Customer Reviews

Aconcagua: Summit of South America (Rucksack Pocket Summits)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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...

I've been to Aconcagua before but didn't have this pocket book with me. Most authors seem to write quantity not quality. This little book is written with a climber in mind and does not sacrifice quality even though it is a small climber friendly guide. How much info do you really need to go up the mountain anyway? This book covers all and is packed with usefull information minus any fluff. Do yourself a favor and head to Argentina with this book rather than any of the library size climbing guides out there.

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

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

Small little guy, but packs a punch. First off, it's great to have the water proof pages. I'm sure I'll get all sorts of junk on this book, so good to know it will survive. Great gear list, and it gives reasons why you will need each piece, which is a huge help so you can determine what brands/types of gear to get. Good maps and discussion of the routes.

Definitely would buy this again for other mountains. My buddy had this book for Kili when we did that last winter, and I was wishing I had one. Would also recommend buying a small journal so you can jot down notes on the climb.

I climbed Aconcagua with this book for the 2008/2009 climbing season. That was a season of major tragedy on the mountain and I was personally an eyewitness to 3 of the several deaths that season.

Without Harry's guidebook, I could have been one of them, and here's why:

The first death I saw was a fall on the Polish Direct. This was my intended route, but partially due to the advice Harry gave about heeding the conditions of the climb, I chose to go for the Polish Traverse. The day my team changed route is the day a climber fell and was killed on the glacier.

Next, at the White Rocks camp, we saw a looming lenticular cloud appear on the mountain. This book gave the ever-so important advice that when this is seen, get the hell down. I went down and the Italian group who was massively publicized. I was one of the last to see the group alive; they elected to go up and I elected to go down at the advice of this book. Could have been a different story if I didn't get this book!

So that's my anecdotal testimonial for this book. As far as content goes, you won't find a better guide out there that leaves out the useless stuff and includes what you need to know about climbing the mountain! As a lightweight, waterproof, full color, spiral bound (awesome for tearing out pages you don't need when actually climbing to save weight), book, it's the absolute best there is. I bought and borrowed several other books before climbing Aconcagua and this was the best.

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

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)

Aconcagua: Summit of South America is an excellent guide book. Full of photographs, gear suggestions, and even water-proof pages, this pocked-sized guide is a great resource to help you plan your trip, and to tuck inside your backpack to take along for the climb. Would make an excellent gift for your mountain climbing friends.

This little pocket reference is as described. Has good enough information and easy to carry. I would given 5 starts but the prints are little small for me (for those needing reading glasses). Kind of defeats the purpose since my expectation was to take this around especially outdoor reading where carrying a reading glasses can be inconvenient. If you do not have this issue then all should be fine. I like it so much I bought one on Denali. One of my husband's hiking goals.