Europe, Switzerland & Italy, Pennine Alps - Matterhorn / Cervino

The "Matterhorn" is one of the world's most famous mountain and it's considered as an iconic emblem of the region of the Swiss Alps. Its 1 200 meters North face is one of the great north faces of the Alps.


The Matterhorn has two distinct summits, both situated on a 100-meter-long rocky ridge: the Swiss summit (4 477,54 m) on the east and the Italian summit (4 476,4 m) on the west. Their names originated from the first ascents not for geographic reasons as they are both located on the border. Because of plate tectonics, the part of the Alps in which the Matterhorn is located still continues to rise at a faster rate than the forces of erosion are able to erode it.


The Matterhorn by Helicopter

The mountain derives its name from the German words Matte, meaning meadow, and Horn, which means peak also named after the family that lived there Matter which latter derived the names Mattern and Mottern. The Italian and French names come from Mons Silvinus from the Latin word silva, meaning forest. The changing of the first letter s to c is attributed to Horace Bénédict de Saussure, believing that the word was related to a deer (French: cerf).

The most well-known faces are the east and north ones, both visible from Zermatt. The east face is 1,000 meters high and presents a high risk of rockfall, making its ascent dangerous. The north face is 1,200 meters high and is one of the most dangerous north faces in the Alps, in particular for its risk of rockfall and storms. The south face is 1,350 meters high and offers many different routes. Finally, the west face, the highest at 1,400 meters, has the fewest routes of ascent.


Matterhorn Sunrise

The Matterhorn was one of the last of the main Alpine mountains to be ascended, not because of its technical difficulty, but because of the fear it inspired in early mountaineers. The first serious attempts began around 1857, mostly from the Italian side; but despite appearances, the southern routes are harder, and parties repeatedly found themselves having to turn back. However, on July 14, 1865, in what is considered the last ascent of the golden age of alpinism, the party of Edward Whymper, Charles Hudson, Lord Francis Douglas, Douglas Robert Hadow, Michel Croz and the two Peter Taugwalders (father and son) was able to reach the summit by an ascent of the Hörnli ridge in Switzerland. Upon descent, Hadow, Croz, Hudson and Douglas fell to their deaths on the Matterhorn Glacier, and all but Douglas (whose body was never found) are buried in the Zermatt churchyard.


Matterhorn, Hörnligrat

The four main ridges separating the four faces are also the main climbing routes. The easiest, the Hörnli ridge (Hörnligrat), lies between the east and north faces, facing the town of Zermatt. To its west lies the Zmutt ridge (Zmuttgrat), between the north and west faces. The Lion ridge (Cresta del Leone), lying between the south and west faces is the Italian normal route and goes through the Pic Tyndall. Finally the south side is separated from the east side by the Furggen ridge (Furggengrat), the most difficult ridge of all.

Today, all ridges and faces of the Matterhorn have been ascended in all seasons, and mountain guides take a large number of people up the northeast Hörnli route each summer. By modern standards, the climb is fairly difficult (AD Difficulty rating), but not hard for skilled mountaineers. There are fixed ropes on parts of the route to help. Still, several climbers die each year due to a number of factors including the scale of the climb and its inherent dangers, inexperience, falling rocks, and overcrowded routes.



Matterhorn climbing - Polish expedition

The usual pattern of ascent is to take the Schwarzsee cable car up from Zermatt, hike up to the Hörnli Hut (elev. 3,260 m/10,695 ft), a large stone building at the base of the main ridge, and spend the night. The next day, climbers rise at 3:30 am so as to reach the summit and descend before the regular afternoon clouds and storms come in. The Solvay Hut located on the ridge at 4,003 m can be used only in a case of emergency.

Other routes on the mountain include the Italian ridge (D Difficulty rating), the Zmutt ridge (D Difficulty rating) and the north face route, one of the six great north faces of the Alps (TD+ Difficulty rating).

The major routes on the Matterhorn are
Hörnli (Normal route)
* Difficulty: AD+
* Time: 5-6 hours
* Start: Hörnlihütte (3'260 m)

Zmutt
* Difficulty: D
* Ascent time: 6-7 hours
* Start: Hörnlihütte (3'260 m)

Furggen
* Difficulty: TD
* Ascent time: 7 hours
* Start: Bivacco Bossi (3'345 m)

Lion (Italian normal route)
* Difficulty: AD+
* Ascent time: 4-5 hours
* Start: Rifugio Carrel (3'829 m)

Live cams in the area - Zermatt - Matterhorn

Used information, pictures and video from http://en.wikipedia.org/ and http://www.youtube.com/

Europe, Switzerland, Berner Oberland - Eiger

The Eiger is a notable mountain in the Swiss Alps, rising to an elevation of 3970 m. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge-crest that extends to the Mönch at 4107 m, and across the Jungfraujoch to the Jungfrau at 4,158 m. The three mountains of the ridge are sometimes referred to as the Virgin (German: Jungfrau, lit. "Young Woman" - translates to "Virgin" or "Maiden"), the Monk (Mönch) and the Ogre (Eiger). The name has been linked to the Greek term akros, meaning "sharp" or "pointed", but more commonly to the German eigen, meaning "characteristic".

The Nordwand, German for "north face", is the spectacular north (or, more precisely, north-west) face of the Eiger (also known as the Eigerwand, "Eiger wall"). It is one of the six great north faces of the Alps, towering over 1,800 m above the valley in the Bernese Oberland below.


MFF: On Location #14 - Climbing the Eiger - The Alps

It was first climbed on July 24, 1938 by Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg, Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek of a German–Austrian group. The group had originally consisted of two independent teams; Harrer (who didn't have a pair of crampons on the climb) and Kasparek were joined on the face by Heckmair and Vörg, who had started their ascent a day later and had been helped by the fixed rope that the lead group had left across the "Hinterstoisser Traverse." The two groups, led by the experienced Heckmair, co-operated on the more difficult later pitches, and finished the climb roped together as a single group of four. A portion of the upper face is called "The White Spider", as snow-filled cracks radiating from an ice-field resemble the legs of a spider. Harrer used this name for the title of his book about his successful climb, Die Weisse Spinne (translated into English as The White Spider: The Classic Account of the Ascent of the Eiger). During the first successful ascent, the four men were caught in an avalanche as they climbed the Spider, but all had enough strength to resist being swept off the face.



Subsequently the face has been climbed many times, and today is regarded as a formidable challenge more because of the increased rockfall and diminishing ice-fields than because of its technical difficulties, which are not at the highest level of difficulty in modern alpinism. In summer the face is often unclimbable because of rockfall, and climbers are increasingly electing to climb it in winter, when the crumbling face is strengthened by the hard ice present.


A huge slice of rock has fallen from the Eiger mountain.

Since 1935, sixty climbers have died attempting the north face, earning it the German nickname, Mordwand, or "murder wall", a play on the face's real German name Nordwand.

The major routes on the Eiger are:
West Flank & West Ridge - AD (G4) with III-, 1650m. 6 hours in ascent, 3 to 4hours in descent.
North Face - 1938 Route: ED2 (G14) V-, A0, 60°, 1800m, one to three or more days.
Northeast Face (Lauper)- ED (G12) with V, mostly IV+ and III, 50-55°. 1700m, 15 to 18hours
Mittellegi Ridge - D (G5) with IV & fixed ropes, 4 to 8 hours from Mittellegi Hut
South Ridge - AD, rock to III, 7 to 9 hours in ascent and another 6 to 7 hours in descent

More information about climbing routes could be found here.

Live cams in the area - Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau; Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe; Männlichen; Bahnhof Kleine Scheidegg

Used information, pictures and video from http://en.wikipedia.org/, http://www.summitpost.org/ and http://www.youtube.com/

Europe, Greece, Thessalia - Meteora

There is an area called Thessalia, in the heart of Greece, in which one of the most well-known and best climbing areas of Greece is situated. It is called Meteora, which translated means: the ones that stand, hang alone in the air. The first people who climbed these rocks were shepherds who carried their sheep up to the top to graze to ensure their survival.

The first routes to be climbed were the cracks and chimneys similar to those climbed in the area of Saxony in East Germany. As is the custom a small notebook was left in a metal box on the top of every peak. What is amazing is that on some infrequently climbed towers you can still find the notebooks dating back to the seventies and read the notes of the first climbers. On the first page the major routes of the pillar are denoted, as are the ways to descend (rappels) followed by the names of all those who have reached the top up to the present day.

The type of rock is unique and quite different from other climbing areas of Greece. The rock is mainly pebbles, stones, gravel and frail sandstone.

The ideal weather conditions of Greece permit climbing starting from the spring, late April to middle of June and after the hot Greek summer from September till the end of November. Generally speaking, climbing is possible throughout the whole year.

Climbing in Meteora never ends. There is an unlimited selection of routes. Get yourself familiar with the rock and the way of climbing it, after carefully studying & consulting the climbing guides. Every route has its own beauty and worth.

Some of the most beautiful routes, with many repetitions and in classic style, as given by the Hasse & Stutte guides are the following:
One of the classic routes is in the Holy Ghost «The pillar of Dreams » V+ 250 m. On the Sourloti rock «Hypotenuse» VI 225 meters and « The line of fallen drop» VI 170 meters. On Kelch tower «The eggs dance - Eiertanz» VI- A1 130 meters with the fantastic and breathtaking step across and in Alyssos the " Community Route" VI A2 320M.
On the tower of Bell "Glockenspiel" VI 125m, in Bantova rock "Swiss cheese" VII - and in Doupiani rock " Ostkante VI 125 m. & "Dickes Ende" VII- 145m.
An amazing and well known corner (pictures 20,30,40) is in Holy Ghost «The corner of Madness » VII 180 meters and in the Caucasian tower a classic route "Roussanou End" V+ 160.
If you prefer a little bit of everything (cracks, traverse, steep) go to The Tower of Meteora, at the "DOHLEWAND DIRECT" VI- 145 m route.

Last but not least - It is forbidden to climb to the towers on which Monasteries exist! There are no routes! This was what Dietrich Hasse and his team agreed together with the church authorities back in the 70's and this still applies today.


The map of the area.

Used information and pictures from http://www.planetmountain.com/ and http://picasaweb.google.com/

Quote Of The Day

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

~ John Muir

Quote of The Day

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul.

~ John Muir

North America, USA, California - Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is located in the eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California. The park covers an area of 3 081 km² and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain. Yosemite is visited by over 3.5 million people each year. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity.

Yosemite Valley represents only one percent of the park area, but this is where most visitors arrive and stay. El Capitan, a prominent granite cliff that looms over the valley, is one of the most popular rock climbing destinations in the world because of its diverse range of climbing routes in addition to its year-round accessibility. Granite domes such as Sentinel Rock and Half Dome rise 900 and 1,450 m above the valley floor. Complete list of Yosemite's Best Free Climbing Routes could be found here.

El Capitan is a 910 m vertical rock formation, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers.

The formation was named "El Capitan" by the Mariposa Battalion when it explored the valley in 1851. El Capitan ("the captain", "the chief") was taken to be a loose Spanish translation of the local Native American name for the cliff, variously transcribed as "To-to-kon oo-lah" or "To-tock-ah-noo-lah". It is unclear if the Native American name referred to a specific Tribal chief, or simply meant "the chief" or "rock chief". In modern times, the formation's name is often contracted to "El Cap", especially among rock climbers.

El Capitan, or El Cap, has two faces: the Southwest and the Southeast. Between the two faces is a protruding shelf called The Nose. The Nose is the most popular and famous route by which to climb El Capitan. The Nose was first climbed in 1958 by Warren J. Harding, Wayne Marry, and George Whitmore in 47 days. They used “siege” tactics, which meant using fixed ropes along the length of the route and establishing camps. The second ascent in 1960 took 7 days. The first single day ascent was accomplished in 1975. Presently, The Nose challenges climbers of all experience levels. Some of the earliest routes for climbing El Capitan are still the favorites; Salathe Wall on the southwest face, and the North America Wall on the southeast face, both climbed in the 60s. Other early routes include Dihedral Wall, West Buttress, and Muir Wall. Later climbs involve routes like the Wall of Early Morning Light, Zodiac, Mescalito, the Sea of Dreams, the Shield, the Pacific Ocean Wall, and the Jolly Roger. Today there are over 70 routes going up El Capitan, many of which link old routes and new ones. With that many routes, there is something to appeal to every level of experience and ability.


Climbing the Nose in June 2007 - Konrad Schlenkrich & Livio Urban & Thomas Johne (Germany)


Ascent of Zodiac (VI, 5.8, A3) on Yosemite's El Capitan.

Half Dome is a granite dome, located at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley — possibly Yosemite's most familiar sight. The granite crest rises more than 1 444 m above the valley floor.

As late as the 1870s, Half Dome was declared "perfectly inaccessible", but it may now be ascended in several different ways. Thousands of hikers reach the top each year by following a trail from the valley floor. The trailhead is only 3.2 km from Half Dome itself, but the circuitous route is 13.7 km long. The final ascent is accomplished by following a pair of metal cables raised on posts up the peak's steep but somewhat rounded east face. The cable route was constructed in 1919, but followed close to the route of George Anderson's October, 1875 first ascent made by drilling iron eyebolts into the smooth granite.

Alternatively, over a dozen rock climbing routes lead from the valley up Half Dome's vertical northwest face. Other routes ascend the south face and the west shoulder. The first modern technical route was the Regular Northwest Face route - originally climbed in 1957 by Royal Robbins, Mike Sherrick, and Jerry Gallwas. This 5-day ascent was the first Grade VI climb in the United States.


VIDEO-HIKE part of the Half Dome trail.

Used information, pictures and video from http://en.wikipedia.org/, http://www.extranomical.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/

North America, USA, California - Joshua Tree National Park

I learned about Joshua Tree National Park from my mate, Sonja. Later she got engaged there and that made this place one of my favorites in the US . It is located in southeastern California . Declared a U.S. National Park in 1994, it had previously been a U.S. National Monument since 1936. It includes over 3 196 km² of land. The park includes parts of two deserts, each an ecosystem whose characteristics are determined primarily by elevation. Below 900 m, the Colorado Desert encompasses the eastern part of the park and features natural gardens of creosote bush, ocotillo, and cholla cactus. The Little San Bernardino Mountains run through the southwest edge of the park.
The higher, moister, and slightly cooler Mojave Desert is the special habitat of the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), from which the park gets its name. The dominant geologic features of the landscape are hills of bare rock, usually broken up into loose boulders. These hills are popular among rock climbing and scrambling enthusiasts. The flatland between these hills is sparsely forested with Joshua trees. Together with the boulder piles and Skull Rock, the trees make the landscape otherworldly. An interesting fact about Joshua Tree National Park is that five of North America 's 158 desert fan palm oases are located there.
Joshua Tree attract climbers and bouldering enthusiasts from around the world with more than 400 climbing formations and 8,000 climbing routes. This climbing mecca is famous for its traditional-style crack, slab, and steep-face climbing.
Maps of the major climbing areas could be found here.



Used information, pictures and video from http://en.wikipedia.org/, http://www.nps.gov/jotr/ and http://www.youtube.com/

South America, Argentina - Patagonia

Patagonia is a geographic region containing the southernmost portion of South America. Mostly located in Argentina and partly in Chile, it comprises the Andes mountains to the west and south, and plateau and low plains to the east. The name Patagonia comes from the word patagon used by Magellan to describe the native people who his expedition thought to be giants. It is now believed the Patagons were actually Tehuelches with an average height of 1.80 m compared to the 1.55 m average for Spaniards of the time.

To the east of the Andes, it lies south of the Neuquén River and Colorado rivers, and, to the west of the Andes, south of 39°S, excluding the Chiloé Archipelago. East of the Andes the Argentine portion of Patagonia includes the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz, and Tierra del Fuego, as well as the southern tips of the provinces of Buenos Aires, Mendoza and La Pampa. The Chilean portion embraces the southern part of the region of Los Lagos, and the regions of Aisén and Magallanes. It excludes those portions of Antarctica claimed by both countries.


Chilean Patagonia - Torres del Paine /uploaded in YouTube by tlapse/


Patagonia National Park /uploaded in YouTube by patagoniavideo/

Patagonia attract tourists with the amazing nature and spectacular views. It's a place where the land, ocean and the sky are cross.

Here is located the most famous rock needle in the world - Cerro Torre. It's famous not for its height but rather its foul weather, its very long pointed shape and difficult technical climbs. Because the Patagonian Ice Cap is located near it Pacific storms are lifted and focused through a geographic effect that drops lots of precipitation and adds power to the winds making them fearsome. Even the toughest of climbers have to take a hard long look deep inside before climbing in the conditions that Cerro Torre can dish out. Climbs usually take three to eight days however it has been climbed in a day and a half. The weather on Cerro Torre is very bad with the 7000 foot south face seeming to have the worst weather. Often the top of Cerro Torre is covered in a crown of rime ice and some climbers have been known to call it a day just below this crown because of the difficulty of climbing the often over hanging ice.
Take a look at this video.

Patagonia - Cerro Torre /uploaded in YouTube by esalvaterra/

Used videos and information from http://en.wikipedia.org/, http://www.summitpost.org/ and http://www.youtube.com/

Europe, Italy - Dolomites

The Dolomites are a challenging and beautiful range of steep limestone peaks situated south of the Austrian/Italian border. The area is stretching out 80 kilometers east of Bolzano, which is split into different groups linked by a good road network. Many of the peaks are over 3000 meters high, giving long and demanding big wall routes up to 800 meters long. Some routes can be over 20-pitches long, however most them can be done in a single days outing or with an overnight stay in a mountain hut or lodge.

The highest mountain in the Dolomites is Marmolada, with its impressive 800 meters high and 3kilometers wide south facing limestone wall. All of the routes on this face are long and serious, and unique to the Dolomites, may take longer than a day to complete. It is wise to pack a bivouac bag. Unless you catch the expensive last cable car from the summit then the descent is down the north side of the mountain, which has the only glacier in the region! It is therefore recommended that in-step crampons and lightweight boots be worn.

The north face of Cima Grande is one of the great alpine north faces and is breathtakingly steep - a real big wall. At 450 meters and 16-pitches long, and graded at UIAA V11- (UK E2 5c or French 6b) it is very sustained for long periods and therefore demands the prestige attached to it. However as with many of the routes in the Dolomites it is possible to aid across the difficult sections, which reduces this route to V1/A1 (UK E1 5B or French 6a).

The Sella Towers and Piz Ciavazes have a reputation for short approaches, easy descents, and well-protected routes that are not too long. However just on the other side of the Sella Pass is the Sassolungo area, where the routes are a much more serious undertaking and have an "alpine" experience about them.
Between Cortina and St Kassian is the Falzarego Pass, which offers some of the best rock climbing in the Dolomites. There are plenty of south-facing mid-grade routes; with short easy approaches; uncomplicated descents; and solid, well-protected routes.

Used pictures and information from http://en.wikipedia.org/, http://www.climb-europe.com/ and http://commons.wikimedia.org/

Europe, Balkans, Greece - Kalymnos

My best friend Sonja and her boyfriend (now husband) Mike were my guests almost two years ago. During their visit I learned for an amazing place very close to Bulgaria - Kalymnos. They showed me a book with wonderful picture of this climbing paradise and make me dream about it.

The island of Kalymnos is about 300 kilometers south east of Athens, and 100 kilometers north west of Rhodes. It has 15 500 permanent inhabitants, most of whom live in Pothia, the capital of the island. It is well known as the sponge harvester’s island. It is surrounded by a number of small islands, only two of which are inhabited, Pserimos and Telendos. Pothia is a picturesque town built like an amphitheatre around the port. It has all the necessary facilities such as banks, a post office, a hospital etc, as well as an intense commercial life with shops selling all kinds of goods.

The island of Kalymnos offers rock climbing throughout the whole year although summer can be very hot and the winter weather is a little unpredictable. April and May are usually considered to be the best time for rock climbing and bouldering.
Rock climbing on Kalymnos started as recent at 1996 when Italian climbers discovered Kalymnos as a climber’s paradise. The island offers a variety of numerous lime stone rocks with different kinds of difficult degrees. The rock climbing is never monotonous as there are routes involving delicate moves or athletic routes on overhangs and roofs with holes and stalagmites.
Rock climbing on Kalymnos is still rather unknown at an international level and therefore you will not find the usual crowds and queues which are typical on the famous crags.
There are 24 equipped crags with 200 pitches , from F4c to F8a+ (all bolt protected, sport climbing), mostly facing west , but a few facing south .
The rock is excellent quality limestone, sharp at only a few points, without vegetation, and the pitches are equipped with rustproof bolts. At the moment almost all the routes are one pitch, but there are many possibilities for amazing two to five pitch routes. Indeed, apart from the quality, there is also the vast amount of rock available. The opened routes represent not more than 5% of the possibilities, while there are several equally good cliffs completely untouched that are awaiting their first route!
The ranking system in use is the French one. The grades of these routes are on the Kalymnos Route Database.

Used pictures and information from http://www.kalymnosinfo.com/ and http://www.kalymnos-isl.gr/

Seven Summits

Bigger map

The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such in the 1980s by Richard Bass.
In fact there are two different The Seven Summits lists. The first Seven Summits list was proposed by Bass chose the highest mountain of mainland Australia, Mount Kosciuszko (2 228 m), to represent the Australian continent's highest summit. Reinhold Messner suggested another list replacing Mount Kosciuszko with New Guinea's Carstensz Pyramid (4 884 m). Neither the Bass nor the Messner list includes Mont Blanc. From a mountaineering point of view the Messner list is the more challenging one. Climbing Carstensz Pyramid has the character of an expedition, whereas the ascent of Kosciuszko is an easy hike.
Another disputed issue is Europe's highest mountain. Mount Elbrus (5 642 m) in the Caucasus is included on the both Bass and Mesner list, but there are people considering Mont Blanc (4 808 m) to be Europe's highest mountain.

The Seven Summits list by Mesner - Carstensz list

Africa
Africa's highest mountain Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania. The highest point on Kilimanjaro is Uhuru Peak, on the volcano Kibo 5 895 metres.

Map of the area

Antarctica
Vinson Massif (4 897 meters) is the highest mountain of Antarctica, situated in the Ellsworth Mountains, located about 1 200 km from the South Pole. The mountain is about 21 km long and 13 km wide.

Map of the area

Australia and Oceania
Puncak Jaya (4 884 meters), sometimes called Mount Carstensz or the Carstensz Pyramid, is a mountain in the Sudirman Range, the western central highlands of Papua province, Indonesia. It's the highest summit for Australia and Oceania.

Map of the area

Asia
Mount Everest, also called Chomolungma, Qomolangma or Zhumulangma is the highest mountain on Earth, as measured by the height of its summit above sea level, which is 8 848 metres. The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal, and Tibet, China.

Map of the area

Europe
Mount Elbrus (west summit) stands at 5 642 meters and is considered to be the highest mountain in Europe; it is also the highest point of Russia. The east summit is slightly lower: 5 621 meters. The mountain is located in the western Caucasus mountain, Russia, near the border of Georgia.

Map of the area


North America
Mount McKinley or Denali "The Great One" in Alaska is the highest mountain peak in North America, at a height of 6 194 meters. Denali was renamed Mount McKinley for William McKinley, a nominee for president, by the Princeton graduate and gold prospector, William Dickey. Mount McKinley has a larger bulk and rise than Mount Everest. Even though the summit of Everest is about 2 700 meters higher as measured from sea level, its base sits on the Tibetan Plateau at about 5 200 meters, giving it a real vertical rise of a little more than 3 700 meters.

Map of the area

South America
Cerro Aconcagua (6 962 m) is the highest mountain in the Americas, and the highest mountain outside Asia. It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Argentine province of Mendoza. Aconcagua is the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres.

Map of the area