Trip Reports

Ojos del Salado - 18 Jan to 6 Feb '20

Written by Leader Rob Wymer, February 2020

Wow, just wow! If you’ve never been to the high Atacama, you need to. There’s nowhere like it and we were absolutely staggered. Our Chilean Odyssey began with a free afternoon in downtown Santiago. We mooched amidst pretty buildings - both old and new, and took a tour of the Mercado Central where, to Adell’s particular delight, there were more types of huge fresh fish than you could shake a stick at. We enjoyed an al fresco lunch in the Plaza de Armas, and then took a warm walk up Cerro San Cristobal for an amazing view over the city. After an internal flight north to the town of Copiapo we were soon on the road to the mountains and already being stunned by the incredibly different landscape. After a night camping in lush greenery, we moved onto what was to become the norm for the reminder of our time under canvas - barren but beautiful high desert, starting with a couple of nights at Laguna Santa Rosa. A pretty salt lake, complete with flamingos and a lone guanaco, we made the most of time our time here by ascending Maricunga 4885m for superb views in every direction, and the first of Rob B’s Jelly Baby summit photos. It was around this time when my solar charger developed a mind of its own, and refused to charge anything Apple, whist Garmin was apparently ok. Our next campsite was at the stunning Laguna Verde, a little higher. In the mornings when the sun shone and the wind was calm, it was almost like being at the beach, although the flamingo tally was considerably lower than the previous lake.

Well, only one actually but at least we had Kevin’s ‘boring’ mallards to boost the wildlife count. Our acclimatisation programme here included an ascent to 5500m on Cerro Mulas Muertas, and to 6018m on Nevado San Fransisco too, all with the accompanying JB summit photos from Rob B. It’s important to rest in this phase too, so we enjoyed a brisk dip in the lake (v cold) and a wallow in one of the natural thermal pools (v warm). The gigantic BBQ on our rest day was a welcome treat too! Adell convincingly won the stone tower building competition on the lake shore, and whilst Kevin introduced us to the card game ‘Golf’, he made sure he kept a few extra rules up his sleeve for when times were hard! It was now apparently possible to charge Apple products but only if the sun wasn’t too bright…… Next on the agenda was a move to the even higher campsite of Atacama Camp which at 5200m was to be our base camp. Just getting there was no mean feat, but with a bit of air released from their tyres, our chunky 4x4s were impressively up to the task, and after about 50 mins of very exciting ‘driving’ we arrived and set up the camp once again. A cold snowy wind sent us scuttling into the comfortable dining dome tent for several cups of ‘Mildred’ and more delicious cake, whilst engaging in further rounds of ‘Golf’. Perhaps it was called that because it’s quite frustrating and yet also quite addictive? Anyway, we settled into our new surroundings and were once again blown away by the majestic environment. The views were seemingly endless; snow-topped mountains and valleys all the shades of red and brown that one could imagine. We were constantly lost for words at the beauty of our setting, and that from a very well-travelled group indeed. My irritating solar panel was being selective again, but after getting used to our new sleeping altitude, and taking a walk up to the Tejos Refugio at 5825m, we were ready for our summit attempt, and the winds abated right on cue. Unfortunately, Peter decided he wasn’t feeling quite 100% on the day and very sensibly took the option of staying at camp. So, under clear skies and calm conditions, the rest of us set out at about 3am, upwards into the cold night air, initially climbing interminable zigzags, latterly donning crampons to cope with the hardened snow underfoot. Next the traverse, and the snow was now deeper and softer under our boots, making progress very tiring indeed. The beautiful sunrise boosted bodies and minds, as is quite often the way, and eventually we reached the crater rim. A good long rest was in order as we could see the final section around the crater and up the summit corner scramble. Having lightened loads, we set off again, the attitude at just under 7000m really taking its toll now and it was a case of maybe 5 steps up, followed by catching breath, then repeat.

At the summit corner, we clipped into and pulled on ropes to make our way up a little rocky chimney and onto the short summit ridge, and then we were there! Ojos del Salado at 6893m, the top of the highest peak of Chile, the 2nd highest mountain in the world outside the Himalayas, and the highest volcano on the planet! A fantastic moment, such elation, emotion and joy from us all! As if to encourage us not to linger, a cold wind started and, and after the JB pic, we set off on the long descent; near the bottom of which, Rob B decided carrying his rucksack was overrated, whereas chucking it down the mountain for local guide Paula to catch was far more appealing. All too soon, we bade goodbye to the stunning mountains and although the views continued to impress us all the way back to Copiapo, the ensuing showers were very welcome indeed. Congratulations to Adell, Kevin and Rob B for their summit, and to all the team for their many successes and achievements. It’s obvious that Ojos del Salado is becoming more popular and busy all the time. Therefore, if you are even remotely interested, I’d suggest visiting sooner rather than later, before everyone else does! I was bowled over by Chile, the Atacama and by Ojos del Salado - so much that I’m going back over Christmas and New Year later this year. If you fancy an alternative festive season, do join me!
Rob Wymer
Jagged Globe Expedition Leader
Feb 2020

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