Ojos del Salado 6.893 m. 12 days program
Coordinates are in UTM WGS 84

(19J, 0545374; 7001336)

 

Located at 260 Km. To the East of Copiapó (IIIth Region of Chile, 800 kmts North of Santiago). Its geographical location is in UTM under the title and in pharentesis next to each place. It’s the highest Active Volcano in the world. For getting there you have to go by the International Road to Argentina, that goes through Laguna Santa Rosa and Laguna Verde, where you can see altiplanic animals and birds, like guanacos, vicuñas and flamencos. We propose this schedule for the climbing.

 

Day 1.- We meet you before 14:00 hrs. in Copiapó (airport, buses terminal or hotel), or in Caldera and Start to “Vallecito” (0 465485; 7006729) 3.100 m. And at 120 kmts. from Copiapó (2 hours). Vallecito is a little Oasis to the feet of an abandoned mine of semi precious stones, the place is full of “Colas de Zorro”, one of the few food plants that sheeps and goats eat.

There we will camp and we will have a short trekking of 1 hour by soft terrain with little stones and no more than 20º. We will have dinner at 20.00 and we will sleep after that.

 

Day 2.- Breakfast at 08:30 hrs. then we will lay up our camp at 10:00 hrs. And we will start in our vehicles to Laguna Santa Rosa (0482562; 7004644) 3.780 m. And at 154 kmts. from Copiapó. Laguna Santa Rosa is a beautiful place where you can see flamingos (known as “Parinas” in the North of Chile), guanacos, and of course a beautiful lagoon. In this place we will set our camp and we will have lunch at 13:30. At 15:00 hrs, we will have a hike around the lagoon of about one hour, by smooth road, (do not walk near the water for sinking danger). We will have dinner at 20.00 and we will sleep there alter that.

 

Day 3.- Breakfast at 08:00 and we start at 09:00 to a trekking to Cerro “Siete Hermanos” 4.780 m. (0479813; 7010456). This hike takes about 4 hours up to the summit and by a footpath up to the 4.000, and then by steep and rocky road ( 25º to 35º). The weather is usually sunny and windy and the Tº is between 15ºC and 20ºC . You need Goretex clothes, trekking shoes, sticks, sun protection ( hat, sun creams etc.), marching food provided by our company, 2 water liters by each climber. We will come back to the camp to have lunch about 15.00. We will rest during the afternoon to have dinner at 20.00. Sleeping in the camp at  21.00.

 

 

Day 4.- Breakfast at 08:30. We will take down our camp to Start to Custom Office in Maricunga. We will get there after a trip of one hour to show there our permission of climbing (DIFROL permit) and passports (You have to get your DIFROL permit in www.difrol.cl before coming to the expe). Then we will continue to Laguna Verde, 4.340 m. (0550985; 7025563) to set there our camp next to a hot water spring. We Will have lunch about 14:00 hours. In the afternoon you can take a bath in the hot spring and we will have dinner at 20.00. Sleeping  there at 22.00.

 

Day 5.-Breakfast at 8:00 h. and then we start to a trekking at 9:00 to Cº Mulas Muertas, only up to 5.000 m. (0549814; 7023113) this hike takes about 3 hours up and 2 down, the way is rocky and it’s usually very windy. You need: Goretex jacket, trekking shoes, sticks, sun protectors (hat, creams, etc.), marching food provided by our company, 2 water liters by each climber. Then we will go back to our camp and we will have lunch about 14:30 hrs. We will rest by the afternoon and we will have dinner at 20:00 hrs. to sleep at 22:00 hrs.

 

Day 6.- Breakfast at 08:30 and taking down the camp. At 11:00 we will start to Atacama Camping Place, 5.260 m.s.n.m. (0544857; 7006859)  in our vehicles. Climbers must walk from 5.000 mts. (2 hrs) up to the shelter. The hike goes by the vehicle track (sandy and rocky terrain , 15º). The equipment continues on the vehicles. Lunch at 14:30 in the camp. Resting during the afternoon, dinner at 20.00 and sleeping at 21.00. In this place, night temperatures may go from -10ºC, to -15ºC.

 

Day 7.-Breakfast at 08:30 and carrying food and equipment to Tejos Refuge 5.837 m. (0545794; 7003769), This  hike takes 3 hours by a vehicles track of 20º to 30º with sand. Each member of the expedition has to carry at least 1 Kg. of common equipment (food, kitchen, combustible, rope, etc.). In Refugio Tejos we will rest for about 30 min. And then we will go back to Atacama Camping Place to have lunch. This walk takes 1 hour. After lunch we will rest. Dinner at 20:00 and sleeping at 22: hrs.

 

Day 8 .- This day we will have breakfast at 8:00 and will have lunch at 12:00, in order to start with all our equipment to sleep in Refugio “Tejos”. Each climber must carry all his very warm equipment (sleeping bag, mattress, plastic shoes, and if necessary, the tent). Dinner at 19:00 hours and sleeping in Tejos Refuge (or nearby if occupied) at 20:30 hours.

 

Day 9.- This day we will wake up very early, breakfast about 04:00 AM. In order to prevent the strong wind and to start to our FIRST SUMMIT ATTEMPT (0545374; 7001336) (walking up to the summit takes about 8 hours or less). This day you will have very hard temperatures ( -25ºC a -30º C), strong winds above 80 Km./Hr, so your equipment must be as good as possible. You also need head lamp, crampons to go across a glaciar of 35º of 100 mts. long and at 6.550 m. , sticks or ice axe, water bottle for unless a liter. This climbing is made over a very clear and sandy track of 15º to 40º. After a 6 hour walk we will get to the crater of the volcano, from there we will walk by big rocks up to the feet of the last climbing. From there and up to the summit we will go through 30 mts at 6.860 m. in a rock climbing of 5.6 difficulty grade on the American Scale. Our company supply ropes for crossing the glaciar and for this rock climbing. In the very summit may be 6 climbers.

 

 

 

Alter 15 minutes in the summit we will begin to return. Returning to Refugio Tejos takes about 4 hours, there, we will have a hot drink, we will take our equipment and then we will continue up to Refugio Atacama (1 hour aprox.). There we will have dinner at 21:00 hours to sleep at 22:00.

 

Day 10.- Extra day. If bad weather we can use this day for another summit attempt.

 

Day 11.- Breakfast at 09.00, taking down our camp and beginning our returning to Copiapó at 11.00 hours in our vehicles. At 13:00 we will have some food in route and we will get to your hotel in Copiapó or Caldera about 17.00

 

Day 12.- Breakfast at your hotel at 09.00 and during the day transfer to the airport. End of our services.

 

 

Personal Equipment needed:

 

•Mattress.

•Back pack of 20 lts.

•Travel Bag for no more than 80 lts. for your personal equipment.

•Personal cleanliness elements (toothbrush, soap, towel, comb, etc.)

•Sleeping bag for below -25ºC

•Insurance for personal accidents, equipment loosing, sicknesses, hospital emergencies, extra or incidental expenses, (“Seguro de vida en viaje”), (These insurances are not sold in Chile to people without residence).

•Extra clothes and bathing suit for the day in the hot spring.

 

For the “Summit Day”:

•1st 2nd y 3rd layers, ideal feather anorak for -30ºC.

•Gloves 3 layers (insulation, warming and wind stopper).

•Plastic shoes.

•Crampons.

•Thermic Bottle (“Thermo”) for unless a liter.

•Sticks or marching axe.

 

For acclimatization hikes:

•1^st and 2nd layers, optional 3rd coat.

•Trekking shoes.

•Resting (or “refuge”) shoes.

•Solar protection , hat, sun creams, UV lenses.

•Sticks or axe.

 

•Equipment supplied by Aventurismo expediciones:

•Camp common equipment: Tables, chairs, dishes, silverware (knife, spoon, fork, tea spoon), glasses for hot and cold drinks, lamps, dinning tent for 8 to 10 people in Laguna Verde and in Atacama Camping Place.

•First Aid box, movil oxigen equipment.

•Radios VHF (to communicate with camps), by every 4 climbers

•Mountain tents for 2 people , with “duroaluminium” sticks, model Ferrino Stardust, Lafuma Camp2, The North Face VE-25 or similar.

•During camps with vehicle, we use stoves with butangas of 5 kgs.

•During high altitude camps we use small butano-propano stoves 80/20 or 70/30.

•4 WD vehicles 2010 or newer for 4 climbers each. If necessary, we use without 4WD Vans for approaching trips.

•We provide 1 Mountain Guide with experience in the zone by every 4 climbers and camp assistants and conductors or cookers when necessary for more than 4 climbers expeditions.

 

Food:

 

Aventurismo expediciones provide breakfast, lunch and dinner and summit food during our expeditions.

 

Breakfast:: Coffee or tea, oak, cornflakes, long life bread, marmalade, low cream milk, butter, jam, cheese, eggs 2 times during the expe.

 

Lunch and dinner: spaghetti, soups, rice, cow meat, chicken meat, fresh salads the first days, Canned goods the next days, canned green salads (summit days), canned fish , etc, milk desserts , fresh fruits when possible and then canned fruits. Chilean Wines, coffee , tea or herb water.

 

Summit food: Chocolates, candies, dried fruits, peanuts, raisins, almond, isotonic juices, water.

 

Water:

 

We recommend to drink unless 3 liters a day by each climber. We supply all the water necessary.

 

Emergency food:

 

We supply extra food for 3 more days apart from that of the expedition program.

 

 

Duties of the expedition members:

 

To obey the Guide’s  instructions.

To participate  actively  in the group in order to get the aims. To have good will and cooperation.  To help a  partner in difficulties. None may remain alone in the mountain. To Inform  the Guide as soon as possible  when a trouble may become a problem.

 

Amount of  climbers  by  group.

 

We can give service from 1 (one), up to 20 (twenty) climbers by expedition.

 

The best number by expedition is 4 or 7.

 

The climbing season goes from November to March and the best time is December, January and the beginning of March.

 

Prices:

 

 

·The price is the same if you get the summit or not. In all cases payment must be done before beginning the expedition: 30% to confirm your reservation, and at least with a month in advance, and the balance at the beginning of the expe.

·If you can’t participate in an expedition you reserved, you can use that value (30%) for another expedition in another date.

 

 

Security and rescue:

 

In Atacama Region there is a system of rescue in the mountain formed by Carabineros (Polices), and Cuerpo de Socorro Andino and Army. They decided that any emergency below 4.000m. will be done by Carabineros and above that altitude by the Army Patrols and Cuerpo de Socorro Andino.

 

Mountains in Atacama Region don’t have rock climbing problems and the principal health problems are related with bad acclimatization and the very low temperatures that sometimes go below the -30ºC.

 

Most  of  these  problems are related with climbers that climb alone or with guides with poor experience.

 

Our enterprise has a system of swift evacuation. It consists in to have in every moment a vehicle and its conductor for transport  the climber with these problems to a hospital in Copiapó (260 kmts. From Ojos del Salado) and 3 to 5 hours of travel. This service has a cost of US$­­­­400 by trip.

 

In Copiapó there are hospitals (public and private) that can assist any health problem during the 24 hours. and most of them accept Credit Cards.

 

No Helicopter services in the Region but the airport has unless 2 flights a day to Santiago

 

 

 

Maximiliano Martínez E.

Director

AVENTURISMO expediciones

ojosdelsalado@aventurismo.cl

Cell:  +56-995992184