New York, Scribner's, 1899, 1st edition. 390 pp, 52 plates, TEG, Uncut. Royal 8vo. Bound in original green cloth with gold titles to cover and spine. Spine is slightly darkened, but there's very little edge wear, corners aren't bumped and the maps are beautiful. Overall Fine - as clean a copy as one is likely to find.
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Aconcagua, 'The Sentinel of Stone'.
Its name has roots in the Quechua language and when translated means 'The Sentinel of Stone'.
Aconcagua is the highest peak in the western hemisphere; indeed, outside the Himalaya, so this is one of the most important first ascents ever. It is the story of the first ascent of by Mathias Zurbriggen, Fitzgerald's Swiss guide. Zurbriggen also went to New Zealand with Fitzgerald and made first ascents of several peaks there.
Aconcagua, at 22830 feet (6959 meters) is the highest point in the Western and Southern hemisphere, towering above the surrounding peaks in the Argentine Andes. It is the highest peak in the world not in the great mountain chains of Asia.
The mountain stands on the border with Chile, some 18 miles from the Puente del Inca settlement. Aconcagua does not lie in the actual Andes, but in the Frontal range, slightly to the east. It has a very steep and massive face on its south and a gentle slope on the north, with a huge glacier, the Polish glacier, flowing to the east and a series of aretes and couloirs to the west. As the highest point in South America, Aconcagua is one of the much sought after "Seven Summits" and a world renowned peak.
The mountain has two summits - North 6959 meters and South 6930 meters, joined by a ridge the Cresta del Guanaco approximately one kilometer long. Various ridges radiate from each summit and the whole massif is isolated from other high peaks. Only to the northwest is it connected by a high snow ridge with the surrounding mountain systems.
The usual approach is from the south up the Quebrada de los Horcones, which circles the western flanks of the peak, to the Plaza de Mulas base camp at a height of 4230 meters. From here 3 routes start: the normal via the Horcones Glaciar Superior and north ridge, the West Buttress route, and the South-West route. The best climbing period is mid-November to March. On the normal route, refuges exist at heights of 5850 meters and 6480 meters.
