Cerro Plata 8-day guided expedition

We will meet up at Mendoza to check equipment and book the transportation we’ll need during the expedition.

A transfer will take us from the city of Mendoza to Vallecitos. Here there is an area where we have to register before starting the climb. On the way we’ll find a wide variety of mountain huts with great facilities and services, where we can spend the first 3 nights. Some of them are the Universidad de Cuyo, San Bernardo or Mausy refuges.

So we’ll start with a short hike through “Las Veguitas” camp (3200 m) to “Piedra Grande” camp (3600 m), where we’ll rest and share some mates before returning to the mountain hut. This trek will help us to get better used to the environment.

Today we will try to reach the San Bernardo and Mausy peaks. That way we must wake up early and after breakfast begin the hike. We’ll cross a creek and meanders through a pebble covered ground up to the mountain’s edge, where it turns to stone grounds leading to the San Bernardo’s peak. This climb will take about 3,5 hours. After another hour we’ll reach the peak of the Mausy mountain (4569 m)

We’ll wake up early, have breakfast and hike to the Little Chain. We will walk along the mountain’s edge connecting Loma Blanca (3650 m), Estudiante (3850 m) and Iluso (3990 m) mounts. It is an easy hike that will help us get better adjusted to the environment without too much effort. So we will be well-rested for the following day’s hike.

We’ll wake up early in order to have breakfast and pack our gear. We’ll carry little weight in this part of the trip because we’ll hire local mules to carry the rest. This will be a hard day because we’ll ascend 1300 meters and spend the night at 4200 m, which can bring some physical discomfort due to height.

After leaving the hut we’ll walk along a well-signed path up to “Piedra Grande”, where we will rest and eat. Then we’ll trek through a path covered in eroded materials. Finally, after a short but steep slope we’ll reach the camp after 5 or 6 hours. We will set up the tents and rest around El Salto (4200 m). Here we’ll find the mountains of Lomas Amarillas, Rincón, Vallecitos and Cerro El Plata.

It is convenient to use this day to rest in order to be better prepared for our big goal. We will do a short recognition hike to camp La Hoyada while taking pictures and enjoying the view. The itinerary of this day can be adjusted to the needs of the group and climatic conditions.

This is a full resting day before the our climb. It’s important to regain energy and get properly hydrated. The itinerary of this day can also be adjusted to the needs of the group and weather conditions.

The day starts very early. We’ll wake up at 1 am for breakfast. It’ll be a long and exhausting day. We’ll begin by walking along a well-signed path to La Hoyada. After that, we’ll have to walk over a steep snow-covered slope, until we reach the col between Lomas Amarillas and Vallecitos mountains.

Then we’ll walk along the mountain’s edge to another col at 5200 m. At this point the group and guide will decide whether to aim for Vallecitos or El Plata. It will depend on the group conditions as well as on weather conditions. In case of choosing Vallecitos, the trek will take 2 or 3 hours from this point.

If we decide to go to El Plata, we will walk along a large but not very steep slope up to 5500 meters. Once at its summit we can appreciate a great view of Aconcagua and Mendoza city to the east. The hike from the camp will take 9 or 10 hours in total. After taking pictures, we’ll begin the descent to El Salto, which is also a quite long and exhausting trail.

We will descend from “El Salto” to the mountain hut where we will find our transport to Mendoza. Once at the city we will have dinner and celebrate such a goal!