Our Gauchos

Fer has been organizing logistics in Aconcagua for over 20 years. He is an avid all around climber, trail runner, snowboarder and biker. His climbing career has taken him to the summits of Mt. Everest, Ama Dablan, El Cap and Aconcagua (several times, including a 27:30 hs car to car ascent of the Normal route). Fer lives in Mendoza (most of the year) with his wife. He loves to take long runs in the nearby hills.

It is unlikely that you will meet Florencia during your expedition, as she works behind the curtains. But make no mistake:, she is there, 24/7, making things happen for you. Flor handles all the complex schedule of hotel reservations and transfers to and from the mountain. She also makes sure that the Mendoza office, the logistics center at Penitentes and the base camps are properly coordinated and running smoothly. She knows the business, as she's been working with us since 2005. A former first division field hockey keeper, Flor splits her winters between her keepers school and her patients as physiotherapist -and the occasional mountaineering trip-. She´s climbed in Perú, Nepal, Europe and, of course, has summited Aconcagua. She is married and lives in Mendoza.

A former newspaper editor, Nico left the newsroom for the mountains -he wrote 3 books and countless articles about nature in the process-. He’s been with Grajales Expeditions for 8 years, and currently handles everything client-related, and also writes for our website and blog. A job that he enjoys as much as a tough mountain bike race in the desert. As per achievements, he claims to hold a record obtaining Aconcagua permits in high season (non stop).

Elvira has a degree in psychology and has specialized in organizational psychology. She is currently pursuing a career as a trekking guide. She handles our Human Resources, a task that allows her to visit the base camps from time to time -one of the things that Elvira loves about the job. In fact, Elvi is involved in a ground-breaking study about the effects of hypoxia in mental health. Elvira lives in Mendoza all year round.

Whether on foot, on horseback, at the wheel or bossing around at Los Penitentes, Eduardo is a true mountain man. Born at the feet of the mountains 47 years ago, he has been doing all sorts of mountain-related endeavours since then (some of them, too odd to include in a resume). Being around horses and gauchos (and bossing around at Los Penitentes) are his preferred activities, second only to being at home with his lovely family (wife and two children).

In 1976, Fernando Grajales sold his farm to start up a guiding company at the foot of Mt. Aconcagua. It turned out that it was a good idea. Eventually, venturing into the mountains became popular, and Grajales Expeditions obtained the first license ever granted to provide services in Aconcagua. By then, the Mendocino entrepreneur was a seasoned andinista. After a solo Aconcagua summit in 1952 by the Normal route, he had taken part in the first climb of the southwest ridge, a technical route. The Andean endeavour was perfect preparation for the 1954 Argentine expedition to the still unclimbed Dhaulagiri (8.167 m), in which Fernando handled logistics. The expedition reached 8.000 m and obtained international recognition. Later on, Grajales applied the experience in his own company. He settled down and formed a family, too. Mabel, his wife, and Fernando jr, their son, shared the burden of the first seasons, living half the year in Mendoza and the other half in the mountain. The family venture became synonymous with Aconcagua. Don Fernando kept running the business until his early death in 2004. His legacy lives on.

A mountain guide himself, Maxi prefers to work as a porter, as he's been doing for the last eight seasons. Not that he doesn't climb: at 33, he’s summited Aconcagua 16 times by multiple routes. And in the very few breaks he gets as head of porters at Plaza de Mulas, he's climbed neighboring peaks as Catedral, Cuerno and Horcones. Maxi has spent the last half of his life around mountains in the Andes, and the first half playing soccer in Mendoza, where he was born. He even made it to the junior team of the pro local club Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba!

A combination of athlete, guide, and local expert, Fer is an example of Grajales Expeditions’ new breed of mountain leaders. He has so much experience in Aconcagua that he could run up and down the hill blindfolded, and he is completing his UIAGM career as mountain guide. But he chooses to work as porter to “get the right amount of red cells” to raise the bar in his climbing challenges. He summited Fitz Roy (Chaltén, Patagonia) twice, and Denali a couple of times too. In Aconcagua, he climbed Aconcagua’s Polish Glacier 5 times (one guiding and fixing ropes), the South Wall and the technical East Glacier. He is 36 and lives where his climbing projects take him. His goal is to “guide technical mountains”.

Although she is nomadic at heart, Griselda has a soft spot for Aconcagua: “Of all the places I’ve been, and I travel a lot, Plaza Argentina is my place in the world, my second home. If we had a year-round climbing season, I would live there for sure”, she affirms. “Gri” manages our base camp in the Vacas Valley since 2011. (she took a sabbatical year to spend time in…. Plaza Argentina!)-. She has worked in Plaza de Mulas (at the old hotel) and Confluencia, as BC manager and as a chef. She has completed studies in trophology (a nutritional approach that combines foods in a healthy way).In the off season, she treats her “mountainsickness” with seasonal jobs at ski resorts. But most of all Gri is a true “Aconcaguan”: a respected voice within the mountain community and a person always ready to smile and to help others.

From our website and logo to the cool wooden signs in our camps, Nuria Añó Gargiulo has been the creative mind behind Grajales Expeditions’ visual identity since 2016. A graphic designer by education, Nuria lives and works in Barreal, a beautiful little town at the foot of the Ansilta mountains (a massive range to the North of Aconcagua). An appropriated location to give full rein to her two passions: winemaking and climbing, endeavours that Nuria shares with her husband Pancho.

Managing a busy base camp requires a vast array of competences. You have to keep an eye on the altitude (who’s going for the summit, who’s coming back -hungry- to BC); an eye on the lowlands (who’s coming to town and will need to be fed, who’s leaving town and will need to be flown); and above all two alert ayes on your camp, with muleteers, climbers, guides and porters all moving at once. Luz knows this game of chess by experience.She has spent 11 summers in Aconcagua, working as porter, cook, logistics manager and BC manager. In the meantime, she managed to get a mountain guide degree and to set foot on the summit.

Julieta’s circle around the sun has three defined stages: the climbing season in Mt. Aconcagua, the skiing season in Las Leñas and nomadism in between. She is a graphic designer by profession, but being a host is her passion and Confluencia camp her place in the world. “I don´t feel the need to go up to the altitude or the summit”, she says. “I love being in the camp and making people feel at home”. Julieta is a seasoned “coach surfer” and loves exploring different cultures and distant countries. She dives and snowboards when she gets a chance.

Coralia manages our Pampa de Leñas camp, the first camp in the Vacas Valley routes. After studying gastronomy, she focused in bakery, her true passion. “My goal is to reach people through something I've done with my hands”, she says. Coralia spends the off-season at her home in Mendoza, where she is a free lance baker. In her free time she practices Arabic dance.

José was born and raised in El Leoncito National Park, a high plateau where the sky is so clear that it houses a large astronomical observatory. At 17 he moved to Puente del Inca, where he “climbed the muleteer ladder”; he began as a “marucho” (apprentice) for Grajales Expeditions in 1989, and then became a full Aconcagua muleteer. This involves waking up at 4 AM every day of the season and head up to base camp no matter the weather. Since 2006 he became our head of arrieros (muleteers), in charge of 10 gauchos and 120 mules. He often plays with the idea of seeing the hill from the summit before he retires. In the off season, José lives in Mendoza with his wife and two children.

He speaks English with a Southern American accent, he wears big rings and if you happen to hop in his van, he might introduce you to a purists’ selection of heavy metal and rock music. (Should you -and he- be in the mood for it, of course). He is the Dean of our drivers, the Force behind all your safe transfers to and from Mt. Aconcagua. He’s not that old, but he’s been driving since the Andes were the bottom of an ocean. His name is Carlos but he goes by Charly. He was born in Mendoza, where he has a beautiful family of wife and three children, but he spent a few years in South Carolina. (That’s where the accent and the music inclination come from!).

After ten years working as a trekking guide in Aconcagua, Darío decided that he had enough of walking. He had already been at the top three times. But he wanted to stay close to the mountains, so he picked up a job driving climbers to and from Aconcagua. He certainly likes driving: in one occasion he rode his motorbike for 5.000km, the whole Argentine section of the iconic Route 40, that runs along the Andes. Darío lives in Mendoza with his wife and two children.

Uli is the “dean” of our guides and a leading authority on Aconcagua. Not surprisingly: he’s been at the top of the big hill 57 times -and counting-. In almost three decades of guiding, Ulises has led trips all over the world, including all the Seven Summits guiding. In 2021 he led climbers to the summit of Mt Manaslu (26,781 ft). He teaches at Argentina’s school of guides, where he graduated. He was born and lives in Mendoza with his family.

One of the more versatile female climbers of Latinamerica, Weny grew up near the Ansilta Range, in the Central Andes of Argentina. She’s completed several technical routes there (South face of Ansilta 6, new route, first winter ascents, Mt Mercedario guiding). She went on to achieve impressive alpine climbs in Patagonia, crowned by new routes on cerros Torre and Chaltén (Fitz Roy). Weny also climbed extensively in the glaciated peaks of Bolivia and Perú (Alpamayo, Huayna Potosi, Condoriri). She is an accomplished rock climber (one of the few Argentine female climbers that can climb 8a). Aconcagua is also familiar terrain to Weny: she’s led 18 trips to the top.

In 1998, Ilan crossed over the Andes into Mendoza with his red Dana Designs backpack, hitchhiking from Bolivia through Chile to climb Aconcagua on a spur - he was invited by some fellow travelers he met in Bolivia, why not? He never left. 53 Aconcagua summits later, Ilan still spends his summers guiding groups up his beloved mountain. The rest of the year he guides in Bolivia, Peru and Argentina and explores mountain bike traverses across the Andes. As much as he loves the gratification of summiting with guests, what motivates him most is being able to introduce people to the world of high altitude climbing.

“Mauri” was one of the first Latin American climbers to reach the summit of an eight-thousander (Cho You, in 1993). He has climbed extensively in Patagonia for over 25 years, summiting iconic peaks like Chaltén (Fitz Roy), aguja Guillaumet, la S, Mocho, etc. Mauri has achieved numerous classical routes in the Alps, such as Mont Blanc, Matterhorn. In the Andes he has achieved the first winter ascent of Mt Mercedario (6.770m), and technical lines in the glaciated peaks of Perú and Bolivia. Mauri has reached the summit of Aconcagua 49 times, including the first integral ascent of the South-East ridge. He has published the best Aconcagua guide so far, “Aconcagua, la cumbre de América”. Mauri has a vast experience in rock climbing too: he’s opened more than 150 routes in Mendoza -his homeland- and is the author of the guide “Escaladas en Mendoza”.

“Long distance challenges are my favorites”, says Mariano. But by “long distance” he means 50 hours long (the XK Race TRaverse, which he won twice), or other gruesome adventure races like Columbia Adventure Race (16 hs) or Merrell Adventure Series (12 hs). Family trips are also particular for Mariano. Like touring 8.000 km across Europe and Asia, riding a tandem bike with his wife. A professional mountain guide and a kinesiologist, Mariano has reached the summit of Aconcagua 43 times. Other mountains he’s climb are: mt Mercedario (Argentina, 6.720m, in the day), Denali (US) and Elbrus (Russia). He’s climbed the big wall El Capitan (US).

Ale “Cabe” Pereira began working with Grajales Expeditions in 2012, as a porter, while he was completing his guiding degree. He went on to be our chief of porters, then assistant guide and currently leading guide. He got to know Aconcagua pretty well in the process; he’s been at the summit 25 times so far (including a Polish Glaciar climb in 15 hs from Plaza de Mulas). His climbing CV includes Denali in Alaska, technical rock climbing routes in Europe and Argentina and two seasons as a ski instructor in Patagonia. Cabe has completed certifications as first responder and rescuer.

Agus achieved his first Aconcagua at 17 and has been going strong ever since. He has completed full degrees in mountain guiding and Tourism, and holds certifications as first responder and climbing instructor. He has worked in Aconcagua since 2001 to date -as a porter, assistant guide and leading guide-, and has guided clients to the summit 24 times (besides his teenager premier). A serious rock climber, Agus is a 8a climber and has travelled across South America and Europe in search of the perfect granite. Adventure races are his other pastime (he has been at the podium in some though ones).

“Betti” has been working in Aconcagua since 2006. Like many of her colleagues, she held different positions as she studied and gained experience: she went from base camp aide to assistant guide and currently she is a leading guide. In the meantime she completed guiding school and a degree in Spanish and Literature (a background that shows in her consensual, empathic leadership style). She also holds certifications as a first responder (WFR). Betti has guided clients to the summit of Aconcagua in six opportunities, including a Polish Glacier route ascent. Her mountaineering resume includes ascents to Mercedario (Central Andes); Mont Blanc (Alps); Huayna Potosí, Illimani (Cordillera Real, Bolivia), different peaks in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca; and Tetnuldi and other technical climbs in the Caucasus mountains, Georgia.

Do not let Julian’s calm, reflexive manner deceive you. Wait until steepness brings out the mountain man in him. He has guided clients to the summit of Aconcagua more than 20 times. He’s also climbed the Polish Glacier route, the Guide’s route (Gran Acarreo) and an impressive 7h16m speed climb from Plaza de Mulas to the summit. Julian has also guided and climbed by himself all over the Andes, mainly in the glaciated peaks of Bolivia and Perú (Artesonraju, Huascarán, Illampu, Ancohuma, Alpamayo) and in the big mountains of the Central Andes and Puna (Mercedario in one push, Pissis, Tres Cruces, Ojos del Salado). He is also an avid rock climber, biker, snowboarder and trail runner (he’s run the infamous Extremo 6000, a 500km ultra race in altitude). Once the expedition/climb/run/mtb or ski ride is over, he switches back to the quiet instructor again. He teaches at Mendoza’s School of Mountain Guides and at courses of wilderness first response (W-EMT, WFR).

Lean completed his studies at Mendoza’s mountain guiding school (EPGAMT) while working in Aconcagua in the summers. He went on to become chief of porters, and currently he guides full time with Grajales Expeditions. He has reached the summit of Mt. Aconcagua in 23 opportunities. In the off season, Lean and his wife run their own Bungee Jumping company, in the Mendoza river gorge. Lean holds certifications as Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WTEM).

Altitude, ice, rock or snow; Lucas feels at home climbing in any Andean terrain, from Patagonia to Perú and Bolivia -not to mention his 21 seasons and 40 summits at Aconcagua, one of them in 7h40m from Plaza de Mulas, at age 17-. He has climbed and guided extensively in the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca mountains for 12 seasons. Lucas has achieved many technical routes, such as first winter ascents in the Central Andes; Ranrapalca North Face, Artesonraju South Face (Peru); Aguja Poincenot, Aguja Guillaumet, Aguja De la S, Aguja Saint Exupéry (Patagonia). He is also a 7c sport climber and 7a in trad climbing. Lucas is a professional mountain guide and has given many ice, rock and winter mountaineering courses.

It is unlikely that you will find Guillermo unacclimated at any given time; when he’s not guiding at Aconcagua, he is at the mountain hut at 3,000m that he and his wife manage in Mendoza’s Cordón del Plata. Or guiding in the peaks nearby, like Cerro El Plata (5,990m), which Guille summited in 43 opportunities (so far). A licensed mountain guide, Guille also holds degrees in the fields of Sports and Physical Education, as well as first responder certifications. He is a professor at the national guiding school. Guillermo guides with Grajales Expeditions since 2009, and has led mountaineers to the summit of Aconcagua in 25 opportunities.