"He said it was the second highest peak in the world," someone explained. I thought, "No way, what about the Himalayas?" Well, he was partially right. Acancagua, in Argentina near the border with Chile, is the highest peak in the Americas, and the highest peak outside of Asia. It's 6,962m, slightly shorter than Everest's 8,848m. Not sure how many mountains in the Himalayas are taller than Acancagua, but Acancagua is the second highest peak of the seven summits (highest mountains on each of the continents).We drove through the mountains on our way to Chile. It was beautiful. I kept waiting for the glimpse of Acancagua - I'm pretty sure I saw it and we passed it, but can say for sure which peak it was. The snow-capped peaks were lovely though.
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteI was on the summit in early 2003, and I can tell you that none of the peaks on your photo is Cerro Aconcagua, but still it's a buetiful picture and a lovely landscape. If I remember correcly there are 14 peaks in the world that reaches over 8000 m and a lot of 7000 m peaks. All of them are actually not climbed yet...
If you're still in the area I can recommend a walk to the Base Camp on 4300 m (the walk starts at 2700 m where Puenta del Incas is). the walk is two long days and approx 30-35 km.
Take care!