Ultimate selection including all necessary information

books:


	• Aconcagua: Summit of South America (Rucksack Pocket Summits) Harry Kikstra Interlink Publishing Group, 2005 - 96 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great guidebook

This guidebooks is small and concise. The only book I took on the trek; the only one I needed.

Ultimate selection including all necessary information

I have ascended Mt. Elbrus, Mont Blanc, Mt. Kilimanjaro and did hiking in Caucasus, Pamir, Altai, Kamchatka, did participate in skying tours behind polar circle. Therefore I now perfectly well the value of information necessary to prepare for such tours. Our next target is Aconcagua and I was searching many websites and books for very detailed Aconcagua information. The book "Aconcagua, Summit of South America" by Harry Kikstra is ultimate selection including all most detailed necessary and useful information not even mentioning very professional and beautiful photos. I did never find so helpful source of information before.

Arvydas Sekmokas (55 years old)

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A Great, Compact Guide to Aconcagua

I have been to Aconcagua three times on self-guided expeditions, each time with a copy of R.J. Secor's guide book in hand. Since then, Harry Kikstra has published a series of climbing guides and is to be commended for writing concise guidebooks that have just enough information in a small, compact package. This is a book that truly can and should be included in the backpack.

Mr. Kikstra doesn't include information about what restaurant one should patronize while in Mendoza, nor does he have a list of muleteers or guides with whom you can contract, as does Secor. But Kikstra does provide detail where it is important...his description of the routes is superior. A quibble might be that he should include a table of the Camps and their altitudes along the route, which is otherwise provided by Aconcagua Provincial Park. I appreciate that Kikstra--a European--provides altitudes and distance in feet and miles, not just meters and kilometers.

Aconcagua is a most dangerous mountain because it is easily assessible, has a misinformed reputation as being a "walk-up", and is crowded with people who may or may not have good climbing expertise and judgement. Further, as the second highest of the "7-Summits", many people think this will be an easy undertaking, then quickly ascend into the danger-zone without proper acclimization. (This mountain is frequently disrespected by "real" climbers who emphasize its "non-technical" routes...) The first time I went to Aconcagua--in January, 2000--there were 7 deaths, all of which went under-reported in the climbing press. Three Argentine men in their twenties were roped but didn't use running belays on the Polish Glacier; one fell, couldn't arrest, and pulled the other two to their deaths. A Mexican woman alone at Nido De Condores felt sick (cerebral edema) while her partners went higher; they returned to a corpse. A solo and older Japanese gentleman arrived at Plaza De Mulas, entered his tent, and wasn't seen alive again (cerebral edema) without going higher than Base Camp (14,000 ft). A Chilean woman was with a group in a big hurry which didn't take any rest days while pushing for Cambio De Pendiente (Camp Alaska); she was dead a day after I talked to her. Number seven died after we left the mountain. With publicity of mountain climbing disasters playing center stage in the press (see Krakauer's "Into Thin Air"), the Mendoza Provincial Government has since provided more ranger assistance to climbers and even purchased a high-altitude helicopter to mitigate deaths as much as possible. But don't rely on such when the wind is blowing at 80 mph and the temperature drops to 40 below...

Bottom line is this...don't do this mountain unless you humbly acknowledge your own limitations, are serious about taking your time and acclimating, and follow the very good advise given in Kikstra's guide. Happy climbing...

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Very Helpful Book

I'm planning my trip to Aconcagua and this book has been very helpful. Love all the helpful photos and diagrams.

Bigger than the size

Small enough to bring in a stuffed backpack, this excellent guide will make you travel along the trail to the top of Aconcagua before even taking the plane. Perfect to plan your trip, everything is in it: gear check, clear maps, day-by-day detailed itinary, breathtaking pictures...

Since i bought this book in the first time, i ordered some to all my expedition partners as gifts...!

I never saw a guide like this one!

ML

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reviews: page 1, 2

Many people have written accounts of their own successful completion of the seven summits, but nobody has before published the practical details of how to prepare yourself, how to organize and book an expedition, how to choose your route, what level of fitness you really need and how to prevent and manage altitude sickness. Written, edited and designed by climbers for climbers, these books tell the truth about what it's really like on the mountain, with step-by-step detail on each route. Lavishly illustrated and in full color, they are both beautiful and collectable, making ideal gifts. Of the seven continental summits, Aconcagua (at 22,840 ft) lies second only to Everest. Yet it is surprisingly free of snow and ice, and experienced hikers can reach the roof of the Americas without technical expertise. However, it is one of the world's highest and toughest treks.

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