OUR STAFF AND GUIDES

Our People

There is a huge advantage to making use of a professional mountain guide on Aconcagua. They know the mountain very well, can speak the local language and can read the weather patterns - a crucially important skill to have on board. When situations arise during the expeditions, the help of a local guide may prove invaluable. In order to get their licences, high mountain guides in Argentina must undergo two separate 20 week training periods, one during the summer months, and one during winter time. The experts who will accompany our expeditions to Aconcagua have all graduated from the Provincial School of Mountain and Trekking Guides "Coronel Valentin Julian Ugarte".

They have all the necessary qualifications and training and many have years of experience on Aconcagua having climbed to the mountain’s summit numerous times. Being so used to the routes and the rigours involved in such a climb, altitude sickness will have little effect on them, and the network of guides in the area who all know each other means that if one runs out of a certain resource, they will know where to go for help. Our guides will do all they can to help all climbers reach the summit. A key part of this is ensuring that there are spare days integrated into the itinerary which give plenty of time for proper acclimatisation and give more leeway in case of bad weather conditions which hold the expedition up. We will also ensure that there is a fair guide to climber ratio, where there is one guide for every three climbers, possibly more for the summit day.

Their services are entirely optional, with no obligation for climbers to hire one in order to ascend the mountain. However, it is strongly advised to employ the use of a guide, especially in the case of climbers with little previous experience of altitude trekking as they can mean the difference between getting along safely and getting yourself into serious danger during the climb. Our guides carry comprehensive medical kits with syringes, stethoscopes, bandages and important saturated oxygen monitors and bowel-control tablets. Our guides are authorised by the Mendoza Government through the Renewable Natural Resources Bureau and are guaranteed to provide professional services at fair prices. Our guides are all bilingual and fluent in the English language.

Tony Holliday

Tony is the founder of Aconcagua Treks and the Activus Outdoors Group and heads up the marketing and customer support in the UK. A highly resourceful and determined character, Tony is an expert logistics man responsible for operational support and task management working closely with our Aconcagua operations team based in Mendoza. He has travelled extensively and has mountaineering experience in the Lake District, France, Scottish Highlands, Dolomites, Slovenia, Canada and North West USA.

Rudy Parra

Rudy is a world-renowned mountaineer, having reached the summit of Aconcagua numerous times and climbing one hundred summits between 3000 and 6000 metres. He has also contributed as a qualified and respected climber to various sports institutions and mountaineering magazines. From 1979 he has organised and led expeditions to Aconcagua and other mountains of the Central Andes. In 1997 by a special resolution of the Argentinian Army, he received the Honoris Causa Golden Condor prize, which is the greatest honour that may be granted to a civilian climber by the Argentinian Army.

Heber Orona

Heber is a Certified Bilingual High Altitude Mountain Guide and National Climbing Instructor (Argentina) and was the first Argentinian to climb Mount Everest (8848m) by the North Route (Tibet, in May 1999) and to complete the 7 summits. During his Everest ascent he also became the first person from his country to summit without artificial oxygen or the aid of high altitude porters. During his career he has climbed all over the world (South America, North America, Asia, Europe, Oceania, Africa and Antarctica) and ascended Aconcagua 25 times by four different routes.

Miguel "Lito" Sánchez

Miguel is a Certified Bilingual High Altitude Mountain Guide and National Climbing Instructor (Argentina) and in 1990 he became the first Argentinian to climb over 8000 metres whilst ascending Dhaulagiri 1 (8172m) in the Nepalese Himalayas. He has also climbed Aconcagua 52 times by four different routes. Miguel is an outstanding mountaineer and we are proud to have him in our team as he is one of the best Argentinian climbers of his generation and a leader in his field.

Augusto Ortega

From Peru, Augusto is a Certified Bilingual High Altitude Mountain Guide and has made several first ascents of the mountains in his country. He has led many expeditions over the last 25 years, ascending numerous challenging peaks in the Andes range: in Ecuador - Chimborazo (16 times), Cotopaxi (20), Cayambe, Tungurahua, Pichincha and Rumiñahui; in Perú - Huascaran (36), Alpamayo (30), Yerupaja, Huandoy, Artesonraju and many others, in Bolivia - Illimani (12) and Huayna Potosí (16); in Argentina - Aconcagua (48). He has also challenged the Himalayas and in 1992 he became the first Peruvian to successfully climb Mount Everest. In 1998 he summited Cho Oyu and in 1999 came back to Everest for the second time, even climbing it without oxygen.

César E. Quiroz

César is a Bilingual Trekking and Mountain Guide and currently doing a Degree in Recreation (oriented to the study of Social Sciences) and has over 12 years experience in diverse tourist activity in Argentina and Spain. He is currently the Technical Advisor responsible for Tourism at the National University of Cuyo. He is a professor of superior educative level institutions and an assessor of many activity companies in Argentina. He has developed his bilingual mountain experience as a guide in Bolivia, Perú, Spain and Argentina (Patagonia, Cuyo and the Northwest). He has also participated in 18 expeditions to Aconcagua, reaching its summit 17 times by three different routes.