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Cumbre
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Mendoza · Cordillera Frontal

Cerro Penitentes

Your first taste of real altitude — a 4,350 m summit, accessible and wild.

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From US$3,700/ per person

High point
Cerro Penitentes · 4,350 m
Duration
6 Days
Days on the mountain
3
Group size
15

The route

Trailhead2,650 mBase camp3,250 mUpper slopes3,900 mSummit4,350 m

Overview

Cerro Penitentes rises straight from the international road that climbs toward Aconcagua, and it is one of the friendliest 4,000-metre summits in the Andes. There is no technical climbing — just a steady, honest walk-up through high mountain desert to a summit with sweeping views of the Aconcagua massif. It is the ideal first altitude experience: enough thin air and snow to test you, accessible enough to say yes to. We wrap it in the full Cumbre format — acclimatization, leadership, breathwork and yoga — so the mountain becomes more than a climb.

Highlights

  • Accessible 4,350 m non-technical summit
  • Sweeping views of the Aconcagua massif
  • First real altitude, snow and camp life
  • The penitentes snow formations
  • Just three hours from Mendoza

Day by day

  1. Day 1· 750 m

    Arrival & briefing

    Meet in Mendoza. Gear check and rental fitting, expedition briefing and the opening leadership session. Hotel night one.

  2. Day 2· 750 m

    Prep, skills & breath

    High-altitude and survival basics, a medical check, and an evening of breathwork and yoga to ready the body for thin air. Hotel night two.

  3. Day 3· 2,650 → 3,250 m

    Drive in · base camp

    Three-hour drive up the international road to Penitentes (2,650 m), then trek in to base camp at 3,250 m. Porters carry the group load. First night under canvas.

  4. Day 4· 3,250 m

    Acclimatize & skills

    An acclimatization hike above camp, snow and movement skills, and a leadership circle as the body adjusts to altitude. Early night before the summit.

  5. Day 5· 4,350 m

    Summit day · Penitentes

    Alpine start for the summit of Cerro Penitentes (4,350 m) — around eight hours return on a non-technical line, with the Aconcagua massif filling the horizon. Descend to camp.

  6. Day 6· → 750 m

    Descent & closing

    Hike out, drive back to Mendoza, and close the circle over a shared meal. Hotel night three, then onward travel.

What's included

  • Certified professional mountain guides (lead + assistants, scaled to the group)
  • Leadership facilitation, breathwork and yoga throughout
  • 3 hotel nights in Mendoza (B&B) — two pre-trek, one post-trek
  • All mountain meals, camp setup and treated water
  • Mountain tents, group safety and medical kit
  • Porters for group equipment and food
  • Private ground transport (Mendoza ↔ Penitentes)
  • Park entrance and registration fees
  • Pre-trip preparation guide and packing list

Not included

  • International and domestic flights
  • Personal equipment — boots, sleeping bag, layers (rental available)
  • Travel, medical and mountain-rescue insurance (mandatory)
  • Personal porter for personal gear (optional add-on)
  • Lunches and dinners in town; tips and personal expenses

What to bring

You bring your own personal equipment; we carry the rest up the mountain. This is the gear list for this expedition — anything technical can be rented locally.

Head

  • Sun hat and buff / neck gaiter
  • Warm woollen hat
  • Sunglasses (category 3–4)
  • Headtorch + spare batteries
  • High-SPF sunscreen and lip balm

Upper body

  • Synthetic base-layer tops
  • Fleece or mid-layer
  • Light down jacket
  • Waterproof / windproof shell jacket
  • Expedition down jacket

Lower body

  • Trekking trousers
  • Thermal base-layer bottoms
  • Waterproof shell trousers
  • Gaiters

Hands

  • Liner / fleece gloves
  • Insulated waterproof gloves

Feet

  • Waterproof trekking boots
  • Thick wool socks
  • Camp sandals

Technical & carry

  • Trekking poles
  • Warm down sleeping bag
  • Cold-rated sleeping bag (−15 °C)
  • 40–55 L rucksack with rain cover

Don't own the technical kit? Boots, sleeping bags, crampons and ice axes can all be rented in Mendoza or Bariloche — we'll help you arrange it.

Your team scales with the group: certified professional guides (a lead plus assistants, roughly one to every six climbers), with porters and mules carrying the group equipment and food.

Consider the other expedition

Vallecitos 5,475

By application

Apply for a place on the mountain

Cumbre is small and by application — fifteen people to an expedition. Tell us who you are and why now; we read every request personally and come back to you about fit and dates.

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