Treasure found in the Andes: backpack of mountaineer who died 40 years ago was recovered

Nine days of expedition, nine people and an emotional rescue in the Andes Mountains. Sisters Azul (44) and Guadalupe (40) Vieiro - together with four mountain guides and three audiovisual producers - finally rescued what for them, and for many local mountaineers, is already considered a true treasure of the Andes.

This is the emblematic blue backpack of Guillermo Vieiro (father of the women), that belonging that had been abandoned for exactly 40 years on one of the most inhospitable and hostile trails that descend from the summit of the Tupungato volcano .

Guillermo , who became immortal as the "Tamer of Aconcagua" died in January 1985 at the age of 44 , together with his partner Leonardo Rabal (20). It was when they were descending a very complicated route from the summit of the Tupungato volcano .

An expedition to the Andes mountain range set out to rescue the backpack of a man who died 40 years ago 3.jpg

"Let's get the mochi down!" was the message Guadalupe sent to her older brother Rodrigo (47) on Saturday afternoon. It was "the message" the two sisters wanted to send since they left for Chile on February 16. And the one Rodrigo wanted to receive.

This afternoon, Guillermo 's eldest son went to Puente del Inca to meet up with his sisters and to install an emotional plaque to immortalize this emotional rescue expedition for the lost backpack. The plaque was made using a text fragment from a note from Los Andes .

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Of all Guillermo 's belongings, this iconic blue backpack was the only one the Vieiro Magaz brothers had yet to recover. For this reason, on Friday, February 14, all the expedition members crossed from Mendoza to Chile , while on Sunday, February 16, they began the journey to the Tupungato volcano and through the access on the Chilean side (in the town of San José del Maipo ).

In January 1985 , Guillermo and his student from the Tandil Mountain Center School , Leonardo Rabal (20) had set out for the summit of the Tupungato volcano . When they began the descent , they died, and although the bodies were rescued two weeks later - the mountaineer Ulises Vitale , a great friend of Guillermo, was in charge of that difficult mission - the backpack remained covered in snow ever since.

The already popular blue backpack was at 6,100 meters above sea level, nestled in an area of ​​glaciers and narrow trails for 40 years - where Guillermo left it. It only emerged from the ice and eternal snow of Tupungato in February of last year ( global warming did its part as well).

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It was mountain guide Gabriela Cavallaro (who participated in the current expedition) who saw it from a distance while leading another mission . Although it was almost a kilometer from the backpack , it was not an easily accessible place. And time was pressing.

However, Gabi knew from the first moment that this was not just any backpack , but that of the legendary Guillermo Vieiro , known to all as "the Tamer of Aconcagua ."

Gabriela took a photo - from a distance - and then shared it with her colleagues and Guillermo's family . And, since then, she began planning the journey to return to look for this "lost treasure."

In January 1985, Guillermo Vieiro literally left his life behind in his beloved Andes mountain range . Much loved in the mountain environment, Vieiro was nicknamed "the Tamer of Aconcagua ".

This nickname had to do, among other things, with the fact that he was the first - and only - expedition member to reach the summit of the highest mountain in America via the five possible routes : the normal route - via Mulas -, the route via the Glaciar de los Polacos , the route via the west face , the route via the South face and the route via the North face - known as Guanacos -.

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The phrase from one of the notes that Los Andes published about the expedition was the one chosen by Guillermo's family to immortalize the rescue on a commemorative plaque . And to highlight and recognize the sisters and all the expedition members who brought back the backpack .

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"TUPUNGATO Expedition In search of the 'lost treasure' In February 2024 the backpack of the "tamer of Aconcagua" emerged from the ice and eternal snow of Tupungato. Global warming did its thing so that what was frozen for four decades was now visible. Azul Vieiro Magaz, Guadalupe Vieiro Magaz, Gabriela Cavallaro, Gerardo Cartillo, Juan Schiappa, Valentina Romero; Melina Tupa, Ricardo Funes, Javier Gutiérrez among others participated in this adventure Mendoza - Tupungato - February 15, 2025" "TUPUNGATO Expedition In search of the 'lost treasure' In February 2024 the backpack of the "tamer of Aconcagua" emerged from the ice and eternal snow of Tupungato. Global warming did its thing so that what was frozen for four decades was now visible. Azul Vieiro Magaz, Guadalupe Vieiro Magaz, Gabriela Cavallaro, Gerardo Cartillo, Juan Schiappa, Valentina Romero; Melina Tupa, Ricardo Funes, Javier Gutiérrez among others participated in this adventure Mendoza - Tupungato - February 15, 2025"