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POLISH GLACIER ACONCAGUA EXPEDITION 2009 |
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Aconcagua due to its privileged position and dimension has been explored and summitted by all sides through three dozen routes.
West Face Approached from Plaza de Mulas presents 6 routes. First climbed in 1953 by Fernando Grajales, Ibañez and Marmillod, using the Southwest Ridge.
Northwest Face Also approached from the west wall Base Camp, it is where the first Aconcagua ascent and Normal Route of 1897 was done by the Swiss Matthias Zurbriggen. Nowadays this route is a classic for hundreds of climbers since it is the easiest. There are 3 routes here.
South Face The most beautiful wall of Aconcagua and also the most difficult since all its routes are highly technical and exposed. First climbed in February 1954 by a strong French team (Paragot, Poulet, Dagory, Berandini, Lesseur and Denis) presents today 15 routes. This face is scarcely climbed today due to its danger of hanging seracs and very loose rock. All the routes here are in mixed ground with large sections up to 95º and generally involving 4 altitude camps (or bivouacs) with grades of ED and VII or A3. Accessed by Plaza Francia.
North Face and East Face The routes here generally start at Plaza Argentina, with two of them through the southeast ridge (with possible start at Plaza Francia) and the others going up the Polish Glacier or crossing its base westward to join the western routes. Three of the routes are up the Polish Glacier and another 3 crossing to Nido de Condores, Berlin or Independencia at the West Face.
First ascent by a woman in 1940, by Adriana Bance within a larger team.
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COMMENTS ON THE ROUTE (Direct Polish Glacier Route)
This route, the one that we will attempt, was chosen by its beauty and longer access as well as for being less crowded.
This route starts at the eastern side of the mountain at Plaza Argentina at 4200m near the Glaciar de los Ingleses. This is where the Base Camp is located. The first and second sections of the climb leading to camp 1 (5100m) and camp 2 (5600m) are relatively easy, being the huge amount of scree and the occasional “penitentes” (stalagmites of very hard snow sculpted by the wind) the hardest sections.
Climbed for the first time in 1934 by a Polish team, it was also the first route besides the normal route. Though this route was up this Glacier, they took the left side in direction of the rocky gendarme called Piedra Bandera. This rocky outcrop is named so due to its 3 colored stripes easily seen from the Base Camp. Teams doing this left route sometimes make a third camp here at about 6400m like the original team.
Our direct route is steeper but never more than 50º. It takes an almost straight heading close to the visible rocks on the right. Surpassed this, we are at the ridge at about 6550m that leads to the summit. Descent by the same route, or down the Normal Route, and then traversing rightward, back to the base of the Polish Glacier. |
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EXPLORING A PLANET LIKE NO OTHER |
