Aconcagua and the Southern Andes - A Trekker's Guidebook

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Further Reading

View Sample Route Map

Tupungato via Chile and Rio Colorado

Time: 12 days
Distance: 96km round trip
Terrain: Varied
Maximum elevation: 6550m
Total climb: 5000m    
Water sources:Good
 

From Santiago the route is via the Cajón de Maipo, southeast of Santiago, through Las Vizcachas, La Obra and El Manzano. You must go into San Jose de Maipo to the army base to have your papers checked and stamped, and then proceed to the gates of AES Gener at Alfalfal. It is then 25km of dirt track road up to the start of the trek at Chacayal. En route you will pass arriero huts where you can hire mules. The dusty road is very busy with lorries from the open cast mine across the river from Chacayal.

At Chacayal there are good places to camp on grass and there is clean water. You may notice the many holes in the ground here, and you will see them again between Baños Azules and Vega de Los Flojos. These are made by little black moles, which make or clean out their burrows in the early morning. On this side of the Andes the flora is somewhat different to the Argentinean side, and there will be no chance of seeing guanacos.

The trail from Chacayal is along the right hand, southern bank of the Rio Colorado, along narrow precipitous paths, high above the raging river below. The first campsite is short of the Rio Museo (2400m). Known as Baños Azules, the site lies under the peak of Pan de Azucar (Bread of Sugar). The water running over the bare rock beside the campsite is heavy in minerals and not suitable for drinking, but there is good water below the campsite and further along the trail.

The second day is a 20km trek to Vega de los Flojos (3300m), a tough climb of 900m. Leaving Baños Azules the trail rises and falls to cross over the Rio Museo via a wooden bridge. Crossing the Rio Azufre is energy sapping, with three ascents and one descent to make. There were no bridges over the Rio Museo or the Rio Azufre until the arrieros constructed makeshift crossings as recently as 2006.

Once the rivers are crossed the trail is relatively uniform until you reach the base of Piedra Azul. This is an alternative campsite an hour or so short of Vega de los Flojos, perched above a mound of basalt, where the arrieros have built a shelter under a rock overhang. The campsite enjoys a wonderful view of Tupungato, but the disadvantage is that you will get wet in the morning crossing the Rio Tupungatito. Going all the way to Vega de los Flojos allows for clothes that get wet in the river to dry out in the afternoon, ready for the morning.

One further point to consider is that it is not unusual for clouds to build up in the afternoons between Baños Azules and Vega de los Flojos, resulting in no sighting of Tupungato. Camping at Piedra Azul would ensure a wonderful vista of Tupungato in the early morning.

Perhaps in time the arrieros will build a bridge over the Rio Tupungatito, but in 2009 there was still none, and the crossing at Mal Paso is an exciting, quite precarious, event. Vega de los Flojos (spring of the loose rocks/ground) is a green area, somewhat similar to Piedra Numerada on the El Plomo trek. At 3300m it is relatively well sheltered and has good water nearby, but there is no view of the mountain. You will have noticed the cattle and horses that graze the lands between Baños Azules and Mal Paso, and wondered how they were brought in and taken out, for the path from Chacayal to Baños Azules is hardly suitable for large animals.

All the way from Baños Azules to the summit of Tupungato there are multiple campsites to choose from. Above Vega de los Flojos it is now customary for climbers to make their basecamp at Los Penitentes (4400m), however, there are choices below that, such as at Los Espanoles (4000m). There is no water available here, but there is at Los Penitentes.

Above Los Penitentes it is usual to break the climb into three stages, making Camp 1 at 5200m, and a second camp at Los Arenales (5900m).
Summit day from Los Arenales is only 650m, and is not taxing as summit days go. Expect the day to be extremely windy, with a severe wind chill effect. There are no particularly difficult or technical obstacles to overcome en route to the summit.

Since the final surge to the summit is relatively short, there should be time to break camp and descend all the way to basecamp on the same day. The next day can be as long or as short as desired. Some feel it is enough to cross the river below Vega de los Flojos, and make camp at Piedra Azul to dry out, and for a last look at the mountain in the morning. Others will want to make haste as far as Baños Azules.
On the way down there are significant ascents and descents required to cross Rio Azufre.