Madison Mountaineering and Climbing Royalty Succeed on Aconcagua

Madison Mountaineering Success

Elite mountaineering guide company, Madison Mountaineering, recently reported a near 100% success rate this season while guiding clients to Aconcagua’s summit. Company founder and lead guide, Garrett Madison, reported on their success.

“We are so proud of all our teams who climbed the mighty “Stone Sentinel” this season! The 2024 / 2025 Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua season has come to a close. It was an excellent season on the highest peak in all of the America’s with every one of our teams landing boots on the summit, with nearly 100% summit success, climbed via two different routes on the mountain!”

“The season kicked off in early December, and four more teams reached the summit in January and February. Climbing via the Normal Route, the teams had favorable weather overall and were treated with days of sunny skies for their time in the Andes! The season was capped off with two teams reaching the summit in consecutive days on February 6 and 7.”

”One of the teams was led by legendary mountaineer, Ed Viesturs climbing the Normal Route under clear, blue skies after several days of high winds near the summit. On the next day, a private team led by Garrett Madison stepped onto the summit after climbing the Polish Glacier Direct route, an aesthetic and far less climbed, technical route with similarities to K2. A special congratulations goes out to our guideCacho Beiza who now has over 60 summits on Aconcagua.”

This mountain attracts mountaineers from around the world seeking to climb the Seven Summits and to prepare for higher Himalayan expeditions. The annual climbing season during the southern hemisphere’s austral summer began in early November and will remain open to trekkers and climbers through April.

Famous Climber Returns to Aconcagua

This season the southern Seven Summit attracted true climbing royalty. Ed Viesturs returned to the mountain to climb with friends and to guide. Viesturs, a 7-time Mt. Everest summiteer, became the first American to climb all 14 8,000 meter peaks – the highest mountains in the world located in Nepal and Tibet. He climberd each of these iconic peaks without the aid of supplemental oxygen. Only two other Americans have reached the summits of the 8,000-meter peaks - Chris Warner and Tracee Metcalfe.

Chris Warner accomplished the historic feat by completing the climbs in 2023. The third American, Tracee Metcalfe a doctor from Colorado, became the first American woman to summit all fourteen peaks when she climbed Shishapangma in October, 2024.

Climbing Aconcagua

Located in the Andes Mountain Range in Argentina, and near the border with Chile, Aconcagua receives environmental protection as part of the Aconcagua Provincial Park - a protected area known for its pristine landscapes.

Climbing Aconcagua presents many difficulties including the dangers of high altitude, unwelcoming rock, challenging glacier travel, and uneven scree. The mixture of loose rock and uupredictable ice presents a one-step up and two-steps back frustrating ascent – though a prized reward for climbing to the top of South America.

The first person known to reach the 22,841-foot summit was Matthias Zurbriggen of Switzerland in 1897. In 1934, a Polish expedition successfully tackled a more perilous route on the northeastern side of Aconcagua, up a massive glacier that stretches nearly 2,000 vertical feet toward the summit. The ice sheet was named for that group: El Glaciar de los Polacos - The Polish Glacier.

Climbing Routes: Beyond the difficult Polish Glacier, Aconcagua offers multiple climbing routes, but the Normal Route, also known as the Northwest Route, remains the most popular. It begins at the Horcones Valley and takes climbers through base camps including Confluencia and Plaza de Mulas. The ascent includes acclimatization at higher camps including Nido de Cóndores and Camp Colera before the final push to the summit. The summit push rises nearly 5,000 feet making an arduous final day of climbing. Related Adventure Article