standards — IFMGA, AMGA (American Mountain Guides Association) or the Argentine Association of Mountain Guides — with experience across the Andes, the Himalaya, the Alaska Range and Patagonia.

Our job isn’t just to walk you to the top. It’s to help you become a more capable mountaineer, on Aconcagua and on every mountain after it.

Safety and Logistics

On a mountain close to 7,000 meters, safety is a system, not a slogan. Every expedition includes:

Emergency oxygen carried on the upper mountain
A full expedition medical kit, and guides trained in high-altitude field medicine
Radio and satellite communications carried by the guide team
Starlink satellite internet carried by the guide team — used for weather data and short messages, and limited to a few minutes a day by battery capacity
Daily monitoring of every climber: pace, oxygen saturation, hydration, appetite and recovery
Two required park medical checks, at Confluencia and Plaza de Mulas

Dome tents at Plaza de Mulas base camp below Aconcagua — Plaza de Mulas base camp · 4,350 m · Day 8 · Photo: BBP

Logistics follow the same thinking: transport from Mendoza, permit processing, mules for the approach loads, porter support on camp-move days, and a full-service base camp at Plaza de Mulas. Good systems save energy, and saved energy is what you spend on summit day.

Emergency evacuation depends on weather, location and operating conditions, and is never guaranteed. That is why rescue and medical evacuation insurance is required. See Trip Insurance & Evacuation Coverage.

Summit Strategy

No one can promise you the summit of Aconcagua. Be wary of anyone who does.

Roped climbers in the Canaleta on Aconcagua summit day — La Canaleta · about 6,700 m · Day 14 · summit day · Photo: BBP

What we can do is put you in the best position to reach it: real acclimatization before the park, a small team, certified leadership, individual pacing, built-in weather days and careful reading of wind and weather windows.

Your health and honest judgment come first. On this mountain, turning around at the right moment is a professional decision, not a failure.

Why Climb With a Guide?

The park allows independent climbing, and for highly experienced expedition climbers it can be a legitimate choice. But you take on every decision yourself — acclimatization schedule, weather calls, logistics and your rescue margin.

Most people who struggle on Aconcagua are not short on courage. They are short on the pattern recognition that tells you when the wind is survivable and when it isn’t. That judgment is what you are really hiring.

Built by the Benegas Brothers

This mountain came before the company.

Willie Benegas at altitude on Aconcagua, black and white portrait — Willie Benegas · summit morning · Photo: BBP

Damian and Willie Benegas made their first successful ascent of Aconcagua together in the 1988–89 season. Benegas Brothers Expeditions did not exist yet. They kept coming back — as climbers, then as guides, on the Normal Route, on technical terrain and on different sides of the mountain. Between them, the brothers have stood on the summit more than 100 times.

Willie and Damian Benegas on the summit of Aconcagua after their first ascent by the Polish Glacier Direct, 1988–89 — Our first ascent of Aconcagua, by the Polish Glacier Direct, 1988–89 season. Restored from the original slides.

Climbing the Polish Glacier Direct on Aconcagua during the Benegas brothers’ first ascent, 1988–89 — Our first ascent of Aconcagua, by the Polish Glacier Direct, 1988–89 season. Restored from the original slides.

1988–89 — The first summit.

Damian and Willie make their first ascent of Aconcagua together.

1990s — From climbers to guides.

Aconcagua becomes a recurring part of their climbing and guiding lives as Benegas Brothers Expeditions develops.

2000–01 — Pushing what was possible.

Aconcagua becomes terrain they know well enough to explore in very different ways, including Willie’s one-day Horcones–summit–Horcones ascent.

2002 — Flight of the Condor.

Exploration of the West Face leads Damian and Willie onto new terrain and the first ascent of Flight of the Condor.

Today — Experience passed forward.

Decades on the mountain have become an expedition system: preparation, acclimatization, local relationships, guide standards, logistics and judgment.

BBE today is bigger than two brothers. Scheduled expeditions are delivered by a professional guide team working to the systems and standards the brothers built. Willie or Damian personally lead custom expeditions when requested, confirmed in writing — see Private & Custom Expeditions.

The history matters only if it changes how your expedition is run. That is where it shows up. Read Willie and Damian’s story.

Who This Expedition Is For

This expedition fits motivated climbers who want a real high-altitude expedition, run properly. Typical climbers include:

Experienced trekkers ready for high-altitude mountaineering
Climbers coming from Kilimanjaro, Mexico, Ecuador or high treks who want a bigger objective
First-time expedition climbers who want to learn from a professional team
Seven Summits climbers and climbers building toward Denali or the Himalaya

Drone view over the summit of Aconcagua with clouds rising from the south face — Aconcagua summit · 6,962 m · Day 14 · summit day · Photo: BBP

You do not need technical climbing experience. You do need excellent endurance, the ability to carry loads day after day, and the patience to live well at altitude. Every climber is personally reviewed before booking. For an honest assessment, read Is This for Me?

Other Ways to Climb Aconcagua

The 19-day Normal Route is the expedition we recommend for most climbers. Two other options exist for climbers with different needs.

Aconcagua ExpressA 14-day program for experienced high-altitude climbers with limited time. Small team, structured pre-acclimatization at home, staging at real altitude and helicopter access to base camp. Prior high-altitude experience required.Private & Custom AconcaguaBuilt around your dates, team and objective — for individuals, couples, families, clubs and organizations. Private does not mean easier; it means the expedition is designed around your team.

Ready to Climb Aconcagua?

Aconcagua tests discipline, patience and humility. For many climbers it is the biggest thing they have ever done.

Tell us about your climbing background

Your training and the highest altitude you have reached. We will tell you honestly whether this expedition is right for you now. See dates and prices. · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Ask a guide

Day by Day

Aconcagua Normal Route · 19 Days · 22,841 ft / 6,962 m

Aconcagua Itinerary: 19 Days, Day by Day

You arrive in Mendoza with the mountain you have trained for finally close enough to feel real. Over 19 days, the expedition changes step by step: city hotel, mountain lodging, tents. Roads become trails, and life comes down to the essentials — steady movement, warm clothing, food, water, recovery and good decisions.

MendozaDay 1 Las CuevasDays 2–5 ApproachDays 6–8 Upper mountainDays 9–13 SummitDay 14 FlexDays 15–16 DescentDays 17–19

The plan is carefully designed but not rigid. Weather, wind, acclimatization, park medical checks and the condition of the team can all change it, and your guides will change it when they need to. That flexibility is part of climbing a mountain this high responsibly. All distances, elevations and times below are approximate.

The 19 Days at a Glance

Each bar shows where you sleep that night. ▲ marks the day’s high point. Tap a day to open it.

Phase 1MendozaDay 1

1Arrive in Mendoza750 m · 2,460 ft

Phase 2Las Cuevas acclimatizationDays 2–5

2Mendoza to Las Cuevas3,200 m · 10,500 ft 3Acclimatization climb above Las Cuevas~~▲ High point 4,200 m / 13,780 ft~~3,200 m · 10,500 ft4Move to the acclimatization camp3,900 m · 12,800 ft 5Climb higher, return to Las Cuevas~~▲ High point 4,300–4,420 m~~3,200 m · 10,500 ft

Phase 3The approachDays 6–8

6Horcones to Confluencia3,414 m · 11,200 ft 7Confluencia to Plaza de Mulas4,350 m · 14,300 ft 8Rest, medical check and preparation4,350 m · 14,300 ft

Phase 4The upper mountainDays 9–13

9Carry to Camp Canadá~~▲ Carry to 5,050 m / 16,570 ft~~4,350 m · 14,300 ft10Move to Camp Canadá5,050 m · 16,570 ft11Carry to Nido de Cóndores~~▲ Carry to 5,550 m / 18,210 ft~~5,050 m · 16,570 ft12Move to Nido de Cóndores5,550 m · 18,210 ft 13Move to Cólera Camp6,000 m · 19,685 ft

Phase 5Summit dayDay 14

14Summit attempt~~▲ Summit 6,962 m / 22,841 ft~~6,000 m · 19,685 ft

Phase 6Weather and flexibilityDays 15–16

15–16Weather and flexibility daysFlex

Phase 7Descent and departureDays 17–19

17Descend to Plaza de Mulas4,350 m · 14,300 ft 18Trek out, return to Mendoza750 m · 2,460 ft 19DepartureFly home

In each day below, altitude reads start → high point → where you sleep. Distances and hiking times are estimates.

Climb high, sleep low

Some days climb well above where you sleep. The gap between the day’s high point and the night’s camp is how your body adapts.

Times are estimates

Hiking times change with the team and the conditions. A slow, steady pace is the plan, not a problem.

The plan can flex

Weather, how the team is acclimatizing and your guides’ judgment can change the daily plan. That flexibility is part of the plan.

Meals

Your welcome dinner in Mendoza and all meals during the itinerary are included. At Plaza de Mulas, meals are included for the scheduled base-camp days. If extra base-camp days are needed, those days are charged separately — see Dates & Prices.

Phase 1 — Mendoza and Las Cuevas Acclimatization (Days 1–5) · Phase 2 — The Approach to Base Camp (Days 6–8) · Phase 3 — The Upper Mountain (Days 9–16) · Phase 4 — Descent and Departure (Days 17–19)

Elevation: about 2,460 ft / 750 m
Activity: arrival, team meeting, equipment check
Overnight: Mendoza hotel
Meals: welcome dinner

A member of the BBE team meets you at Mendoza airport. In the evening the team gathers, reviews the route and acclimatization plan, and your guide checks the equipment that will matter once you are far from Mendoza. This is the time to fix small problems, before they become serious ones higher up.

BBE starts the climbing-permit process (you pay the permit fee separately, following the instructions sent before arrival). The team shares a welcome dinner. The expedition has started.

Sleeping altitude: Las Cuevas, about 10,500 ft / 3,200 m
Drive: about 118 mi / 190 km · 3–4 hours
Activity: short acclimatization walk
Overnight: mountain lodging in Las Cuevas
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

The road follows the Mendoza River west toward the Chilean border. Each hour the air gets cooler, the vegetation thinner and the peaks bigger. In Las Cuevas you are already sleeping above 3,000 meters.

A short afternoon walk starts the acclimatization process, and your guide starts watching pace, breathing, hydration and recovery. From here on, altitude is part of every decision.

High point: up to about 13,780 ft / 4,200 m
Hiking time: about 5–7 hours · daypack
Overnight: mountain lodging in Las Cuevas
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

You climb into the mountains around Las Cuevas. The exact route depends on weather, snow and the team. The day is as much about observation as elevation: your guide watches how you pace, drink and recover, and you start finding the steady rhythm that will carry you through the expedition.

There is no prize for reaching the high point first. Climb well, come back with energy and let your body adapt.

Sleeping altitude: about 12,800 ft / 3,900 m
Hiking time: about 4–6 hours
Pack: overnight gear plus your share of group gear — about 44 lb / 20 kg on average; can be more
Overnight: expedition tents
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

You leave the lodge and start living as an expedition team. In camp everyone has a job: tents secured, sleeping systems organized, water prepared.

It is your first night in a tent near 4,000 meters, and the habits you build here follow you onto Aconcagua.

High point: about 14,100–14,500 ft / 4,300–4,420 m
Hiking time: about 5–7 hours
Overnight: mountain lodging in Las Cuevas
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breaking camp, the team climbs toward a higher ridge or nearby summit. The high point depends on conditions and on how everyone slept. You go high enough for another acclimatization stimulus, then descend to Las Cuevas while the team is still moving well.

Tomorrow you enter Aconcagua Provincial Park.

Camp altitude: Confluencia, about 11,200 ft / 3,414 m
Distance: about 4.7 mi / 7.5 km · 3–4 hours
Pack: daypack — mules carry the approach loads
Medical check: first required park medical check
Overnight: Confluencia Camp, expedition tents
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

The road ends and the expedition continues on foot. From the park entrance at Horcones, the trail follows the valley to Confluencia, with your first clear view of Aconcagua’s south face on the way.

In camp you complete the first required park medical check. Your guide keeps making a separate assessment of how you are moving, eating and recovering. If the park doctor finds a problem — high blood pressure is the most common — you may need to stay an extra day to show it has come down, or descend. See Is This for Me?

Camp altitude: Plaza de Mulas, 14,300 ft / 4,350 m
Distance: about 10.5–12 mi / 17–19 km · 7–9 hours
Pack: daypack — mules carry the approach loads
Overnight: Plaza de Mulas Base Camp
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

The longest day of the approach. You cross Playa Ancha, a wide, exposed plain where distances are hard to judge. The terrain is not technical, but distance, altitude, sun and wind make it a demanding day — and this is where the work done at Las Cuevas shows.

By late afternoon the tents of Plaza de Mulas appear beneath Aconcagua’s west face. From here, every camp is above you.

Altitude: Plaza de Mulas, 14,300 ft / 4,350 m
Medical check: second required park medical check
Overnight: Plaza de Mulas Base Camp
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

A recovery day, but not an empty one: eat, drink, dry your clothing and absorb the approach. You complete the second park medical check. Park clearance is required, and your guide also weighs your symptoms, appetite, sleep and recovery.

The team sorts the big duffels down to the equipment the upper mountain actually needs. The next time you leave base camp, you are climbing the mountain itself.

High point: Camp Canadá, 16,570 ft / 5,050 m
Hiking time: about 5–7 hours
Pack: carry load — about 44 lb / 20 kg on average; can be more depending on personal and group gear
Overnight: Plaza de Mulas Base Camp
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

You step onto the upper mountain, carrying food, fuel and equipment up steep, loose terrain to leave a cache at Camp Canadá. Then you return to sleep in thicker air.

Gaining 700 meters at this altitude takes patience, and it gives your body another controlled exposure above 5,000 meters.

Sleeping altitude: Camp Canadá, 16,570 ft / 5,050 m
Hiking time: about 3–5 hours
Pack: porter-supported move — your load depends on the group gear, supplies and personal gear left to carry
Overnight: Camp Canadá, expedition tents
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

This time you don’t turn back. Porters support the move, at one porter for every two climbers. Your guide sets a controlled pace and watches for small changes in breathing, coordination or energy.

At Canadá the team builds its home on the mountain: tents anchored, snow melted, an early, quiet evening. You are now living above 5,000 meters.

High point: Nido de Cóndores, 18,210 ft / 5,550 m
Hiking time: about 5–7 hours
Pack: carry load — about 44 lb / 20 kg on average; can be more depending on personal and group gear
Overnight: Camp Canadá
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

You climb broad, open slopes toward Nido de Cóndores, where wind is often constant. Nido sits on a wide plateau: an endless horizon on a clear day, a harsh place on a windy one.

You cache equipment and descend to sleep at Canadá. The system starts to make sense: climb, prepare, descend, eat, sleep, repeat.

Sleeping altitude: Nido de Cóndores, 18,210 ft / 5,550 m
Hiking time: about 4–5 hours
Pack: porter-supported move — your load depends on what is left to carry
Overnight: Nido de Cóndores, expedition tents
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

You climb back to the cache and this time you stay. At Nido the exposure is immediate: wind against the tents, every camp job slower.

The team focuses on the fundamentals — water, food, warmth, rest — and talks honestly about how everyone is doing. The summit feels close. It is still a long way above.

Sleeping altitude: Cólera Camp, 19,685 ft / 6,000 m
Hiking time: about 3–4 hours
Pack: porter-supported move — your load depends on what is left to carry
Overnight: Cólera Camp, expedition tents
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Short on a map, demanding in practice. Cólera sits on a broad shelf where the summit route finally becomes real: you can see the terrain toward Independencia and the traverse below the summit ridge.

Camp work is efficient: tent, clothing, water for the night and for summit day. Your guide reviews the weather, departure time and turnaround expectations. The decision to go depends on health, wind, temperature and conditions.

High point: Aconcagua summit, 22,841 ft / 6,962 m
Round trip: about 10–13 hours · summit pack
Overnight: Cólera Camp, unless the guide changes the descent plan
Meals: breakfast, summit-day food and drinks, dinner

You wake in the dark and leave under headlamps at a deliberately slow pace. There is no warm-up at 6,000 meters. The route climbs past Piedras Blancas toward Independencia, then makes the long traverse across the upper mountain, where wind and cold can be severe. The Canaleta is the last steep section. Above it, the route reaches the Guanaco ridge and follows the edge of the huge south face to the summit.

When conditions, timing and health allow, you stand on the highest point in the Americas. The day isn’t over — you still have to get down safely to high camp.

The summit is never guaranteed. Your guide may turn you or the team around for pace, symptoms, weather or time. That decision is not failure. It is responsible high-altitude climbing.

Activity: weather hold, rest, summit attempt or descent
Overnight: decided by the guide team
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

These days stay flexible: waiting for the wind to drop, recovering before an attempt, or starting the descent after an earlier summit. Waiting is one of the hardest parts of an expedition, and it is where experienced leadership matters most.

The guides weigh wind, temperature, timing, snow, health and the ability to get down safely. Flexibility creates options. It does not guarantee a summit.

Ending altitude: Plaza de Mulas, 14,300 ft / 4,350 m
Hiking time: about 5–7 hours
Pack: porter-supported descent — one porter for every two climbers
Overnight: Plaza de Mulas Base Camp
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

The long descent to base camp, past Nido de Cóndores and Camp Canadá, collecting caches on the way. Every few hundred meters the air feels thicker. Base camp feels like another world: chairs, full meals, room to spread out.

Whether or not you reached the summit, the team has spent days living and making decisions at serious altitude. That experience belongs to everyone who comes down.

Distance: about 15 mi / 24 km · 7–9 hours on foot, then 3–4 hours by road
Pack: daypack — mules carry the expedition loads
Overnight: Mendoza hotel
Meals: breakfast, lunch (dinner in Mendoza not included)

The last mountain day starts early: down the Horcones Valley, back across Playa Ancha, out at the park entrance and into the vehicle to Mendoza.

The change is sudden. A few hours later you are among trees and warm evening air, with a shower and a real bed waiting.

Activity: breakfast, hotel checkout, onward travel
Airport transfer: not included — departure times vary; we can help you arrange one
Meals: breakfast

You share a last breakfast, say goodbye to the team and head home.

Some climbers leave with a summit. Others leave with hard-earned experience and a different relationship with the mountains. Most leave with both.

Good to Know

The schedule can change. Every day above is a planning estimate, not a promise. Weather, acclimatization and the guides’ judgment can move rest days, camp moves and the summit attempt. Days 15–16 exist for that reason, but they cannot cover every possible delay.

Extra days at base camp. Base-camp services and meals are included for the scheduled days at Plaza de Mulas. If the team or an individual climber needs additional base-camp days, those days are charged separately. See Dates & Prices for the current rate.

Pack weights. During the Las Cuevas phase and on carry days, plan on about 44 lb / 20 kg — that has been the average, and it can be more depending on your personal gear and the group gear. On camp-move days on Aconcagua, including the descent to base camp, porters support the team at one porter for every two climbers; your load depends on the group gear, supplies and personal gear still to be carried. Optional personal porters can lighten your load further.

Your role. You are an active member of the team: carrying your loads, helping in camp, following pacing and hydration plans, reporting symptoms honestly and accepting turnaround decisions. Aconcagua is not a service delivered around you. It is an expedition you take part in.

Keep Planning

Is This for Me? · Life on the Mountain · Where You’ll Stay · Aconcagua Gear List · What to Budget For · Dates & Prices

Questions about the itinerary or your readiness? Ask a guide · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Is This for Me?

Aconcagua Normal Route · An Honest Assessment

How Hard Is Aconcagua?

Aconcagua is often called a non-technical mountain. That description causes more failed expeditions than the mountain itself. No, you will not need rope skills on the Normal Route. Yes, it is likely to be one of the hardest things you have ever done.

This page is the conversation we would have with you before you book: honest, specific and without sales pressure. If you finish it more motivated than intimidated, that tells you something useful.

4–6Months of serious training

20kgAverage pack on carry days (44 lb), can be more

10–13hSummit day, round trip

Technical Difficulty vs. Real Difficulty

In good conditions, the Normal Route does not require technical climbing. You do not need prior rope or glacier experience.

Depending on the season and snow, the upper mountain can require crampons and an ice axe. You don’t need experience with them before you come — your guides review or teach the basics on the mountain — but you need to be fit enough to keep moving steadily while wearing them, at altitude, in the cold.

The real difficulty is not the climbing. It is the living: nearly three weeks of long days, real loads, progressively higher camps, deepening cold and less and less oxygen.

What Makes Aconcagua Hard

AltitudeYou sleep above 16,400 ft / 5,000 m for several nights and climb to nearly 23,000 ft / 7,000 m on summit day. Up there, every step takes deliberate effort, sleep is light and appetite fades.

Cold and windSummit day can bring temperatures far below freezing with severe wind chill. Aconcagua’s winds are among the strongest in the Andes, and nights at high camp are frozen even in good weather.

Long daysThe longest approach day is 7–9 hours. Summit day is 10–13 hours round trip, starting in the dark.

Carrying loadsDuring the Las Cuevas acclimatization phase and on carry days, the average pack has been about 44 lb / 20 kg, and it can be more depending on your personal gear and the group gear. On camp-move days on Aconcagua, porters support the team at one porter for every two climbers, but you still carry a real pack.

CampingMost nights are in expedition tents. You will pitch and strike camp, melt snow, keep your gear organized and dry, and look after yourself in a cramped, cold space.

RecoveryAt altitude, the body recovers slowly. The climbers who do well treat eating, drinking and resting as part of the job — especially on days they don’t feel like it.

PatienceWeather holds are normal. You may wait days for a summit window. Waiting well is a skill, and it is one of the hardest parts of the expedition.

The triangular shadow of Aconcagua cast across the Andes at sunrise on summit day — Sunrise on summit day: the shadow of Aconcagua, from Piedras Negras · about 6,200 m · Photo: BBP

Fitness Is Necessary — But Not Enough

Excellent cardiovascular endurance is essential. It is the factor most in your control.

As a guide to what the expedition asks of you:

Hiking 7–9 hours with a pack, then getting up and doing it again, day after day
Carrying around 44 lb / 20 kg on steep, loose terrain
Arriving with a fitness reserve, because altitude takes a share of everything you have

But fitness does not guarantee acclimatization. Very fit people sometimes struggle with altitude, and less athletic people sometimes adapt well. Nobody knows in advance exactly how their body will respond above 5,000 meters. That is why our itinerary spends four days acclimatizing at Las Cuevas before entering the park, and why your guide watches how you respond every day.

The Experience That Helps

What matters most is mountain experience:

Multi-day trips and living in a tent
Managing your own clothing, food and water through changing weather
Steep, loose terrain with a pack
Ideally, previous time at altitude — a trek or climb above 13,000–16,000 ft / 4,000–5,000 m, such as Kilimanjaro, a high Andean trek, Mexico’s volcanoes or Ecuador

Previous altitude teaches you the one thing training at home can’t: how your own body behaves up high.

Motivated climbers on their first major expedition can succeed here. In that case we look for strong fitness, real commitment to preparation and the humility to learn fast. Every climber’s background is personally reviewed before booking, and if we think a different objective should come first, we’ll tell you.

How to Prepare

Most successful climbers train seriously for at least four to six months. The core of it:

Long hill or mountain days carrying a weighted pack
Back-to-back big days on weekends, so your body learns to recover and go again
Consistent aerobic base training through the week
Training days in the boots and layers you plan to use

Contact us early and tell us where you’re starting from. We’ll help you work out what your preparation should focus on. We don’t hand out a generic plan — what you need depends on your background.

Health and Medical Questions

If you have any medical condition, or take medication, talk with your physician about the expedition before you book. Conditions that are well managed at sea level can behave differently above 13,000 ft / 4,000 m, in the cold and under sustained effort. We recommend a physician’s evaluation for all climbers, and particularly a cardiovascular check for older climbers.

Be complete and honest on your medical form. It stays within the guiding team and is used to plan for your safety.

Aconcagua Provincial Park also requires two medical checks on the way to base camp, at Confluencia and Plaza de Mulas. Park clearance is required to continue.

Know your blood pressure

One of the most common problems at these checks is high blood pressure. Altitude can raise it, even in climbers who are normal at home. If the park doctor finds your blood pressure too high, you may have to stay an extra day at that camp and show that it has come down before you can continue — or you may be required to descend or be evacuated. Extra days and any evacuation are at your own cost. Know your numbers before you leave: have your blood pressure checked, and if it runs high, talk with your physician well before the expedition.

Aconcagua Provincial Park sets the minimum age: climbers under 14 are not admitted, and climbers under 18 need written authorization from both parents, signed before a notary. Families are welcome: younger climbers can join a scheduled team with a parent or guardian, or come on a private family expedition built around your family, and if a special permit is needed, we’ll help you apply. There is no fixed upper age limit; what matters is fitness, health and preparation.

Tried Aconcagua Before?

Many of our climbers come back after an attempt with another team. Our Normal Route runs 19 days, airport to airport, with four days of acclimatization around Las Cuevas before entering the park, built-in weather days, and one guide for every three climbers above base camp. Tell us what happened last time and we’ll tell you honestly what we’d do differently.

Who Does Well on Aconcagua

Climbers sharing a meal in the dining tent at Nido de Cóndores — Nido de Cóndores · 5,550 m · Day 12 · Photo: BBP

After more than thirty years on this mountain, the pattern is clear. The climbers who reach the summit — and enjoy the expedition — are not always the strongest athletes. They are the ones who:

Pace themselves with discipline instead of racing the group
Eat, drink and rest deliberately, even when they don’t feel like it
Say early and honestly how they’re feeling
Work as part of the team — helping in camp and looking out for others
Accept the guide’s decisions, including the hard ones

If that sounds like how you already operate in the mountains — or how you want to learn to — you’ll fit this team.

When It Is Probably Not the Right Fit

This expedition is probably not right for you now if:

You need a guaranteed summit to consider the trip worthwhile
Your schedule can’t absorb serious training before departure
Waiting out a storm at base camp sounds intolerable rather than simply hard
You aren’t willing to follow a guide’s turnaround decision

None of these make you unfit for the mountains. They make this objective, right now, the wrong tool for what you want.

How Does It Compare?

KilimanjaroAconcagua is meaningfully harder: about 3,500 ft / 1,070 m higher, colder, windier, more than twice as long, and you carry real loads and live in tents instead of walking with a daypack.

EverestAconcagua is a big step below: no supplemental oxygen, no technical climbing and no icefall. But it is a real test of how you handle extreme altitude, and many climbers use it as preparation for the Himalaya. The Road to Everest shows the steps from here.

Supplemental oxygenAconcagua is climbed without it. Your acclimatization is what gets you up. The guide team carries emergency oxygen for medical use only.

Can I Join on My Own?

Yes. Most scheduled teams are climbers who signed up independently and became a team. Departures are capped at six climbers, so even a full team stays small. If you would rather climb with people you know, see Private & Custom Expeditions.

Is It Dangerous?

Aconcagua’s risks are real: altitude illness, cold injury and wind, not technical terrain. Most of the risk is managed before it becomes visible — through gradual acclimatization, conservative pacing, daily monitoring of every climber, the park medical checks and guides who are prepared to turn anyone around.

The guide team carries a full medical kit, emergency oxygen and communications. Evacuation depends on weather, location and conditions, and is never guaranteed. Altitude illness caught early is usually manageable; ignored, it is the mountain’s biggest danger. That is why we ask you to report symptoms early and honestly.

What If I Don’t Reach the Summit?

The summit is the goal, but it is never guaranteed. Our job is to give you the best realistic chance and to bring you home safely.

If you turn around, it will be for a reason — pace, symptoms, weather or time — and we’ll tell you honestly what it was and what to do differently next time. Many climbers come back. Either way, you leave with days of real experience at serious altitude.

Where Aconcagua Fits

There is no single correct path to Aconcagua. You might come after Kilimanjaro, after Mexico or Ecuador, after years of hiking, skiing or climbing, or with considerable expedition experience already.

What matters is whether your experience and preparation match the objective. If you need another step first, that isn’t a rejection. It’s progression. A mountaineering course, Mexico’s volcanoes or Ecuador’s high peaks can build the altitude and skills that Aconcagua then brings together over a much longer expedition.

For some climbers, Aconcagua is the biggest mountain they’ll ever attempt. For others, it is a step toward Denali, Ojos del Salado or the Himalaya. Both belong on this team, and both get the same attention. Your next step should be based on what you need, not on what we want to sell you.

KilimanjaroAltitude experience at 5,895 m, on a trek.Mexico’s VolcanoesHigher altitude and first mountaineering skills.Ecuador’s High PeaksCrampons, ice axe and glacier skills on real volcanoes.Aconcagua Express14 days, for experienced high-altitude climbers with limited time.

Not Sure? That’s Normal

Most of our climbers weren’t sure when they first wrote to us. The honest answer to “could I actually do this?” usually starts with a conversation.

Tell us what you’ve climbed

How you train, the highest altitude you’ve reached and what you hope Aconcagua will be for you. We’ll give you a straight assessment — and if we think another mountain should come first, we’ll say so. See dates and prices. · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Ask a guide

Before You Go

Aconcagua Normal Route · Before You Go

Preparing for Aconcagua: Start Here

The climbers who arrive in Mendoza relaxed are the ones who finished their paperwork months ago, not weeks. This page puts your preparation in order: what to do, when, and where to find the details. Handle it early, and your energy in the final weeks goes into training, not logistics.

Climbing team trekking below Aconcagua's glaciers, Argentina

Three Things to Know Now

The park permit is separateAbout $1,200

Plan on about $1,200 USD. Bring it in US dollar cash: in Mendoza we go with you to an exchange house to change it into Argentine pesos, then buy the permit together. BBE processes it; you pay the fee. Mendoza sets each season’s rate (2025–26: $1,170 through an authorized provider); we confirm your exact amount before you travel.

Rescue and evacuation insurance is requiredRequired

It must cover mountaineering to at least 7,000 m, helicopter evacuation, and repatriation. We recommend Global Rescue (add its High-Altitude Evacuation Package) or Ripcord.

Argentina runs on cash$1,600–2,000

Plan on about $1,600–2,000 USD in cash for the permit, tips, and extras.

Your Seven Preparation Guides

1. Your Expedition ChecklistEvery form, document, and deadline, in order — from your application at booking to what you carry on arrival day.2. Trip Insurance & Evacuation CoverageWhat your required evacuation policy must cover, why trip cancellation insurance matters, and what evacuation on Aconcagua really involves.3. Flights & Getting to MendozaRouting through Buenos Aires or Santiago, Day 1 arrival and Day 19 departure, entry requirements, luggage, and what to do if travel goes wrong.4. Where You’ll StayNight by night: Mendoza hotel, the Las Cuevas mountain hut, Plaza de Mulas Base Camp and the high camps — and what is included at each.5. Life on the MountainCarry days, move days, rest days, and summit day. Eating, drinking, sleeping, staying healthy, camp jobs, staying in touch, and waiting out the weather.6. Aconcagua Gear ListHow to build and test your systems — feet, hands, layers, sleep and technical gear — with the full downloadable equipment list.7. What to Budget ForEvery cost outside the expedition price — required, recommended, optional, and contingency — and how much cash to bring.

Your Preparation Timeline

When you book

Submit your application and medical history form, waiver, emergency contacts, passport copy, and permit application through BBE’s online forms, with your deposit
Check your passport — we recommend at least 6 months’ validity beyond your return date
Check whether your nationality needs a visa for Argentina
Start structured training — see Is This for Me?
Read the gear list now, so big purchases have time to be tested
See your physician and have your blood pressure checked

120 days before departure

Your balance is due. (If you book within 120 days, full payment is due at booking.)

Once you’ve paid in full

Book your flights to Mendoza, and send BBE your full itinerary
Buy your rescue and evacuation insurance if you haven’t already, and send BBE proof of coverage
Consider trip cancellation insurance

At least 3 weeks before

Tell us about any equipment you plan to rent in Mendoza

4–6 weeks before

Visit a travel medicine clinic for current advice

The final 2 weeks

Do a full pack-out using the gear list
Get your cash ready: the permit in US dollar cash, plus tips and extras
Taper your training — arrive rested, not exhausted
Save copies of your passport, insurance certificate, and itinerary on your phone and in the cloud

Arrival day

A member of the BBE team meets you at Mendoza airport. That evening the team gathers for orientation, the equipment check and the welcome dinner. From then on, we handle logistics. Yours is climbing.

Still Deciding?

This section assumes you’re going. If you’re still working out whether Aconcagua is right for you this season — fitness, altitude experience, what happens if you turn around — start with Is This for Me? and Your Questions. For different dates or your own team, see Private & Custom Expeditions.

Questions while you prepare?

Gear choices, training doubts, insurance fine print, flight timing — ask early. Small questions are easiest to solve months out. See dates and prices. · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Ask a guide

Your Expedition Checklist

The climbers who arrive in Mendoza relaxed are the ones who finished their paperwork months ago, not the week before. This page lists everything BBE needs from you, what you need to bring, and when. Every form is available through BBE’s online forms.

Your Paperwork at a Glance

Everything BBE needs from you, in the order you’ll do it. Tick items off as you go; your ticks are saved on this device. The details for each item are below.

Step 1At booking, in the registration formDone together with your deposit

Reservation formName, email, date of birth and addressAt bookingDeposit — 20%Includes the $350 non-refundable booking fee. Your place is confirmed when we receive it.At bookingRegistration formProfile, emergency contacts, medical history and climbing experienceAt bookingPassport copyPhoto page, valid well beyond your return, with blank pagesAt bookingTerms & Conditions and ReleaseRead both carefully before you signAt booking

Step 2Buy, then send to BBEEmail climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Rescue & evacuation insuranceRequired. Send your certificate and your insurer’s 24-hour emergency number.Soon after bookingFlight itinerarySend it before you buy. We use it to arrange your arrival.Before you buy flightsBalanceDue 120 days before departure; inside 120 days, pay in full at booking120 days before departureEntry requirementsVisa or entry rules for your passport, covered in the flights section belowWell before you fly

Step 3Arrange and carryNeeded on the trip

Travel clinic visitVaccinations and health advice for your exact routing4–8 weeks beforeGear checkWork through the gear list and break in your bootsMonths beforeCash for the tripFor tips and spending; amounts are in What to Budget ForFinal two weeksPrinted documentsPassport, insurance certificate, flight itinerary and emergency contactsCarry with you

At Booking

Trip Application & Medical History Form. Your experience, fitness and relevant medical history: medications, previous altitude experience and anything your guide should know. It stays within the guiding team and is used to plan for your safety. Be complete and honest — it protects you. Submitted with your registration.

Deposit. Your place is confirmed only after BBE accepts your application and receives your deposit. Payment amounts and deadlines are on Dates & Prices.

Send to BBE

Liability waiver. A mountaineering liability waiver acknowledging the risks of high-altitude expedition climbing. Read it carefully. It means what it says.

Emergency contacts. Full name, relationship and phone/email for at least one person we can reach in an emergency. Add a backup if you can.

Passport copy. A copy of your passport photo page.

Aconcagua permit application. BBE provides the form. We use it, with your passport copy and proof of insurance, to process your climbing permit.

Proof of rescue and medical evacuation insurance. Your policy certificate showing the required coverage. Due after your final payment. See Trip Insurance & Evacuation Coverage for exactly what it must include.

Flight itinerary. All flight numbers, as soon as your flights are booked, so we can track your arrival and arrange your airport pickup.

When

Send the waiver, emergency contacts, passport copy and permit application at the time of booking, with your deposit. Send proof of insurance after your final payment, and your flight itinerary as soon as your flights are booked. All forms are submitted through BBE’s online forms.

Balance payment. Due 120 days before departure. If you register within 120 days of departure, full payment is due at booking.

Your Climbing Permit — Who Does What

BBE processes the permit. As a licensed outfitter in Aconcagua Provincial Park, BBE arranges your climbing permit as part of the expedition. Our Mendoza team handles the process during the first days of the trip.

You pay the permit fee. The permit is not included in the expedition price. Plan on about $1,200 USD for the Normal Route permit, brought in US dollar cash. Before the team enters the park, in Mendoza we go with you to an exchange house to change it into Argentine pesos, then buy the permit together. Mendoza sets each season’s rate (2025–26: $1,170 through an authorized provider). Permit payments are non-refundable. We confirm the current amount and payment instructions before departure.

What we need from you: the completed permit application, your passport copy and proof of insurance.

Health Preparation

See your physician. Talk through the expedition with your doctor before departure, especially if you have a medical condition or take medication.

Know your blood pressure. The park runs required medical checks at Confluencia and Plaza de Mulas, and high blood pressure is one of the most common reasons climbers are held for an extra day or sent down. Have it checked before you go.

Medications. Bring prescription medications for the full trip plus extra days, in your carry-on, in original labelled containers, with a copy of your prescriptions. If you are considering medication for altitude, discuss it with your physician well before departure.

Vaccinations. Visit a travel medicine clinic 4–6 weeks before departure for current advice on routine and travel vaccines.

Gear and Rentals

Read the gear list early. Boots and sleeping bags need real training days to test.

Rentals. Tell us at least three weeks before departure if you plan to rent equipment in Mendoza.

Travel

Passport. We recommend it be valid for at least 6 months beyond your return date, with blank pages for entry stamps.

Visa. Check whether your nationality needs one. See Flights & Getting to Mendoza.

Flights. Book once BBE has confirmed your place and you have paid in full. Favor changeable fares.

The Final Two Weeks

Do a full pack-out using the gear list — every item, packed the way it will travel
Get your cash ready: the permit (about $1,200) in US dollar cash, plus tips and personal spending (see What to Budget For)
Taper your training. Arrive rested, not exhausted
Save copies of your passport, insurance certificate and flight itinerary on your phone and in the cloud, and carry paper copies separate from the originals

Bring With You to Mendoza

Passport
Printed flight itinerary
Insurance certificate and your insurer’s emergency phone number
Written list of emergency contacts and relevant medical information
Prescription medications and copies of prescriptions
US dollar cash for the permit and expenses

Arrival Day

A member of the BBE team meets you at Mendoza airport. That evening the team gathers for orientation, the first equipment check and the welcome dinner. From then on, logistics are our job. Yours is climbing.

Questions? Paperwork is the least fun and most fixable part of expedition preparation. Ask early.

Ask a guide · Back to Before You Go · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Trip Insurance & Evacuation Coverage

There are two kinds of insurance for this expedition, and they do different jobs. One is required. The other is strongly recommended. Start early: insurance is the part of preparation that takes the longest and the part climbers most often get wrong.

Required by BBERescue and evacuation coverage

Required on every BBE international expedition. It pays to get you off the mountain and to proper medical care. The coverage it must include for this trip is listed below.

Strongly recommendedTrip insurance

Protects the money you’ve spent if illness, a family emergency or a travel disruption stops or cuts short your trip.

1. Rescue and Medical Evacuation Coverage — Required

You cannot join the expedition without it. Aconcagua Provincial Park also requires evacuation and medical coverage as a condition of the climbing permit.

Your policy must explicitly cover:

High-altitude mountaineering up to at least 7,000 meters (23,000 ft), with no altitude cap or activity exclusion below that
Climbing Aconcagua, in Argentina
Helicopter or other emergency evacuation when medically necessary
Emergency medical treatment
International medical transport to an appropriate facility
Repatriation

Many standard travel and health policies exclude mountaineering, or cap coverage well below Aconcagua’s 22,841 ft / 6,962 m. Read the exclusions before you buy.

Providers. We recommend Global Rescue or Ripcord. With Global Rescue, add the High-Altitude Evacuation Package; standard membership covers field rescue only to 15,000 ft / 4,600 m. Plaza de Mulas sits just below that line at 14,300 ft, and every camp above it is higher. Whichever you choose, confirm the plan covers helicopter evacuation to at least 7,000 m (23,000 ft). Any provider is acceptable if the policy meets every requirement above.

2. Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance — Strongly Recommended

This is a separate product. It protects the money you have spent if you have to cancel or leave early, and covers travel problems along the way:

Cancellation and interruption
Flight delays and missed connections
Lost or delayed baggage
Medical expenses while travelling

Why it matters: expedition payments are refunded only according to BBE’s cancellation terms, and refunds are not given for illness, injury, altitude illness, failing a park medical check, weather, missed flights or leaving the expedition early. See Dates & Prices for the full terms. Carry both. They are different products.

What Evacuation Really Looks Like

Evacuation on Aconcagua is not a button you press.

It is never guaranteed. Helicopter flights depend on weather, wind, altitude, operating conditions, availability and authorization. When a helicopter cannot fly, the team coordinates the best available alternative, which may mean descending on foot with a guide.

It is expensive, and it is your cost. Evacuation and early-departure costs are the climber’s responsibility, even if you plan to claim them from your insurer. You may need to pay at the time services are provided. Reimbursement depends on your policy and your insurer’s approval.

Park medical checks can trigger it. The park runs required medical checks at Confluencia and Plaza de Mulas. If the park doctor finds a problem — high blood pressure is the most common — you may have to stay an extra day at that camp and show it has come down, or you may be required to descend or be evacuated.

If you leave early. Our team helps coordinate your departure from the mountain and transport to Mendoza. BBE covers one night at base camp while your departure is arranged. Guided descent, helicopter, extra nights, transport, hotels, meals and flight changes are additional costs. Current estimates are on What to Budget For.

Keep every receipt and any medical documentation. You will need them for a claim.

What to Confirm With Your Insurer — In Writing

Before you buy, ask your provider to confirm in writing:

Does the policy cover mountaineering to at least 7,000 m on Aconcagua, Argentina?
Does it cover helicopter evacuation from high altitude?
Does it cover emergency medical treatment, international medical transport and repatriation?
Are there exclusions for guided expeditions, altitude, or pre-existing conditions that apply to you?
How do you contact them in an emergency, and do they pay providers directly or reimburse you?

What to Send BBE

Your policy certificate or confirmation showing the coverage above
Policy number and the insurer’s 24-hour emergency phone number

Send it through BBE’s online form after your final payment. Carry a copy with you; proof of insurance is part of the permit process in Mendoza.

Questions about coverage? Ask us before you buy. We see these policies every season.

Ask a guide · Back to Before You Go · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Flights & Getting to Mendoza

Getting to Aconcagua is straightforward: fly to Mendoza, Argentina (airport code MDZ), and we take it from there. Below is what you need to know about routing, timing, entry requirements and luggage — and what to do if travel goes sideways.

When to Book

Book your flights once BBE has confirmed your place and you have paid in full. Choose refundable or changeable fares where you can. Mountains don’t negotiate with airline change fees.

Book with your full legal name exactly as it appears in your passport, and send us your complete itinerary — every flight number — as soon as it’s booked. We use it to track your arrival and arrange your pickup.

Arrival — Day 1

Arrive in Mendoza early on Day 1, ideally in the morning or early afternoon. The team meets that evening for orientation, the first equipment check and the welcome dinner. An early arrival gives you time to recover from travel and sort out a delayed bag before the expedition leaves the city.

Airport pickup is included. A member of the BBE team meets you at Mendoza airport.

Want more margin? Arriving a day early is a good idea if your connections are tight. We can help arrange the extra hotel night, at your cost.

Departure — Day 19

The team returns to Mendoza on the evening of Day 18. Book your flight home any time on Day 19.

Departure transfers are not included, because flight times vary from climber to climber. A taxi or private transfer is easy to arrange, and we’ll help you set one up.

Routing to Mendoza

Most international climbers reach Mendoza through Buenos Aires or Santiago de Chile. The right choice depends on where you’re flying from and the connections available.

Via Buenos Aires. Most international flights land at Ezeiza (EZE). Many domestic flights to Mendoza leave from a different airport, Aeroparque (AEP), across the city. If your itinerary changes airports, there is no baggage transfer: you collect your bags, cross Buenos Aires by road and check in again.

Ways to cross: airport shuttle buses between EZE and AEP, an official taxi or private transfer booked at the arrivals counters (never a driver who approaches you in the terminal), or a ride-hailing app with an XL vehicle for expedition duffels. Check current schedules before you travel; shuttle service is limited in the early morning.

Allow at least 4–5 hours between flights when you change airports. A tight Buenos Aires connection is the most common reason climbers arrive in Mendoza a day late. Some itineraries connect through EZE without an airport change — check yours carefully, and send it to us if you want a second look.

Via Santiago de Chile. Santiago (SCL) is often the simpler routing, especially from the western US. The flight to Mendoza crosses the Andes in about an hour. You’ll clear immigration, collect your bags, pass customs and recheck them for the regional flight. Allow at least 3 hours.

Declare all food in Chile. Chilean agricultural inspection is strict. Undeclared snacks — even an apple or an energy bar — can mean a significant fine. Declared, sealed commercial food is normally not a problem.

Entry Requirements for Argentina

Entry rules depend on your nationality, and they change. Check the official requirements for your passport well before you travel.

US citizens. No visa is required for tourist visits of up to 90 days. Your passport must be valid on entry and have at least one blank page for the entry stamp (U.S. Department of State).

Other nationalities. Check with the Argentine consulate or embassy in your country, or Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration. If your passport requires a visa, getting it in time is your responsibility — and some consulates ask for documents 30–45 days before travel. Contact us if you’re unsure and we’ll point you in the right direction.

Our recommendation: carry a passport valid for at least 6 months beyond your return date. Airlines and connecting countries can be stricter than the destination.

Cash. Argentina requires travellers over 16 to declare cash over US$10,000 or equivalent on entry. Your expedition cash should be well under that, but know the rule.

Chile. If you route through Santiago, check whether your nationality has any transit or entry requirement for Chile.

Luggage

How your bags travel. Your city travel clothes stay at our Mendoza hotel in a small duffel during the expedition. A separate bag with final extras is left at Penitentes. Plan on four bags in total, plus your carry-on: two large mountain duffels that go with the expedition, the small city duffel and the Penitentes extras bag. The Aconcagua Gear List has the details.

Baggage allowances. Check your airline’s allowance when you book — expedition luggage often exceeds standard limits, and domestic and regional flights can have lower allowances than your international flight. Pre-paying extra bags is cheaper than paying at the airport.

Carry on what you can’t replace. Your mountaineering boots, and ideally your base layers and other critical fitted gear, should travel in your carry-on. Duffels sometimes arrive late. Boots that fit you cannot be replaced in Mendoza on short notice.

Track your bags. Put a tracking device such as an AirTag in each checked duffel. With connections and rechecked bags, knowing where your gear is before you land is cheap insurance.

If Something Goes Wrong

Flight cancelled, connection missed, bag missing: contact us immediately at climbing@benegasbrothers.com — before you rebook, if you can. We deal with this every season and can often adjust your pickup, hold the gear check or help chase a duffel while you travel. Travel problems are usually solvable. Late information is what makes them expensive.

Costs from travel disruptions — extra hotel nights, rebooking, transport — are not included in the expedition price. Trip insurance can help. See Trip Insurance & Evacuation Coverage.

Questions before you book? Five minutes of email before you buy can save you a rebooking fee.

Ask a guide · Back to Before You Go · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Where You'll Stay

Where you sleep shapes how you recover, and how you recover shapes how you climb. Over 19 days the expedition moves through four kinds of lodging: a city hotel, mountain lodging at Las Cuevas, a staffed base camp and expedition tents. Each step takes you deeper into the mountains, and each one is a little less comfortable than the last. Here is what to expect.

Expedition tents at a high camp on Aconcagua

Night by Night

Mendoza hotel — Days 1 and 18 (2 nights)
Las Cuevas mountain lodging — Days 2, 3 and 5 (3 nights)
Acclimatization camp, tents — Day 4 (1 night)
Confluencia, tents — Day 6 (1 night)
Plaza de Mulas Base Camp, tents — Days 7, 8, 9 and 17 (4 nights)
Camp Canadá, tents — Days 10 and 11 (2 nights)
Nido de Cóndores, tents — Day 12 (1 night)
Cólera, tents — Day 13 and summit night, plus Days 15–16 as the guides decide

Days 15–16 are flexible weather days. Where you sleep on those nights depends on weather and the team. See Day by Day.

Mendoza — City Hotel

Days 1 and 18 · about 2,460 ft / 750 m

The expedition starts and ends at the Park Hyatt Mendoza or a comparable approved hotel. If availability or operations require a substitution, the replacement is chosen to a comparable standard.

Mendoza is the expedition’s operating base: the welcome dinner, equipment check, permit processing and a real bed before and after the mountain.

Rooms. Double occupancy is standard — you share a room with a teammate. For climbers who prefer single-room accommodations, these can be arranged for an additional fee. Private rooms are available at hotels during the trip, but not at the Las Cuevas hut or on the mountain. Tell us when you book.

Your city bag. Your travel clothes stay at the hotel in a small duffel while you’re on the mountain, waiting for you when you get back.

Extra nights. Arriving early or staying on? We’re glad to help arrange extra nights, at your cost.

Las Cuevas — Mountain Lodging

Days 2, 3 and 5 · about 10,500 ft / 3,200 m

During the acclimatization phase the team stays at the Portezuelo del Viento refuge in Las Cuevas, near the Argentine–Chilean border. It is a mountain hut: simple and warm, with bunk beds only, and hot meals and drinks. There are no single rooms.

It is not a hotel, and that’s the point. Within a day of leaving Mendoza you are sleeping above 3,000 meters, which is exactly what your acclimatization needs.

Acclimatization Camp — First Night in Tents

Day 4 · about 12,800 ft / 3,900 m

The team spends one night in expedition tents near 3,900 meters. It’s a deliberate part of the plan: tent routines, sleeping systems and camp habits get sorted out here, close to a road and a lodge, rather than at 5,500 meters where mistakes cost more.

Confluencia

Day 6 · about 11,200 ft / 3,414 m

The first camp inside Aconcagua Provincial Park, in the Horcones Valley. It’s an established seasonal camp with a ranger station, basic toilet facilities and a medical post during the main season. You complete your first park medical check here and spend one night in expedition tents.

Plaza de Mulas Base Camp

Days 7, 8, 9 and 17 · 14,300 ft / 4,350 m

Plaza de Mulas is more developed than most climbers expect. The base camp operation provides dining tents and a kitchen serving hot meals and drinks, and the park medical station is nearby.

Tents. Typically two climbers share a three-person tent, which leaves room for gear.

Included: your tent, meals and base-camp services for the scheduled days.

Available to buy: showers, internet access and items from the camp store, such as snacks and drinks. These are paid on site and are not included.

Extra days. If extra base-camp days are needed beyond the schedule, they are charged per person, per day. See Dates & Prices.

Base camp is the recovery hub of the expedition. The rest you bank here is what you spend higher up.

The High Camps

Days 10–16

Camp Canadá · 16,570 ft / 5,050 m
Nido de Cóndores · 18,210 ft / 5,550 m
Cólera · 19,685 ft / 6,000 m

Above base camp the team lives in expedition tents. Camps are functional and built for the job: tents anchored on rocky ground, water melted from snow on expedition stoves, and guides managing camp placement, fuel and food. Two climbers share each tent.

Comfort up here means a well-pitched tent, a warm sleeping bag and a hot drink. It’s enough, and it works.

Your Gear While You Climb

City duffel — stays at the Mendoza hotel
Extras bag — stays at Penitentes
Two mountain duffels — go with the expedition; mules carry them on the approach

After the Expedition

Many climbers add a night or two in Mendoza after the mountain to eat well, sleep long and enjoy the city and wine country before flying home. We’ll help you arrange extra nights around your departure.

Common Questions

Where do I stay before and after the climb? At the Park Hyatt Mendoza or a comparable approved hotel, on Day 1 and Day 18.

Can I get a single room? Yes, at hotels during the trip, for an additional fee. Not at the Las Cuevas hut (bunk beds only) or on the mountain, where all tents are shared. Double occupancy is standard.

What is Plaza de Mulas like? A staffed base camp with dining tents and a kitchen, the park medical station nearby, and showers and other extras for purchase. You sleep two to a three-person tent.

What are the high camps like? Expedition tents on rocky ground, water melted from snow and guides running camp. Functional, not comfortable.

Where does my luggage go? City clothes stay at the Mendoza hotel, a bag of extras stays at Penitentes, and your mountain duffels travel with the expedition.

Ask a guide · Back to Before You Go · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Life on the Mountain

“Take care of the mountain, and the mountain will take care of you.”The Benegas Brothers’ motto, and the rule we climb by

The summit is one day. The expedition is nineteen.

Climber carrying a load up a snow slope on Aconcagua

What separates climbers who thrive from those who merely get through is not fitness alone. It is how they handle the daily realities: eating when appetite fades, sleeping poorly at altitude, keeping themselves organized, and waiting patiently for the wind to ease.

Here is what life on Aconcagua actually looks like—and how to prepare for it.

The Rhythm

The expedition is deliberately paced: four days of acclimatization at Las Cuevas, the approach to base camp, rest days, carries to higher camps, camp moves and standby days waiting for summit weather. That rhythm is the strategy, not a delay. At times it will feel slow. Near 7,000 meters, patience is not a personality trait. It’s a skill.

Four Kinds of Day

Carry days. You climb to the next camp with food, fuel and equipment, leave a cache and come back down to sleep lower. Expect a pack that has averaged about 44 lb / 20 kg, and can be more depending on your personal gear and the group gear. These are hard days, and they are how your body adapts.

Move days. The team moves up and stays. On Aconcagua, porters support each camp move at one porter for every two climbers, carrying part of the group gear, supplies and some personal gear. You still carry a real pack; how heavy depends on what is left to carry. Optional personal porters can lighten your load further, at extra cost.

Rest days. Your job is to eat, drink, sleep, dry your gear, look after your feet and recover. That work matters as much as the climbing.

Summit day. You leave high camp in the dark, climb for most of the day and still have to get down. Expect 10–13 hours round trip, deep cold and possibly severe wind. The guide sets the pace, the turnaround time and the decisions.

A Typical Climbing Day

Wake before sunrise. Melt snow for hot drinks. Eat, even if you don’t want to. Pack, check your layers, move — at the slow, steady pace your guide sets, with regular stops for water and food.

Back in camp in the afternoon: boots off, wet layers swapped for dry ones, drink, eat a hot meal, check your feet, rest. Recovery is part of the day’s work, not what happens after it.

Eating When You Don’t Want To

At altitude your body burns more while your appetite shrinks. Closing that gap is one of your main jobs every day. Climbers who eat and drink with discipline often outperform stronger climbers who don’t.

Included: all meals on the itinerary. At Plaza de Mulas, the base-camp kitchen serves hot meals and soups — eat well there, because base camp is where you build the reserves you spend higher up. At the high camps, the guide team cooks simpler meals such as soup, pasta, rice and oatmeal, with water melted from snow.

Bring your own snacks. Bars, nuts, chocolate, dried fruit — food you have already tested on long training days and know you will eat when you’re tired and cold. Buy extras in Mendoza before the mountain.

Drinking Enough

Aim for 3–4 liters a day, rest days included. Add electrolytes to at least one bottle a day. Use insulated bottles or covers: uninsulated bottles and hoses freeze. At night, keep your bottles inside your sleeping bag.

Sleeping at Altitude

Sleep above 13,000 ft / 4,000 m is lighter and more broken than at home. Periodic breathing that wakes you repeatedly is a normal response to altitude. At high camp, four to five hours of useful rest is a realistic target.

What helps: put tomorrow’s layers inside your sleeping bag, keep your headlamp and gloves within reach, sleep with your water bottles, bring earplugs for the wind and use a pee bottle instead of leaving the tent in the cold. If you’re considering medication for altitude, discuss it with your physician well before departure.

Staying Clean and Healthy

Hands. Clean your hands before every meal. A stomach illness spreads fast in a tent environment and can end an expedition at 18,000 feet.

Sun. Use high-SPF sunscreen from Day 1 and reapply through the day. Use SPF lip balm before your lips crack, not after.

Washing. Showers are available to buy at Plaza de Mulas, money well spent on a rest day. Above base camp, washing means wet wipes.

Feet and skin. Use base-camp rest days to deal with blisters and skin problems before they grow.

Report symptoms early. Headache, nausea, unusual breathlessness, coughing, numb fingers or toes — tell your guide. Small problems caught early are usually manageable.

Toilets and Waste

Aconcagua is a protected provincial park. All waste, including human waste, is handled under park rules, with the guide team leading the system. Confluencia and Plaza de Mulas have toilet facilities. At the high camps, your guide will show you how waste is managed. Expect basic, and follow the system — the mountain should not remember that we were there.

Your Role in Camp

You are a working member of the team: helping pitch and strike tents, organizing gear, melting snow and keeping camp clean. Guides lead camp operations, but the team works together. Climbers who engage with camp craft learn faster, perform better and take those skills to every future expedition.

Stay organized. Anything that can freeze — water, batteries, electronics, boot liners — sleeps inside the tent with you. Crampons and sharp tools live outside, in the same place every night, so you can find them in the dark. Disorganized camps cause problems in bad weather.

Staying in Touch

Starlink. The guide team carries Starlink satellite internet. Battery capacity limits it to a few minutes a day, used for weather forecasts and short messages. It is not for working remotely or calling home every day.

At base camp. You can buy internet access at Plaza de Mulas.

Above base camp. Expect little or no connectivity beyond the guide team’s communications.

Tell your family before you leave: silence from the upper mountain is normal, not a sign of a problem. For anything urgent at home, the BBE office can relay messages to the team.

WhatsApp. We set up a WhatsApp group for your expedition with the guides, the office and your team.

Charging Your Devices

Power on the mountain is limited. Bring a power bank of at least 10,000 mAh and the cables for your devices. Keep batteries warm — inside your jacket by day and your sleeping bag at night. Cold drains them fast. Device charging is included.

Downtime and Weather Days

There will be time with nothing to do: afternoons in camp, rest days and days waiting for the wind to drop. Bring something for it — a book, downloaded podcasts, a journal, cards.

Weather holds are normal on Aconcagua. The itinerary includes two flexible days for them, but they can’t cover every possible delay. If weather keeps the team at Plaza de Mulas beyond the scheduled days, extra base-camp days are charged per person, per day. See Dates & Prices.

Safety Every Day

The guide team monitors every climber daily — pace, oxygen saturation, hydration, appetite and recovery. They carry a full medical kit and emergency oxygen on the upper mountain. Aconcagua is climbed without supplemental oxygen; the emergency oxygen is for medical use only.

Common Questions

What does a normal day look like? Wake early, melt snow, eat, pack and move at a steady guided pace with regular stops. In camp by afternoon: dry layers, drink, hot meal, check your feet, rest.

What’s the food like? Hot meals and soups from the base-camp kitchen at Plaza de Mulas; simpler meals cooked by the guides at the high camps. Bring your own tested snacks.

Can I contact home? Only briefly. The guide team’s Starlink is limited to a few minutes a day by battery capacity. Tell your family that silence from the upper mountain is normal.

Can I shower? At Plaza de Mulas, showers are available to buy. Above base camp, wet wipes.

How will I sleep? Lighter and more broken than at home — that’s normal at altitude. Four to five hours of useful rest at high camp is a realistic target.

How heavy will my pack be? On carry days and at Las Cuevas, it has averaged about 44 lb / 20 kg and can be more. On camp-move days, porters support the team and your load depends on what is left to carry.

Ask a guide · Back to Before You Go · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Aconcagua Gear List

The Normal Route is not a sustained technical climb, but it is a serious high-altitude expedition. You will spend many nights in cold, windy camps, carry loads between camps and may use crampons and an ice axe when conditions require. On summit day, near 7,000 meters in deep cold and wind, your equipment either works or it doesn’t.

This page explains how to think about your gear and what matters most. The complete item-by-item list, with specifications and recommended models, is in the PDF below. Every item on it is required unless it is marked optional.

Download the Aconcagua Gear List (PDF)

Think in Systems, Not Items

The gear that fails on Aconcagua is usually not a missing item. It’s an item that has never been used with the rest of the kit. Your boots need to work with your crampons, your gloves with your layers, your sleeping bag with your pad, in real cold. Build each system, then test it.

Feet

Mountaineering boots. Insulated, rigid-soled boots that are fully compatible with your crampons. Hybrid double boots are preferred. Fit matters more here than almost anywhere else: cold, swollen feet on summit day will find every problem.

Gaiters, socks and approach shoes. Knee-length gaiters that fit over your boots. Liner, hiking and warm socks — no cotton. Light approach shoes for the trek and camp shoes for base camp.

Hands

You will rarely take gloves off above base camp. The system goes from liner gloves, to windproof midweight gloves, to insulated cold-weather gloves, to expedition mittens for summit day. Bring a spare pair of insulated gloves. Losing a glove on summit day is serious; carrying a spare is not optional.

Body and Layers

Several thin layers work better than one thick one. The list runs from base layers and a sun shirt, through midweight and fleece layers, a softshell and a hard shell, to a lightweight down jacket and an 8,000-meter-rated expedition down parka in excellent condition. The expedition parka is required for summit day.

Legs follow the same logic: base layers, trekking pants, softshell pants and full-zip hard-shell pants, with insulated pants optional for very cold camps.

Head and Eyes

Warm beanie (one must fit under your helmet), balaclava, buff and sun hat. Glacier glasses with side protection and no more than 10% light transmission, a spare pair, and goggles for wind and storm. At this altitude, losing eye protection is a serious problem.

Sleep

An expedition sleeping bag rated to −20 °F / −29 °C (down preferred), a full-length insulated inflatable pad with a repair kit, and a closed-cell foam pad underneath. Sleep is where you recover. A cold night costs you the next day.

Technical Equipment

Steel crampons (not aluminum)
Ice axe, sized to your height
Climbing helmet, UIAA-approved, that fits over a hat or balaclava
Climbing harness with adjustable leg loops
One locking carabiner
Adjustable trekking poles with snow baskets
Headlamp with spare lithium batteries

You do not need previous experience with crampons or an ice axe. Your guides will review or teach the basics on the mountain.

Packs and Bags

A 55–65 L expedition pack for carries and camp moves
A summit-day pack, about 45 L
Two large expedition duffels, 90–120 L, that go with the expedition
A small duffel for your city clothes, which stays at the Mendoza hotel
A bag for final extras, which stays at Penitentes

Pack your gear in duffels for flights, not in your backpack — baggage handling damages straps. Lock your bags.

Personal Medical Kit and Toiletries

Bring a small personal first-aid and blister kit, sunscreen (SPF 50+), SPF lip balm, hand sanitizer and your prescription medications in original labelled containers. The guide team carries a comprehensive expedition medical kit. Talk with your physician about which medications you should carry.

What BBE Provides

The guide team carries and manages the group equipment: group tents and camp systems, cooking equipment and fuel, the expedition medical kit and emergency oxygen, communications, and any group technical equipment the operating plan and conditions require. Personal clothing, boots, sleeping gear and personal technical equipment are yours to bring or rent.

Test Everything Before You Go

Wear your boots, with your crampons on, on real training days
Train in your actual layers and gloves in cold, windy weather
Spend a cold night in your sleeping system if you can
Do a full pack-out two weeks before departure — every item, packed the way it will travel

Boots and sleeping bags need months of testing, not weeks. Start early.

Renting in Mendoza

Some equipment can be rented through providers in Mendoza, including double boots, sleeping bags, crampons and ice axes. Availability and sizes are never guaranteed. Tell us at least three weeks before departure if you plan to rent, so we can help confirm what’s available. Rental rates are set by local shops, not by BBE.

We strongly recommend bringing your own clothing system and, whenever practical, your own boots. If you rent boots, the fit must be checked carefully before the expedition leaves Mendoza. For a first expedition there is a reasonable case for renting the expensive items once before you buy them.

The Equipment Check

Your guide reviews all your equipment in Mendoza on Day 1, before the expedition leaves the city. That is the time to find missing or unsuitable items, while they can still be replaced.

Download the Full List

The complete Aconcagua Normal Route equipment list — every required item, with specifications, guide notes and recommended models — is available as a PDF. Print it, check items off as you build your kit and bring your questions to us.

Download the Aconcagua Gear List (PDF)

Common Questions

What boots do I need? Insulated, rigid-soled mountaineering boots fully compatible with your crampons; hybrid double boots are preferred. Bring your own if you can — the right size may not be available to rent in Mendoza at short notice.

Do I need a helmet and harness on a non-technical route? Yes. Both are on the required list.

Can I rent gear? Yes, through providers in Mendoza — usually boots, sleeping bags, crampons and ice axes. Tell us at least three weeks before departure.

What does BBE provide? Group tents and camp systems, cooking equipment and fuel, medical and emergency equipment, communications and group technical equipment.

Questions about your gear? Ask early. Most gear problems are easy to solve months out and hard to solve in Mendoza.

Ask a guide · Back to Before You Go · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

What to Budget For

The expedition price is one number. The real cost of the trip is another, and the gap catches climbers off guard. Argentina also runs on cash more than most visitors expect, and there is no banking above Mendoza.

Cash to carry$1,600–2,000

For the park permit, gratuities, base-camp extras and personal spending.

Park permitabout $1,200

Paid in cash. Mendoza sets each season’s rate.

Gratuities$280–450

Per climber, shared across the team.

This page sets out every cost outside the expedition price, sorted into what is required, what is strongly recommended, what is optional and what to hold in reserve. For the expedition price, what it includes, the payment schedule and cancellation terms, see Dates & Prices.

Your Budget at a Glance

RequiredCosts every climber pays

Aconcagua park permitSet by Mendoza each season · USD cash · non-refundable~$1,200
Rescue & evacuation insuranceRequired by BBE and by the park$850–900
Flights to Mendoza (MDZ)You book these · budget for extra bagsVaries
Personal gearDepends on what you already ownVaries

Strongly recommended

Trip insuranceCancellation, interruption, delays, baggage$200–500

Personal spending

Base-camp extrasShowers, internet, camp store · cash is simpler$50–150
SnacksYour own tested snacks · stock up in Mendoza$50–100
Meals in MendozaDay 18 dinner and any meal off the itineraryVaries
PhoneRoaming add-on or local SIM$50–100

OptionalOnly if you add them

Extra Mendoza hotel nightsIf you arrive early or stay on$100–250 a night
Single roomsHotels only · not at Las Cuevas or on the mountainExtra fee

Tips: How They Work

Tipping is optional and should reflect the service you received and your budget. As a guideline, per climber, for the full expedition:

Total per climberAbout $280–450

Shared among the guide team, base-camp staff, porters and muleteers. You can give the guide team’s share to the lead guide to distribute. Tip in cash, in US dollars; money-transfer apps are often difficult for local staff to use.

Cash and Cards

Bring about $1,600–2,000 USD in cash. This covers the permit, gratuities, base-camp extras and personal spending. The lower end leaves little room once the permit and suggested tips are paid.

Add about $915–1,150 if you plan to use full personal porter service.

Your contingency funds are separate from this cash. Keep a card with available credit, and know how to reach more money if you need it.

How to carry it:

US dollars are preferred. Bring clean, unmarked bills — worn or torn notes are often refused.
The park permit is paid in Argentine pesos, cash only. We change your dollars together at an exchange house in Mendoza.
ATMs in Mendoza often have low withdrawal limits and fees. Bring your cash with you rather than planning to withdraw it.
A small amount of Argentine pesos is useful for small purchases in Mendoza.
Cards are widely accepted in Mendoza for hotels, restaurants and shops.
There is no banking above Mendoza. Arrange all your cash before the team leaves the city.
Argentina requires travellers over 16 to declare cash over US$10,000 or equivalent on entry.

Contingency

These costs only happen if something changes. Plan for them anyway. Keep access to funds beyond your cash budget — a credit card with room on it is the simplest way.

Extra days at Plaza de Mulas$240 per person, per day

Base-camp services and meals are included for the scheduled days only. If weather, a park medical hold, itinerary changes or personal circumstances keep you at base camp longer, extra days are charged at $240 per person, per day, covering meals, tent and camp services. Additional guide staffing, porters, transport or hotels may be charged separately if needed. See Dates & Prices for the controlling terms.

Extra day at Confluencia$180 per person, per day

If the park doctor holds you at Confluencia — for example, until your blood pressure comes down — the extra day is charged at $180 per person, plus the cost of an assistant guide to bring you up to Plaza de Mulas once you’re cleared.

Leaving the expedition early. If you leave early for medical or personal reasons, the extra costs are yours. BBE covers one night at base camp while your departure is arranged, and our team helps coordinate your descent and transport to Mendoza. Current estimates for 2026–27:

Guided descent from base camp to the trailhead (about one day) — $450 for one person, or $300 per person for two or more
Helicopter from base camp to the trailhead, if available — about $2,300 for one person, $1,150 per person for two, or $770 per person for three
Extra nights at base camp — $240 per person, per night
Card payments — a processing fee of up to 7%

Transport to Mendoza, hotels, meals and flight changes are additional. Helicopter flights are never guaranteed; they depend on weather, conditions, availability and authorization. Prices can change, and final charges depend on the services provided. You may need to pay at the time, even if you plan to claim from your insurer.

Travel disruption. Missed connections, delayed bags and cancelled flights can mean extra hotel nights, rebooking fees and transport. Not included in the expedition price. Trip insurance can help.

More cost details for this trip

Porters on Aconcagua

On camp-move days, BBE provides porter support for the team at one porter for every two climbers, included in the expedition. A personal porter is an extra you can hire to carry more of your own load. Personal porters are arranged in country through your guides, for the full climb or carry by carry.

Team porters on camp-move daysIncluded

One porter for every two climbers, carrying part of the group gear, supplies and some personal gear. You still carry a real pack.

Personal porter, Plaza de Mulas to Camp CanadáAbout $160

Up to 20 kg, charged as a full load.

Personal porter, Camp Canadá to Nido de CóndoresAbout $220

Up to 20 kg, charged as a full load.

Personal porter, Nido de Cóndores to CóleraAbout $320

Up to 20 kg, charged as a full load.

Personal porter, Cólera down to Plaza de MulasAbout $450

Up to 20 kg, charged as a full load.

Full personal porter serviceAbout $915–1,150

All four carries above, depending on the provider.

Rates are set by local porters, vary by camp, load and season, and are confirmed before departure. Bring cash if you expect to use them.

At a Glance

Beyond the expedition price, your flights and your gear:

RequiredPark permit — about $1,200, cash
Rescue and evacuation insurance — varies by provider; recently around $850–900 with Global Rescue

Strongly recommendedTrip cancellation insurance — about $200–500

Expected but optionalGratuities — about $280–450
Snacks, phone and base-camp extras — about $150–350

OptionalFull personal porter service — about $915–1,150
Extra hotel nights and meals in Mendoza — varies

Contingency — not in your cash budgetExtra base-camp days — $240 per person, per day; extra day at Confluencia — $180 plus an assistant guide
Early departure or evacuation — see above

Questions about costs? Ask us. We would rather you plan it right than guess.

Ask a guide · Back to Before You Go · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Private & Custom Expeditions

Your Dates · Your Team · Your Objective

Private & Custom Aconcagua Expeditions

A large share of the expeditions we run are private or custom. If you want to climb Aconcagua on your own schedule, with your own team or one to one with a guide, this is how we do it.

Private does not mean easier. It does not mean more advanced. It means the expedition is designed around your team.

What a Private Expedition Is

Your group, your dates, your objective. You don’t join a scheduled public team. The dates, itinerary, pace, guide staffing and support are built around your group and set out in a written proposal.

The mountain doesn’t change. Aconcagua’s altitude, cold and wind are the same on a private trip. A private expedition doesn’t shorten the time your body needs to acclimatize, and it doesn’t guarantee a summit. What it gives you is a plan built for your people.

Who It Suits

Couples and friends who want to climb together without joining a larger group
Families, clubs, organizations and corporate teams
Individual climbers who want one-to-one guiding
Climbers who need different dates from the scheduled departures
Climbers who want a different pace or extra acclimatization days
Climbers who want more porter support
Experienced climbers with a specific objective — a route variation, a more technical line, or Aconcagua as preparation for a bigger mountain

Led by Willie or Damian

Willie and Damian Benegas personally lead custom expeditions when requested. Between them they have stood on Aconcagua’s summit more than 100 times, and they have climbed the mountain by its Normal Route, technical lines and new routes since their first ascent together in 1988–89.

Founder leadership is never assumed. If Willie or Damian is leading your expedition, it is confirmed in writing in your proposal. Ask early — their schedules fill.

What Can Be Customized

Depending on your objective and conditions on the mountain:

DatesBuilt around your request, subject to guide availability, park operations and logistics

Length and paceMore days, more rest, more time to acclimatize

Acclimatization planIncluding additional time at Las Cuevas or on the mountain

Team size and guide staffingScaled to your group and objective rather than the scheduled-departure format

Porter supportMore than the standard support on scheduled departures

Route and objectiveThe Normal Route, a variation, or a more technical or alternative objective for experienced climbers

ExtensionsTime in Mendoza or elsewhere in Argentina before or after the climb

We’ve been running expeditions in the Andes for decades. Tell us what you’re trying to do, and we’ll tell you honestly what is possible, what is smart and what will actually improve your expedition.

Silhouette of a BBP filmmaker behind a cinema camera against the setting sun — Camp Canadá (Camp 1) · 5,050 m · Day 10 · Photo: BBP

How Pricing Works

Private expedition prices are provided on request. They depend on the level of service you choose, including:

Dates and length
Group size
Guide staffing
Porter support
The overall level of service
The final logistics plan

Your proposal sets out what is included, what is not and the booking terms. Rescue and medical evacuation insurance is required on every expedition, private or scheduled.

The Same Standards

Private expeditions run to the same BBE standards as our scheduled departures: certified guides, a deliberate acclimatization plan, daily monitoring of every climber, medical and communications equipment, and guides who will turn the team around when that is the right call.

How to Start

Private expeditions need lead time. Permits, guide scheduling and logistics are booked ahead, and the earlier you contact us, the more options you have.

Tell us:

Your preferred dates
Who is in your group
Your climbing and altitude experience
What you want from the expedition We answer every inquiry personally.

Common Questions

Can I climb on my own dates?
Yes. We build the expedition around your requested dates, subject to guide availability, park operations and logistics.

Can I book as a private group?
Yes — couples, friends, families, clubs and organizations all climb privately with us.

Can I climb one to one with a guide?
Yes. A private expedition can be built for a single climber.

Will Willie or Damian lead my expedition?
They lead custom expeditions on request. It is confirmed in writing in your proposal, never assumed.

Is a private expedition faster or easier?
No. You can change the pace and the plan, but you can’t change how long your body needs to acclimatize. We will not shorten acclimatization to fit a schedule.

What does it cost?
Prices are provided on request and depend on the level of service you choose.

Ready to talk about it?

Start the conversation. See scheduled dates and prices. · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Ask a guide

Dates & Prices

Aconcagua Normal Route · 19 Days · 22,841 ft / 6,962 m

This page sets out the dates, price, what’s included, guide staffing and booking terms for the Benegas Brothers Aconcagua Normal Route expedition.

The Normal Route does not usually involve sustained technical climbing, but altitude, weather, cold and the length of the expedition make it a serious mountaineering objective. Before accepting a registration, BBE reviews each climber’s experience, fitness, and preparation to ensure Aconcagua is the right objective and to identify any work still needed before departure.

Expedition price$8,500

USD per climber.

Deposit to book20%

Of the expedition price. Includes a $350 non-refundable booking fee.

Balance120 days

Due 120 days before departure. Inside 120 days, you pay in full at booking.

Based on shared accommodation. Single rooms can be arranged at hotels during the trip for an additional fee — not at the Las Cuevas hut, which has bunk beds only, or on the mountain, where all tents are shared. Private and custom expeditions are quoted separately.

Departures

Nov 29 – Dec 17, 2026Open

Jan 9 – 27, 2027Open

Feb 6 – 24, 2027Open

Nov 28 – Dec 16, 2027Planned

Jan 8 – 26, 2028Planned

Feb 5 – 23, 2028Planned

2027–28 dates follow the same operating pattern as 2026–27. They are not yet open for booking as confirmed departures; that depends on park operations, guide availability, and BBE scheduling.

Availability changes. Your place is confirmed only after BBE has accepted your application and received your deposit. Book your flights once your place is confirmed and you have paid in full.

Need different dates? See Private & Custom Expeditions.

Team Size and Guide Staffing

Scheduled departures are capped at six climbers, with one guide for every three climbers:

1–3 climbers: one guide for the whole expedition
4 climbers: one guide from Mendoza to Plaza de Mulas; a second guide joins at Plaza de Mulas for the rest of the expedition
5–6 climbers: two guides from Mendoza

Every expedition is led by an internationally or nationally certified guide selected to BBE standards. Plaza de Mulas also has local base-camp staff — camp managers, cooks and support personnel — who provide camp services but are not counted as climbing guides.

Registration does not mean Willie or Damian Benegas will personally guide your departure, unless their participation is confirmed in writing.

What’s Included — and What Isn’t

Included in the price

Before the trip

Application and readiness review
Pre-trip planning and communication
Training recommendations
Personal equipment consultation
Expedition preparation documents

Transport and logistics

Airport pickup in Mendoza on Day 1
All ground transport in the itinerary, including transfers between Mendoza, Las Cuevas and Aconcagua Provincial Park
Aconcagua permit paperwork and processing (the permit fee itself is not included)
Mules for the approach loads
Porter support on camp-move days on Aconcagua — one porter for every two climbers, carrying a share of group gear, supplies and personal gear

Accommodation

Two nights in Mendoza at the Park Hyatt Mendoza or a comparable approved hotel, double occupancy
Three nights at the Las Cuevas mountain hut during the acclimatization phase
Expedition tents at every camp, two climbers per tent

Hotel substitutions may be needed for availability or operational reasons. Any replacement will be of a comparable standard.

Meals

Welcome dinner in Mendoza on Day 1
All meals during the itinerary from Day 2 to Day 18, except dinner in Mendoza on Day 18
Breakfast on Day 19
Full meal service at Plaza de Mulas Base Camp on the scheduled days

Expedition operations

BBE expedition leadership and certified guide team
Full base-camp services at Plaza de Mulas for the scheduled days, including device charging
Group tents, camp systems, cooking equipment and fuel
Group technical equipment
Expedition medical kit and emergency oxygen
Radio and satellite communications, including Starlink carried by the guide team (limited daily use)
Equipment check in Mendoza

Climbers cooking and eating together outside at Nido de Cóndores — Nido de Cóndores · 5,550 m · Day 12 · Photo: BBP

Not included

International and domestic flights
Aconcagua Provincial Park climbing permit fee (about $1,200 USD; Mendoza sets each season’s rate)
Airport transfer on departure day
Passport, visa, or entry costs
Excess-baggage charges
Personal clothing and mountaineering equipment
Equipment rentals
Rescue and medical evacuation insurance (required)
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance (strongly recommended)
Personal porter service beyond the included porter support
Guide and staff gratuities
Personal snacks and drinks
Showers, internet access, camp-store purchases and other personal base-camp purchases
Meals in Mendoza not listed in the itinerary, including dinner on Day 18
Single-room supplements
Extra hotel nights from early arrival, late departure or itinerary changes
Additional base-camp or mountain days beyond the itinerary
Unscheduled transport or lodging
Medical treatment, evacuation and repatriation
Costs of leaving the expedition early
Costs from weather, illness, flight disruptions, government action or other circumstances outside BBE’s control

See What to Budget For for realistic amounts.

Aconcagua Climbing Permit

The park permit is not included in the expedition price. BBE handles the permit paperwork and processing for each climber as part of the expedition. You pay the permit fee separately.

Plan on about $1,200 USD for the Normal Route permit. Mendoza sets each season’s rate (2025–26: $1,170 through an authorized provider); we confirm your exact amount before you travel.

Bring it in US dollar cash. Before the team enters the park, in Mendoza we go with you to an exchange house to change it into Argentine pesos, then buy the permit together. Permit payments are non-refundable.

The Government of Mendoza sets permit prices and procedures. Fees can vary by season, nationality, route, and service category, and the season band is based on your actual park entry date. BBE confirms the current amount and payment instructions before departure. Don’t budget with permit prices from previous seasons.

Insurance Requirements

Rescue and medical evacuation coverage is required. Your policy must explicitly cover high-altitude mountaineering to at least 7,000 meters; climbing Aconcagua in Argentina; helicopter or other emergency evacuation when medically necessary; emergency medical treatment; international medical transport; and repatriation.

Trip cancellation and interruption insurance is strongly recommended.

Send proof of the required coverage after your final payment. Full details: Trip Insurance & Evacuation Coverage.

Your Total Trip Cost

The expedition price is the biggest number, not the only one. Typical ranges per climber, in U.S. dollars:

Expedition price$8,500

Cash beyond the price (permit, tips, extras, personal)$1,600–2,000

Rescue and evacuation insurance (required)about $850–900

Typical total, before flights and gearabout $10,950–11,400

Not included in that total: international flights, personal gear, trip insurance, extra base-camp days and full porter service. The full breakdown is on What to Budget For.

Payment & Cancellation

Deposit: $1,700 (20% of the trip price), due at booking. $350 of it is a nonrefundable booking fee.

Balance: $6,800, due 120 days before the start date. Booking within 120 days? Full payment is due at booking.

How to pay: bank transfer/ACH (no fee), wire transfer (you pay the bank fees) or credit card (3% surcharge). All prices are in U.S. dollars.

If you cancel:

121 days or more before the start date: full refund, less the $350 booking fee
90 to 120 days: 50% refund, after the $350 booking fee
89 days or fewer: no refund

Can’t make it? Send a qualified climber in your place at no BBE fee.

Insurance: medical and rescue/evacuation coverage required. Trip cancellation insurance strongly recommended.

Once the trip begins, payments are nonrefundable.

Read the full Payment & Cancellation Policy →

Additional Base-Camp Days

The expedition price includes base-camp services and meals at Plaza de Mulas only for the days in the itinerary. The local operator charges for each additional day the team or a climber stays at base camp. Extra days can be needed because of weather, a park medical hold, individual or team circumstances, itinerary changes, or other conditions outside the schedule.

The current charge is $240 USD per climber, per additional day, covering base-camp meals, tent, and services for that day. If a climber is held at Confluencia — for example, after a park medical check — the charge there is $180 USD per day, plus the cost of an assistant guide to bring the climber up to Plaza de Mulas.

Additional guide staffing, porters, transport, hotels, or other logistics may be charged separately, as needed. The itinerary includes two flexible days, but they can’t cover every possible delay.

Private and Custom Expeditions

Prefer your own dates, your own team, or one-to-one guiding? Private expeditions are built around your group, and prices are provided on request depending on the level of service. Willie or Damian can lead custom expeditions on request, confirmed in writing. See Private & Custom Expeditions.

Before You Register

Please read:

The Climb
Day by Day
Is This for Me?
Before You Go — especially Trip Insurance & Evacuation Coverage and What to Budget For

Don’t choose Aconcagua only because the dates and price work. It also needs to be the right objective for your experience, preparation, and long-term goals.

Ask a Guide

Tell us about your climbing background, altitude experience, recent training and what you hope to get from Aconcagua. We’ll give you a straight assessment of whether this expedition fits and what preparation may still be needed.

Ready to register?

Submit your application and deposit. Ask a guide · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

Your Questions

Aconcagua Normal Route · Answered by the Guides

Straight answers to the questions climbers ask most before committing to Aconcagua. Each answer is short and points you to the page with the full detail. If your question isn’t here, ask us — we answer every inquiry personally.

Still have a question? Ask a guide · See dates and prices · climbing@benegasbrothers.com

The Normal Route is non-technical in good conditions, but it is not easy. Altitude, cold, wind, long days, carrying loads and nearly three weeks of camping are what make it hard. Read Is This for Me? for an honest assessment.

If you’ve done serious trekking, multi-day trips with a tent, or climbed or trekked above 13,000–16,000 ft / 4,000–5,000 m, you may be ready. You don’t need rope skills or previous crampon experience; your guides teach the basics. Tell us your background and we’ll give you a straight answer — and if another objective should come first, we’ll say so.

Most climbers who do well train seriously for at least four to six months: long hill days with a weighted pack, back-to-back big days, and steady aerobic work. Contact us early and we’ll help you focus your preparation.

It is meaningfully harder than Kilimanjaro: about 3,500 ft / 1,070 m higher, colder, windier, more than twice as long, with real loads and nights in tents. It is a big step below Everest: no supplemental oxygen, no technical climbing, no icefall. For many climbers it is the real test before the Himalaya. The Road to Everest shows the steps from here.

No. Aconcagua is climbed without it, and your acclimatization is what gets you up. The guide team carries emergency oxygen for medical use only.

Aconcagua Provincial Park sets the minimum age: climbers under 14 are not admitted, and climbers under 18 need written authorization from both parents, signed before a notary. Families are welcome: younger climbers can join a scheduled team with a parent or guardian, or come on a private family expedition built around your family, and if a special permit is needed, we’ll help you apply. There is no upper limit; what matters is fitness, health and preparation. We recommend a physician’s evaluation for every climber.

We don’t publish a number. Aconcagua turns back many fit climbers every season, and no one can promise you the summit. What we can do is build the expedition around what improves your chances: acclimatization before the park, a small team, careful pacing, built-in weather days and honest decisions.

The summit is never guaranteed. If you turn around, it will be for a reason — pace, symptoms, weather or time — and we’ll tell you honestly what it was and what to do differently next time. Many of our climbers come back.

Our Normal Route is 19 days, Mendoza to Mendoza, including four days of acclimatization around Las Cuevas, the approach to base camp, three high camps, summit day, two flexible weather days and the descent. See Day by Day. For experienced high-altitude climbers with limited time, we also run the 14-day Aconcagua Express.

The season runs through the Southern Hemisphere summer, from late November to February. No month guarantees good weather; wind is the deciding factor, and summit decisions are made on real conditions. Current departures are on Dates & Prices.

About 10–13 hours round trip from Cólera camp at 19,685 ft / 6,000 m, starting in the dark. It is the longest and hardest day of the expedition.

On carry days and during the Las Cuevas phase, packs have averaged about 44 lb / 20 kg, and can be more depending on your personal gear and the group gear. On camp-move days on Aconcagua, porters support the team at one porter for every two climbers, and your load depends on what is left to carry. Optional personal porters can lighten your load further.

A maximum of six climbers, with one guide for every three. With four climbers, a second guide joins at Plaza de Mulas; with five or six, two guides start from Mendoza.

Yes. Most scheduled teams are climbers who signed up independently. If you’d rather climb with your own group, see Private & Custom Expeditions.

Two flexible weather days are built into the itinerary, but they can’t cover every delay. If the team or a climber needs extra days at Plaza de Mulas, they are charged at $240 per person, per day. If the weather window never opens, we descend safely.

Aconcagua Provincial Park requires medical checks at Confluencia and Plaza de Mulas, and you need clearance to continue. High blood pressure is one of the most common problems. If it’s too high, you may have to stay an extra day to show it has come down, or descend. An extra day at Confluencia costs $180, plus an assistant guide to bring you up to Plaza de Mulas; an extra day at Plaza de Mulas costs $240. Have your blood pressure checked before you leave.

The risks are real: altitude illness, cold and wind. Most risk is managed before it becomes visible — through gradual acclimatization, conservative pacing, daily monitoring of every climber, the park checks and guides who will turn anyone around. Evacuation depends on weather and conditions and is never guaranteed. Report symptoms early.

Summit day can bring temperatures far below freezing with severe wind chill. Nights at high camp are frozen even in good weather. That’s why the gear list is strict and why we check every item in Mendoza before you need it.

Briefly. The guide team carries Starlink, limited to a few minutes a day by battery capacity. You can buy internet access at Plaza de Mulas. Above base camp, expect little or no connectivity — tell your family that silence is normal. The BBE office can relay urgent messages.

The park allows independent climbing, and for very experienced expedition climbers it can be a legitimate choice. But you take on every decision yourself: acclimatization, weather calls, logistics and your rescue margin. The judgment that tells you when the wind is survivable is what you’re really hiring.

Four things you can check: a maximum of six climbers with one guide for every three; four days of acclimatization at Las Cuevas before entering the park; certified guides working to IFMGA standards; and an expedition built by Willie and Damian Benegas, who have more than 100 Aconcagua summits between them. We are not the cheapest way to climb Aconcagua, and we’re not trying to be.

The expedition price is on Dates & Prices. On top of it, plan for the park permit (about $1,200 USD), required evacuation insurance, flights, gear, tips and personal costs. What to Budget For lays it all out.

No. BBE processes your permit; you pay the fee — about $1,200 USD for the Normal Route (Mendoza sets each season’s rate), brought in US dollar cash. Before entering the park, in Mendoza we go with you to an exchange house to change it into Argentine pesos, then buy the permit together. Permit payments are non-refundable.

Rescue and medical evacuation coverage is required: mountaineering to at least 7,000 m, helicopter evacuation, emergency treatment, international medical transport and repatriation. We recommend Global Rescue, with its High-Altitude Evacuation Package, or Ripcord. Trip cancellation insurance is strongly recommended. See Trip Insurance & Evacuation Coverage.

About $1,600–2,000 USD in cash for the permit, tips and extras, plus about $915–1,150 if you plan to use full personal porter service. Keep separate access to emergency funds.

A 20% deposit reserves your place; the balance is due 120 days before departure. Cancellations must be in writing. Refunds depend on how much notice you give, and the fixed booking fee is non-refundable. Full terms are on Dates & Prices. We strongly recommend trip cancellation insurance.

Our team helps coordinate your descent and transport to Mendoza, and BBE covers one night at base camp while it’s arranged. Other costs — guided descent, helicopter if available, extra nights, transport, hotels and flight changes — are yours, and unused expedition services are not refunded. See What to Budget For.

Yes — usually double boots, sleeping bags, crampons and ice axes. Availability isn’t guaranteed. Tell us at least three weeks before departure. See the Aconcagua Gear List.

Mendoza, Argentina (MDZ). Arrive early on Day 1 — we pick you up at the airport. Book your flight home for any time on Day 19. Book flights once your place is confirmed and you’ve paid in full. See Flights & Getting to Mendoza.

Yes, at hotels during the trip, for an additional fee. Not at the Las Cuevas mountain hut, which has bunk beds only, and not on the mountain, where all tents are shared by two climbers.

Your city clothes stay at our Mendoza hotel in a small duffel. A bag of final extras stays at Penitentes. Your two mountain duffels travel with the expedition.

Yes — your dates, your team, your pace. Willie or Damian can lead custom expeditions on request, confirmed in writing. Prices are provided on request. See Private & Custom Expeditions.

We start acclimatizing before Aconcagua.

Most teams drive to the park entrance and start walking. Ours spend four days around Las Cuevas first, sleeping at about 10,500 ft / 3,200 m and climbing progressively higher, before we ever enter Aconcagua Provincial Park.

Price$8,500 per person

Private & Custom Your dates. Your team.

This trip can run privately, on the dates that work for you.

Scheduled departures

Sunday, Nov 29, 2026 - Thursday, Dec 17, 2026Early Season
Saturday, Jan 9 - Wednesday, Jan 27, 2027Prime January / MLK
Saturday, Feb 6 - Wednesday, Feb 24, 2027Late Season

Questions first? Ask a guide

Location:

Argentina

Group:

Maximum 6 climbers

Duration:

19 days

Skill:

Intermediate

Activities:

Expeditions, 7 Summits

Book now

Private & Custom

Make Aconcagua your own expedition

Every trip we run can also run privately: on your dates, with your people, built around your goal. Same guides, same safety standard as our scheduled departures.

Your dates

We set the departure around your calendar, not the other way round.

Your people

Family, friends, a company team, or just you and a guide.

Your goal

Training for a bigger peak, a winter or speed attempt, a film, or a route that runs from summit to ocean.

Your price

Private trips are quoted for your group size, dates and plan.

Plan a Private Trip
See what private can look like

Scheduled Group Expedition

Maximum 6 climbers · One guide for every three climbers above base camp

Price per Person $8,500

Our complete 19-day Normal Route expedition: four days of acclimatization at Las Cuevas, small-team guiding, full base-camp services at Plaza de Mulas, mules for the approach loads and porter support on camp-move days.

Book now

Private & Custom

Your dates · Your team · Your expedition

Your dates, your team, your pace. Private expeditions for individuals, couples, families, clubs and organizations, with more acclimatization or porter support if you want it. Custom expeditions can be personally led by Willie or Damian on request, confirmed in writing. Prices on request.

Book now

The BBE Advantage

Four climbers on the summit of Aconcagua

6 Climbers. 1 Guide for Every 3.

A small team, so each climber is watched closely: six people never acclimatize, recover or move exactly the same way.

Climbers walking up a rocky valley toward Aconcagua

4 Days at Las Cuevas First

We sleep at about 10,500 ft / 3,200 m and climb progressively higher before we ever enter the park.

Two climbers on Aconcagua with the Andes behind them

100+ Aconcagua Summits

Between Willie and Damian, since their first ascent together in the 1988–89 season.

Professional Mountain Standards

Our guide team includes internationally and nationally certified mountain professionals.

Climbers walking across the wide Playa Ancha riverbed in the Horcones Valley

Playa Ancha, Horcones Valley · about 3,500 m · Day 7 · Photo: BBP

Climbers on the load carry from Plaza de Mulas to Camp Canadá, glacier behind

Carry to Camp Canadá · about 4,800 m · Day 9 · Photo: BBP

BBP filmmaker with a cinema camera on a ridge as evening clouds roll in

Camp Canadá (Camp 1) · 5,050 m · Day 10 · Photo: BBP

BBP crew member launching a drone by hand at Camp Canadá

Camp Canadá (Camp 1) · 5,050 m · Day 10 · Photo: BBP

Blue expedition tents in the snow at Nido de Cóndores

Nido de Cóndores · 5,550 m · Day 12 · Photo: BBP

Cólera Camp seen between rock towers, with the Andes beyond

Cólera Camp (Camp 3) · 6,000 m · Day 13 · Photo: BBP

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Aconcagua

The Climb

Four Questions. Answered Before You Book.

The Mountain and the Route

Where Altitude Becomes an Expedition

We Start Acclimatizing Before Aconcagua

Small Teams. Real Guide Attention.

Certified Guides

Safety and Logistics

Summit Strategy

Why Climb With a Guide?

Built by the Benegas Brothers

1988–89 — The first summit.

1990s — From climbers to guides.

2000–01 — Pushing what was possible.

2002 — Flight of the Condor.

Today — Experience passed forward.

Who This Expedition Is For

Other Ways to Climb Aconcagua

Ready to Climb Aconcagua?

Tell us about your climbing background

Day by Day

Aconcagua Itinerary: 19 Days, Day by Day

The 19 Days at a Glance

Day 1 — Arrive in Mendoza

Day 2 — Mendoza to Las Cuevas

Day 3 — Acclimatization Climb Above Las Cuevas

Day 4 — Move to the Acclimatization Camp

Day 5 — Climb Higher and Return to Las Cuevas

Day 6 — Horcones to Confluencia

Day 7 — Confluencia to Plaza de Mulas

Day 8 — Rest, Medical Check and Preparation

Day 9 — Carry to Camp Canadá

Day 10 — Move to Camp Canadá

Day 11 — Carry to Nido de Cóndores

Day 12 — Move to Nido de Cóndores

Day 13 — Move to Cólera Camp

Day 14 — Summit Attempt

Days 15–16 — Weather and Flexibility Days

Day 17 — Descend to Plaza de Mulas

Day 18 — Trek Out and Return to Mendoza

Day 19 — Departure

Good to Know

Keep Planning

Is This for Me?

How Hard Is Aconcagua?

Technical Difficulty vs. Real Difficulty

What Makes Aconcagua Hard

Fitness Is Necessary — But Not Enough

The Experience That Helps

How to Prepare

Health and Medical Questions

Tried Aconcagua Before?

Who Does Well on Aconcagua

When It Is Probably Not the Right Fit

How Does It Compare?

Can I Join on My Own?

Is It Dangerous?

What If I Don’t Reach the Summit?

Where Aconcagua Fits

Not Sure? That’s Normal

Tell us what you’ve climbed

Before You Go

Preparing for Aconcagua: Start Here

Three Things to Know Now

Your Seven Preparation Guides

Your Preparation Timeline

When you book

120 days before departure

Once you’ve paid in full

At least 3 weeks before

4–6 weeks before

The final 2 weeks

Arrival day

Still Deciding?

Questions while you prepare?

Your Expedition Checklist

Your Paperwork at a Glance

At Booking

Send to BBE