Aconcagua, “The Sentinel of Stone” is located in Western Argentina – the heart of the Central Andes, and is South America’s highest peak and one of the much sought after Seven Summits. The second tallest of the Seven Summits, this is quite a challenging climb of around 6961 meters above sea level. The breath-taking but difficult terrains of the trail are meant for serious and fit trekkers.
Steeped in rich history, towering walls of rock, and a strong climbing community, the Aconcagua climb will have you walking in the footsteps of the Incas, European explorers, and record-breaking athletes to give you one of the best trekking experiences of your lifetime
This incredibly scenic trek will take you past mesmerizing snow-capped peaks, soothing turquoise glacier lakes, natural hot springs and through lush, dense Peruvian jungles.
Mountain climbing is a very sport-specific activity and building proper fitness is fundamental. The most basic training would involve hiking uphill 4-6 days a week with a backpack gradually increasing in weight. Your ultimate test of fitness fitness would be the ability to travel at a pace of 1000 vertical feet per hour with the required pack weight.
Pic credit: https://www.atlasandboots.com/travel-blog/climbing-aconcagua-argentina/
Preparation for this hike: Most people will need to train specifically for their climb of Aconcagua for at least four to six months, building up from a solid baseline of fitness. During your training, you will need to progressively ramp up your hike time, distance, and elevation gain (at roughly 10% per week) to safely and effectively build your climbing-specific conditioning. If you are in good health and injury free, work out your training plan in the following order:
- Climbing conditioning — pack-loaded uphill hiking, walking, and stair climbing
- Strength training — for the lower body and core
- Cardiovascular training — including both aerobic and anaerobic workouts without pack weight
- Flexibility training
Take your time to prepare for this hike. Trying to rush this will increase the risk of experiencing some sort of training injury and not being ready for your trip.
CLIMBING CONDITIONING
Hike along outdoor trails, gradually increasing your pack weight until you feel comfortable carrying 35-40lb. on the Normal Route or 45-50 lb. on the Polish Route (less if using porters for personal gear). If you live in a relatively flat place, go up and down stairs or train on an inclined treadmill. Use whatever varied surface terrain (i.e. gravel beds, sand dunes, river banks) you have access to. A reasonable goal would be to climb 3,500 ft. carrying an average pack of 40 lbs in a two- to three-hour period, or roughly 1,500 vertical ft. per hour.
Two training techniques that will be useful for high-altitude trekking are: 1) Interval training. 2) Back-to-back training.
FLEXIBILITY CONDITIONING
Apart from strength, flexibility is of great significance in hiking. Be sure to include at least 5–10 minutes of targeted stretching after every workout, specifically for the hamstrings, glutes, hips, calves, forearms, lower back, and quadriceps. If you have any areas of concern early season, add emphasis to making sure you have a normal range of motion in all your joints. This will become even more important as you add weight and distance to your training.
STRENGTH CONDITIONING
Developing strength in your upper back and shoulders will help you with such tasks as carrying your pack and using trekking poles effectively. The calves, hips, quads, hamstrings, and glutes are all involved in ascending and descending steep, hard-packed snow and ice slopes, and a great degree of strength endurance is required in all areas of the legs and hips.
Training with free weights, bands, a backpack, bodyweight exercises, or gym machines will help you build overall strength, particularly in the core (lower back and abdominals), upper back and shoulders, and legs.
CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING
While biking, rowing, and swimming are aerobic options for the earliest stages of training, be sure, as you get closer to your trip, that you include activities suggested above that load the spine and legs the same way that hiking will.
Include spinal-loading aerobic training options four to six times a week. Appropriate options include: trail running, walking on an inclined treadmill, stair-stepping or step-mill training, jogging, working on an elliptical machine, walking up and down hills, or participating in step-aerobic classes.
The Aconcagua hike is legendary and definitely makes its way to many people’s bucket list!
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