The route sign shows the direction to Plaza Francia, the place to put your base camp if you are planning to climb the south wall. We are not going to climb that way, but our intention is to reach the camp in order to obtain more acclimatization. We have to make about 1000 metres in height and according to the rumours you can catch sight of nice mountain formations, avalanches and a black glacier...well, we will see about that.

We have now reached a small plateau with dry sand, gravel and sharp rocks...it looks more like a desert than a landscape at a high altitude. Cerro Aconcagua rises in front of us and we now realise what a magnificent achievement it is to climb the south wall and why so many who try it fail. Some pioneers have named some of the routes for instance the Slovenian Route. We walk in a pace that is adjusted to the altitude and it allows us to keep going without stopping too often.

We are approaching the final destination of the day, but we take our time to take this picture. Not because we fit perfectly on a picture, but because the mountain formations here are unique. Now we clearly see the different layers in the mountains and the different forms that have been created during millions of years.

What a lunch break, better view than this is hard to find. The sun is shining, but it does not automatically mean that the temperature is warmer. We are now at about 4100 masl and we put on our quilted down jackets to keep warm. Robert has now headache because of the altitude. The combination of this, and that he has shown bad appetite the day before, he decides to stay here and rest while the others continue the walk to the Plaza Francia. The rest of us leave the luggage and we only take water and reinforcement garment with us. In that way we kan reach the top faster and also be back sooner.

Here we stand below the grand south wall at approximately 4200 masl which means that the wall behind us is nearly 2.8 km high. We took some photographs and at the same time we observed that some climbers actually had their base camp here, they will attempt to climb the south wall. For this you need great knowledge of climbing, experience, endurance, patience, the right equipment, courage and an enormous amount of luck. Well, maybe we could try this route next time (yeah, right!!!). Now we have to walk back to Robert and our backpacks.

Before we went down again Mattias take a last look at the summit that feels so close and yet so far away. We want to go there and we will soon be there, he seems to think behind his glacier glasses. It can be said that far many more have stand behind corresponding glasses and looked at the summit than there have been people standing on the summit. This day was worth every minute.

We hurry down and we have a nice view down the valley, De Los Horcones Inferior. And what kind of black rock is that in front of and to the right side of us at the picture? No, it is not a rock but ICE...black ice in the shape of a glacier that press through the landscape. Very strange.

Suddenly we heard a noise that can give any experienced alpinist cold shivers... a large volume of snow came off from the middle of the south wall, an avalanche. Luckily we are at a safely distance. Unfortunately, we hear later that four Argentine mountaineers were killed in a similar avalanche at the same wall three days after this picture has been taken. Their bodies were buried in the large volume of snow and it is unlikely that they will be found again during the next decades.

Ok, we are now almost back at Confluencia again. We can see Gauchos, Argentine Cowboys, crossing Horcone River. Unfortunately, there are not all mules that enjoy existence nearby Aconcagua, near the river you can see one that broke its leg when crossing the river and therefore had to be killed. This was not the last time that we would see scenes like this, but that was something that we did not now anything about at this moment.