Penitentes
Penitentes ski village from above Packing equipment Dinner at Penitentes
|
Penitentes
Penitentes ski village from above Packing equipment Dinner at Penitentes
|
Many hikers will stay at the Penitentes hotel prior to starting their climb. In winter this is a small ski resort. One of the chair lifts runs during summer for a few dollars, and gives a nice view of the area. The hotel has the pleasant ambience of a ski chalet. The rooms are modest, but relatively inexpensive. It may be worth spending an extra day or two at the hotel to acclimatize, since it's at over 8000ft.
If you have contracted for mules to carry your gear to the lower camps, as most hikers do, this is also where one of the mule services will have you load your gear into sacks. A typical arrangement is for each sack to contain no more than 30 kilos. Mules will typically carry two of these sacks, possibly more. All your gear may be taken and delivered to Confluencia camp and then Base Camp, or you may have some gear delivered directly to Base Camp.
Penitentes has a decent buffet breakfast, but lunch and dinner will not be what you have been used to in Mendoza, or even what the better services will provide at Confluencia and Base Camp. It does have a bar and some nice posters and maps for sale. There is a large downstairs area that might be a dance floor in winter, when the hotel may be more full. Or it could be the product of an overly optimistic planner.
You may also wish to visit Punta del Inca, which is a short distance away. It is a natural hot spring area, with a fascinating derilect series of bathouses set into the cave formations. Warm waterfalls cascade down cave walls and damaged tile floors encrusted with yellow calcium deposits. A sparse and forlorn church is perched above the springs. Also nearby is a small cemetary that holds the bodies of climbers from around the world.
|
|
-> to Confluencia
