Aconcagua

The Aconcagua , culminating point of America and the the Andes, is located in Argentine, very close to the Chilean border (± 13 km). It has a height of 6 959 meters. It is also more the high summit of the southern hemisphere and more the high summit apart from Asia.

Etymology

The name of Aconcagua would be a hispanisation of a compound Quechua: aqu meaning " sable" and k' awa indicating the " ruban" of red wool carried in diadem by the Incas. Therefore, this " ribbon of sable" would have initially indicated the of the same river name (the río Aconcagua which are thrown in the Pacific close to Valparaiso) and the surrounding valley, before naming the top itself. Another theory advances that the name would come from the words quechua Akon and Kahuak meaning " sentinel of pierre". According to a third theory, in Aymara language the words Kon and Kawa mean respectively it snowed and mount (" Mount enneigé").

Geography

Aconcagua is in Argentine republic, in the province of Mendoza, department of Mow Heras. It is included in the provincial Parc of Aconcagua. It is limited to the west and south-west by Valle of los Horcones, to north and the east by Valle of mow Vacas. It is surrounded by many tops exceeding 5.000 Mr.

Aconcagua is located in Cordillière frontal, in an area of a so great dryness that was worth the nickname d" to him; The Andes arides". The scarcity of precipitations and the violence of the winds (up to 250 km/h) explain the small quantity of eternal snow which covers the top. These last feed all the same from the rather important rivers, such as for example the river Los Horcones, on the northern slope, which is an affluent of the Río Mendoza, and whose water will join the Atlantique or on the southern slope the river Aconcagua which I throw in the Pacific Ocean.

Geology

In spite of what one often believes, Aconcagua is not a volcano. Its high-altitude is due to a tectonic rising related to the Subduction of the plate of Nazca under the South American plate according to an almost horizontal plane. This subduction, by causing phenomena of compressions, induced the rising of several zones along normal faults, as well as many Plissement S of the grounds Sédimentaire S. This Andean Orogenèse is relatively recent (end of the Mesozoic , beginning of the Cénozoïque)

Aconcagua is a Synclinal perched consisted of a base of sedimentary deposits dating from the end of the Protérozoïque and the Paléozoïque, very deformed by Granitoïde S dating from the Permien. Folded sedimentary rocks dating from the Mesozoic are placed at the top of the Paléozoïque series, in discordance. The deposits of Sorted are continental; those of the Jurassic inferior and means are sailors, but the deposits of the end of Jurassic are évaporite S. the deposits of the Cretaceous show series again marine. The unit is overcome by a block of Andésite S. Although installation at the Cénozoïque, these andesites could be older and date from the Paleozoic one. They be would then have gone up at the time of crumpling and the haulage which took place with the Miocène. Studies are in hand. The sedimentary deposits of the Pleistocene/Holocène are relatively not very important. Indeed, at the time of the last Glaciation S, the great aridity of the area did not allow a very significant development of the glaciers.

History

The discovery of the Aconcagua is due to the German Paul Güssfeldt into 1889 who arrived until the altitude of 6560 m but had to give up because of the bad weather. The first rise successful by the northern slope was carried out by Matthias Zurbriggen which only arrived at the top on January 14th, 1897, his/her colleague Fitz Gerald having given up to 6700 Mr.

The first of the very difficult southern face was carried out only in 1953 by a team of young French, of which two were to become famous: Robert Paragot and Lucien Bérardini (see their account of their many common forwardings, Twenty years of cord , Arthaud, editor). The six winners, except Paragot, returned from forwarding amputees of several fingers and toes because of the gelures (that four years only after Herzog and Lachenal with the Annapurna).

Roads of rise

Technically speaking, Aconcagua is a mountain relatively easy to climb if the approach is done by north, by the " road normale". Although the effects of altitude are important (the Atmospheric pressure at the top is not any more that to 40% of the value measured with the sea level), the use of additional oxygen is not necessary. The record of speed of rise by the normal road 5 a.m. 45 minutes, is established in 1991. To reach the top by this road, it is recommended to spend at least a night in the following camps (approximate altitude):

Puente LED INCA (2 725 m) - Starting point of the rise
Confluencia (3 500 m)
Plaza de Mulas (4 370 m)
Plaza Canada (4 910 m)
Nido de Cóndores (5 380 m)
Berlín (5 780 m)
Summit (6 962 m)

The second road the most common master key by Polish Glacier Crosses road, which follows Valle of mow Vacas, crosses the glacier of los Polacos, then joined the normal road for the final rise towards the top.

The roads passing by the south-eastern and south-western peaks are more difficult, and the climbing of the southern face is regarded as very difficult.

To try this climbing, one must ask for a license near the authorities managing of Provincial Park of Aconcagua Mendoza, allowed whose price is variable according to the seasons.

Topicality

A young Spanish mountain dweller, Javier Cantero, climbed the top in December 2005, in order to read there a passage of Don Quichotte of Mancha, at the time of the 400e birthday of work.

See too

Aconcagua, located in Argentina, offers interesting points of view from Chile, for example since Caleu, located in the Cordillera of the Coast.

Aconcagua is also the name of a Belgian ASBL the purpose of which is the development assistance in Argentina

Reference

Collective, illustrated Dictionary of the natural wonders of the world, Reader' S Digest, 1982

Satellite sight WikiMapia

External bonds

Aconcagua.com
Cordillera of los the Andes
Aconcaguaexpeditions
Altitude.org
Altitud.org
the Andes Cordillera (Spanish)

Beats-smg: Akuonkagva

Random links: