Expeditions Ojos Del Salado

Duración

14D / 13N

Tipo de tour

Trekking

Altitud del tour

6893 M

Altitud

6893 M

Tamaño de grupo

2 a 10 personas.

Grupo

2 a 10 pax.

The Ojos del Salado volcano is the highest summit across Chile and the second summit in America, and it is also the tallest active volcano in the world. That’s why this is one of the most desired challenges among mountaineers around the world. Ojos del Salado is almost as tall as Mt. Aconcagua which surpasses it by 60mts. The volcano is located in the borderline between Chile and Argentina, in the Chilean Atacama region, on of the most active mining regions in the country. Inside the National Park Nevado de Tres Cruces we can spot the Negro Francisco Lake and the Maricunga salt-flat which serves as refuge to three flamingo species. The closest city is Copiapó, where we can find everything we need to start our climbing upwards Ojos del Salado.

Duration: 9 to 14 days

Altitude: 6893 masl

Location: Copiapó, Chile

Elevation gain: 2500 m from Laguna Verde

Recommended time: November to March

Difficulty: It is not a technical route, but it is physically demanding

First Ascent: 1937 by Justin Wojsznis and Jan Szczepanski (PL)

Expedition size: max. 4 people per vehicle.

Chile

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Tour Program

Itinerary

Day 01

Copiapó Airport / Hotel / Our Service Begins (In)

We’ll meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel where you’ll have a talk with our guide in order to crystal clear any doubt clouding your mind and to check your equipment is proper and fitted for the purposes. Max altitude: 390 m / 1280 ft

Day 02

Copiapó / Valle Chico

We set out towards Valle Chico to set up our first camp. This place is perfect to start our expedition because it has the ideal altitude for starting the acclimatization process. Max altitude:3040 m / 9970 ft Lodging: Mountain tent

Day 03

Valle Chico / Laguna Santa Rosa / Trekking

On this day we’ll set up the second camp around the 3700 meters in order to keep on with our acclimatization process, which is crucial to our objective. We’ll do a light trekking to keep with our acclimatization process in order to get our bodies accustomed to this high altitude desert environment. This trekking is to be done around the Laguna Santa Rosa lakeside. Max altitude: 3700 m / 12140 ft Lodging: Refuge or mountain tent

Day 04

Climb Mt 7 Hermanas (4700m)

On this day we will perform our first ascension to the 7 Hermanas hill. Altitude: 4700masl. Max altitude: 4700 m / 15748 ft and back to 3700 m / 12140 ft Lodging: Refuge or mountain tent

Day 05

Laguna Santa Rosa / Laguna Verde

On this day we’ll finish the first stage of our expedition. We’ll head toward Laguna Verde where we’ll set-up the base-camp, rest for the remaining day and get ready for the days to come. Max altitude: 4340 m / 14240 ft Lodging: Refuge or mountain tent

Day 06

Laguna Verde / Climb Mulas Muertas (5600m)

On this day we’ll put our bodies to the test. We’ll see how your body is enduring the lack of oxygen in this area. We’ll go up a bit higher than 5,600 meters and then go back to sleep at the Laguna Verde. Max altitude: 5600m / 18360 ft Lodging: Refuge or mountain tent

Day 07

Laguna Verde / San Francisco Or Vickuña (6100m)

In order to go forward into our expedition, we will ascend a 6000 and so check how our body reacts when facing that kind of altitude. We can either choose between Mt. San Francisco, at the frontier with Argentina, or Mt. Vicuñas. Both are above the 6000masl. Max altitude: 6100m / 20000 ft Lodging: Refuge or mountain tent

Day 08

Laguna Verde / Refuge Atacama

This is the last day we’ll be able to use the 4WD vehicle. We’ll transport the equipment to Refuge Atacama and from there we’ll have to work harder. Max altitude: 5260 m / 17260 ft Lodging: Refuge or mountain tent

Day 09

Refuge Atacama / Refuge Tejos / Refuge Atacama

Each one of us has to carry his/her personal equipment plus a piece of the common equipment towards Refuge Tejos in order to prepare our last camp (high camp) and it clearly helps with the acclimatization process. Once we get to the shelter we’ll get some rest, leave our equipment there and head back to Refuge Atacama to sleep. Max altitude: 5837 m / 19150 ft Lodging: Refuge or mountain tent

Day 10

Refuge Atacama / Refuge Tejos

We’ll carry the remaining equipment towards Refugio Tejos. This time we’ll spend the night there. Since we’ve already carried most of the equipment the day before, we’ll be saving a lot of necessary energy for our next day, which is without doubt the most important day of our expedition. Max altitude: 5837 m / 19150 ft Lodging: Refuge or mountain tent

Day 11

Refuge Tejos / Climb Ojos Del Salado / Refuge Atacama

We’ll set out early morning to reach the Ojos Del Salado summit (6,893masl). On this day we’ll see how all of our hard work flourishes. All the previous acclimatization process is to endure this SO challenging summit. No doubts about it, this is the hardest day in our expedition. We’ll be ascending 1,000 meters, crossing a glacier, rock climbing, reaching the summit, descending, and carrying the equipment back to Refugio Atacama all in the same day. Max altitude: 6893 m / 22615 ft Lodging: Refuge or mountain tent

Day 12

Extra Summit Day

Day 13

Refuge Atacama / Copiapó Hotel

His is the last day we’ll spend in the Parque Nevado de Tres Cruces area. Calmly we’ll take-down our camp and head back to Copiapó, leaving behind us this giant, the highest summit in Chile and the tallest volcano in the world Max altitude: 390 m / 1280 ft Lodging: Hotel

Day 14

Hotel / Copiapó Airport / End Of Our Services (Out)

The whole group will be driven to the airport. Max altitude: 390 m / 1280 ft Lodging: No