The Acon-Cagua is the highest mountain outside of Asia, at 6961m/22,838ft above sea level, and by extension the highest point in the Western Hemisphere and the Souther Hemisphere.
It is located in the Andes Mountain Range, in the Mendoza Province, Argentina, about 15 km from the international border with Chile. The Mountain has a number of glaciers, the largest is about 10 km long, which descends from the South face to about 3600m altitude. Two other glacier systems are about 5 km long. The most well-known is the North-Eastern, as it is a common route of ascent.
The Acon-Cagua was created by the sub-duction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate during the geological recent deformation of the Earth's lithosphere (crust and uppermost mantle); but it is not a Volcano.
The name comes from either the Mapuche 'Acon-Hue', meaning 'The River that comes from the other side"; or Quechua 'Ac-Kon Cahuac', meaning "Sentinel of Stone,"or 'Anco-Cahuac' meaning "White Sentinel"; or the Aymara 'Janq'U Q'awa, meaning "White Ravine," or "White Brook."
In mountaineering terms Acon-Cagua is an easy Mountain if approached from the North, via the normal route. It is the highest "non-technical" mountain in the World, since the Northern Route does nor require ropes, axes and pins. It is easy to climb. Although the effects of altitude are severe (atmospheric pressure is 40% of sea-level at the summit), the use of supplemental oxygen is not common.
Altitude sickness affect most climbers to some extent, depending on the degree of acclimatization. Even if normal climb is technically easy, multiple casualties occur every year on the Acon-Cahua. In January 2009 alone 5 climbers died. This is due to the underestimation that large numbers of climbers who make the attempt does about the objective risks of the elevation and of cold weather, which is the real challenge on this mountain. Given the weather conditions close to the summit, injuries because of it are very common.
No comments:
Post a Comment