Sunrise on the Polish Glacier. My route, the PG Direct, follows the right side of the glacier between the rocks and the seracs in the middle, up through the two obvious rock bands to the ridge.
High camp at the base of the Polish Glacier.
The obligatory summit shot in front of the classic Aconcagua cross.
View from the top of the world.
More summit views.
The East Face of Aconcagua, leading to the south summit. Lots of horror show routes over there.
Another view from the summit. You can almost see all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
The descent down the normal route heads towards the climbers coming up then cuts right down a massive scree field called the "Canaleta".
I continued down the shorter normal route descent by way of the Horcones Valley. What took me nine days to get up I descended in about 36 hours, past the sprawling Plaza de Mulas.
All the way down the normal route I encountered guided groups that seemed literally joined at the hip. They frequently walked in these tight pack trains, heads down. Odd way to see the mountains.
Last crossing before the ranger station.
Back in Puenta del Inca, almost home... more than a little worse for wear.
The glacier from high camp. The right side with notes -->
Annotated diagram of the climb.