We enlisted the services of Fernando Grajales Expeditions to help us out a bit on the expedition. We read great things about them and they didn't disappoint. Grajales provided the following:
- Transport from the airport to our Hotel in Mendoza
- Transport from Mendoza to Los Penitentes
- Mule services to Plaza Argentina
- Radio contact while on the mountain
- Mule service from Plaza de Mulas to Puenta del Inca (Including the mule ride when I got sick)
- Transport from Los Penitentes to Mendoza
Both hotels that we stayed at were very helpful and accommodating to climbers. If I had to chose between the two, I would say that the Executive Hotel is the place to stay...especially for after the climb. It almost felt too luxurious after what we'd been through, but as I mentioned they were very used to climbers. The breakfast buffet was great and the service top notch.
El Portal Suites (Hotel in Mendoza prior to climb)
Executive Hotel (Hotel in Mendoza after climb)
Communication
Jason picked up Iridium 9555 phone which couldn't have worked better. The phone allowed us to text a twitter account that gave all of our friends and family daily updates. While on the mountain, we rented radios from Grajales for constant weather updates and communication with Plaza Argentina and Los Penitentes.
Mountain
Aconcagua (Summit Post)
Aconcagua (Wikipedia)
Base Camp Weather
Summit Weather
Plaza Argentina Live Web Cam
References
Aconcagua, Summit of South America, H. Hikstra
Aconcagua, Highest Trek in the World, J. Ryan
Aconcagua, A climbing Guide, R.J. Secor
Misc
Atlas International Travel Insurance (Be sure to include Sports Rider Coverage)
