Thank you guys

for the tip on travel books. I'll definitely check out Lonely Planet books for developing countries. For domestic travel, I actually like Frommer's (not to be confused with Frodor) series, besides the specialized local ones. I like planning beforehand and consider good travel books the best investment for a trip (financially of course :).

Dztang, thank you so much for your detailed explanation on physical and psychological preparations. I am not intimated by high mountains, but would like to be prepared if I ever make one of those trips. It's good to know that AMS can be avoided or alleviated by setting the right pace and allowing enough time at certain elevation.

My friends actually went to Aconcagua in 2 groups one year after the other. Both groups summited. Quite amazing considering only 50% of the people who make it to the base camp eventually summit, mostly because of the unpredictable weather. I don't think they hired porters. They brought crampons and ice axes, but probably didn't get to use them much. You are right that Aconcagua doesn't require technical climbing. The difficult part (at least to me) is that you have to carry everything including tent and food, and set up your camp at around 19,000 ft. I know I'm not in their league and to attempt something like that would require intensive and serious training.

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• Aconcagua -dztang- ♀ (289 bytes) () 03/19/2004 postreply 19:25:39

• 回复：Aconcagua -seaotter- ♀ (898 bytes) () 03/23/2004 postreply 12:27:29