In which mountain range is the Aconcagua located?

Aconcagua is a mountain in the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain outside of Asia, being the highest in both the Southern and Western Hemispheres with a summit elevation of 6,960.8 metres (22,837 ft). The mountain is one of the so-called Seven Summits of the seven continents.

The mountain has a number of glaciers. The largest glacier is the Ventisquero Horcones Inferior at about 10 km (6.2 mi) long, which descends from the south face to about 3,600 m (11,800 ft) in altitude near the Confluencia camp.

In mountaineering terms, Aconcagua is technically an easy mountain if approached from the north, via the normal route. Aconcagua is arguably the highest non-technical mountain in the world, since the northern route does not absolutely require ropes, axes, and pins. Although the normal climb is technically easy, multiple casualties occur every year on this mountain (e.g. in January 2009 alone five climbers died). This is due to the large numbers of climbers who make the attempt and because many climbers underestimate the objective risks of the elevation and of cold weather, which is the real challenge on this mountain.

The first recorded ascent was in 1897 by a European expedition led by the British mountaineer Edward FitzGerald. FitzGerald failed to reach the summit himself over eight attempts between December 1896 and February 1897, but the (Swiss) guide of the expedition, Matthias Zurbriggen reached the summit in January.