[Gimpilator]

Have You Seen Part 2? The distance between the two gates was about a kilometer. We were stopped at the Chilean customs buildings and asked to open all our baggage. They were looking for fresh fruits and any meat products, but especially drugs. I had hidden my salami sticks, beef jerky and some packets of tuna behind the back padding on my large pack. They didn't find it. Our passports were stamped once again, this time with a record of entry. This was it! We were on a mission now to drive directly to the highest peak in the country, without delay. Ojos del Salado was 700 miles away and we would have to spend one night at or near sea level. Actually that wasn't such a bad thing. Many high altitude acclimatization schedules include one or two trips down low to allow the body some time to recover. Beyond the border, the road turned to the south and we passed more salt flats and some really big volcanoes. Actually, they weren't much higher than the two we had just climbed but psychologically they were bigger. There's just something about a peak that passes the 20,000 foot mark. That's big! How I longed to pass that arbitrary point. What would it be like to climb well above 20k? Probably the same but colder and harder to breath.

Cerro Aucanquilcha 20,262 Feet

We drove down out of the high Andean plateau into the heart of the Atacama. I had been excited by the idea of seeing the driest place on earth. In my travels I have always enjoyed visiting deserts. The cactus in the Sonoran are unique and the sands of the Sahara are truly enchanting, but this... This was a desolate wasteland, completely ugly. Not a plant or animal for as far as the eye could see. No living thing. The rocks were gray, the dirt was grey and everything was covered with dust. My first impression was that the creator of this land had started a project and then never finished it. There weren't even any buildings or developments of any kind. Where's a 7-Eleven when you need one? Another thought was "two full days of driving through this?" It made me wish I had brought more than 2 books for the trip.

Atacama Desert

Ugly Atacama

In the evening we passed near the coastal town of Antofagasta. This was one of our options for getting a hotel for the night. We took a croup conscience and decided to keep driving. Petter was not happy about the choice as he wanted to find an internet connection in the city. The rest of us wanted to get as much of the driving done as possible. The other driver Luis claimed that he knew a road house about an hour down the road which served dinner and rented beds for the night. So we pressed on. Having spent the whole day in the cars, none of us had eaten much of anything. We were looking forward to a meal. When we got to the roadhouse we looked at each other only half amused. "This place?" It looked pretty rough. I doubted if it even had running water. The owner told us that they did serve dinner but that lodging was not an option. She further said that we might find a place another hour down the road. We got back in our Land Rovers. I started joking around about "Luis knows a roadhouse". This became an inside joke for the rest of the trip. Any time something went horribly wrong it was called "Luis knows a roadhouse". Just before dark we drove past the famous Hand Of The Desert. I was glad I got to see it, even if not close up. The second roadhouse was the same story as the first, so we hit the road again. I felt sorry for the drivers. At least in the dark we didn't have to look at the ugly scenery. Around 10:30 pm we finally found some civilization. It had amazed me that we could drive for such long stretches without passing any kind of development. The coastal town of Taltal was shining with many lights and very active for as late as it was. Thank goodness for Latin culture! We quickly got a hotel and a meal at a Chinese restaurant. Our driver, German complained of the thick air and said that it had given him a nosebleed. I on the other hand, liked it. The moisture from the ocean reminded me of my home in Edmonds.

Mountains Near Copiapo

Entering The Canyon

Laguna Verde

Laguna Verde

Laguna Verde

In the morning I walked down to the beach and collected some seashells for my mother. I knew that very soon we would be returning to the higher regions, where the air was thin and the chill in the wind could bite through all your layers. We drove south along the coast turning east after the city of Caldera. The area around Copiapo was especially scenic with craggy peaks covered in yellow sand. East of Copiapo we entered a narrow canyon. The road continued to gain altitude as it approached San Francisco Pass, at 15,577 feet. We wouldn't be going that far. Our destination was before that, just south of Laguna Verde. Climbing up out of the canyon, we crossed over a pass and then drove through what looked like another massive salt flat. We went past Tres Cruces (22,139 feet) which is the 5th highest peak in South America. Passing several more volcanoes we came to Laguna Verde where we turned in our Difrol permits. Then we drove to the Murray hut (14,800 feet), the lowest of three main public refuges used for Ojos del Salado. Adam's cough had improved dramatically at sea level, but now it returned worse than before.

Follow The Sign

El Muerto 21,286 Feet

Ojos del Salado

We could see Ojos del Salado from here. Without any major cliff faces, It didn't look all that hard. If this same mountain with its gentle slopes hadn't been so high, it would probably be a very easy climb. The only feature that left a question in my mind was the crater rim. To reach the summit it would be necessary to climb the rock walls on the inside of the ancient crater. Doing that above 22,000 feet in sub freezing temperatures and high wind was an interesting proposition. This was truly one of the highest rock climbs in the world. There was some debate about the actual difficulty of the rock but our best research had suggested that the climb itself would not exceed Class 4. We had also heard that there were fixed lines in the most exposed areas. But how hard would it really be? There was no way to know until we got there.

The Murray Hut

Ojos Detail

Inside the Murray hut there was one other couple and they had just finished cooking dinner. Our group went upstairs to organize our gear and pack what we would need on the mountain. To my great dismay, I noticed that the aluminum side-frame of my large pack had snapped from some mysterious force during travel. The pole was protruding from its sheath like a broken bone. I noticed that the inside of the pole was hollow and this gave me an idea about how I could make a temporary fix. I was able to get some thick wire from German which I slid inside the pole as an internal reinforcement. I then wrapped copious amounts of duct-tape (the 11th essential) around the break and after a lot of fighting I was able to squeeze it back into its sheath. It wasn't pretty, but it would have to do for the rest of the trip. We had a bit of a scare inside the upper floor of the refuge. The fumes from the couple who had cooked inside had accumulated up there along with a strong spilled fuel smell. Almost before it was too late, Petter and I noticed that we were feeling really strange, dizzy and out of sorts. I tried to open the windows but they were framed right into the wall. I told everyone that they should clear out and we went outside to get some fresh air. By that time I was feeling very bad, kind of numb all over. We had been planning to sleep in the beds up there but that was no longer an option. Rob and Petter ended up sleeping outside on the porch while the rest of us slept in rooms downstairs. Who would have thought that the most dangerous moment of the trip would be toxic fumes in the Murray Refuge?

Atacama Refuge

Atacama

Starting Out

After dinner, we sat down together as a group to discuss our ascent plan. We had four open days to work with. After that we would have to return for our flights. Greg and Petter had spent a lot of time working out the different possibilities and now there were just two logical options. We hoped to have more than one chance to go for the summit in case wind or some other obstacle prevented us from success on the first try. Option number one had us going up to the Tejos Refuge to spend the night with just enough supplies to go for the summit the summit the following morning. If that didn't pan out, then we would all descend back to the Atacama Refuge and try the same plan again the next two days. Option number two was that we would carry up enough supplies to stay the full four days at 19,300 feet in the Tejos Refuge. If we weren't able to summit on the second day, we could try again on the third or the fourth. This second plan presented some potential problems. It's hard on the body to stay at such a height, and a person's general health tends to deteriorate. We all agreed that we would prefer option number one. The following morning we prepared to make the drive up to the Atacama refuge at 17,000 feet. Adam informed us that he had decided to stay behind. His chest cold was getting the best of him and his body just couldn't muster the strength to heal while at these altitudes. It was a tough choice. It was painful for the rest of us to watch him surrender this dream when he had put more work into it than anyone else. The going estimate was that he had put about 200 hours of planning, research, and correspondence into this project. Luis made it clear to us that the road up to the Atacama Refuge was rough and they would only be making the trip a single time. Once again I wondered where our drivers got the authority to make such decisions when it was us that were paying them. Granted, they were right, it was a nasty road indeed. The ground seemed to be composed of some kind of lightweight volcanic ash with hardly any traction. There were several times when I thought we were going to get stuck. It was a good thing we had four-wheel drive.

Nearing Tejos Refuge

The Atacama refuge consisted of two geodesic dome tents and a rangers hut. We each paid $160 for our permits and then we were ready to go. We were told that we could leave behind our crampons, ice axes, and sleeping mats. There should be enough beds for us at the Tejos Refuge. That lightened the load considerably! We started our march going very slowly. We were carrying heavy packs for the first time at high altitude and it was no picnic. Every time the wind blew it rustled up the dust. Little flashes of light appeared in front of my face and it looked like the air was full of sparkles. The dust got in my eyes and I inhaled it by the lung full. I got tired of that in a hurry and put on my ski goggles to keep it out. I later discovered that this white dust was pulverized pumice, a type of volcanic glass. So in essence, I was inhaling glass dust. The hike up to the Tejos refuge was short, gaining only 2300 feet, but it was certainly exhausting near the end. I slowed down a lot and was the last to reach the refuge. Nearby I noticed a small field of penitentes. Penitentes!!! I'd always wanted to see them with my own eyes and here they were right in front of me. I stopped to take a couple photographs. Inside the hut we made dinner and then went to bed early. I would not be using my big pack in the morning since it weighs seven pounds. My day pack on the other hand is only a few ounces. We found that sleep above 19,000 feet was light and fitful. It's hard to get true rest at that altitude.

Penitentes

Penitentes

Lost In Penitentes

Tejos Refuge

Resting At 19,300 Feet

We got up at 2:30 am and put our plastic boots on. We were putting on all our layers this time. It was going to be nasty out there. The wind roaring around the refuge. I was not looking forward to cracking open that hatch. The Tejos refuge is a construction of two converted metal shipping containers. The door is reminiscent of a bank vault. It has to be sturdy to resist the wind. We pushed open the massive door at 3:30 am and stepped out into an extremely inhospitable environment. On average, two out of three days is very windy on Ojos and not good for climbing. Was this to be one of those days? Our hope was that the wind would die after sunrise. Greg led the way into the darkness setting a good slow pace. I had my warmest expedition weight mittens on and still my fingers were going numb almost immediately. Again and again I had to take my thumb out of it's cover and make a fist inside the mitten to try to warm my fingers. I had a few hand warmers along for emergencies but I was hoping to save those for Aconcagua. My feet were suffering too. It was surprising how cold they could get inside of plastic boots. In fact, this was the coldest my feet had ever been while hiking or climbing. I tried to move my toes every so often to keep up circulation and stop them from going completely numb.

Cold!

Just Before Dawn

Here Comes the Sun

After an hour or so we lost the trail but Greg consulted his GPS unit and we were able to find it again. Shortly thereafter the trail became steeper as we started up the main north face. Braided switchback trails led up through the fine dusty ash and scree. Occasionally we would encounter a patch of ground that was comprised entirely of small round pumice rocks. This stuff was very unstable. It would hold my weight for a second or two and then it would shift and I would slide back, half-way, losing half my effort. It was exhausting. High above I could see the snow slope which I had first noticed from the Murray Refuge. It seemed to take forever to get to it. I noticed that Duane was falling behind at an alarming rate. Then at one point I looked back and he was gone. Greg told me that he had turned back. I wondered why. As usual, Petter and Rob were pulling ahead. Greg and I were no match for their strength.

El Muerto

It wasn't quite dawn yet but the light of the coming sun was brightening the sky and we had a tremendous view of the valley and surrounding peaks. Enduring the cold was most difficult at this time. The wind bit right through all my layers and I worried about the possibility of frost bite on my toes. I couldn't wait for the sun. I was also coughing a lot but didn't think much of. I usually cough at high altitude. Greg and I finally reached the top of the snowfield which was off to the side of the trail as Petter and Rob disappeared over the next skyline ridge. The pumice scree was especially bad at this point and going was slower than ever. The air was becoming noticeable thinner as well. I was only able to go about six paces between 30 second breathing breaks. I closed my eyes and was immediately transported to my living room, on the couch. It was warm and cozy. I opened my eyes and was in the freezing cold wind and dust. What the f###! How could I immediately forget where I was and what I was doing? With all the discomfort, I was even disappointed to be reminded of where I was. After that I kept my eyes open. No more mind tricks.

The Crater

The Summit Block

The sun came up and we crested the ridge proceeding onto a new slope. Rob and Petter were nowhere in sight. The wind didn't die down as we had hoped. I joked that perhaps on Ojos, there are windy days, and then really windy days. In any case, I was glad to have Greg with me as I had no wish to do this part alone. We were well above 21,000 feet now. Our pace slowed more and more the higher we went. I could only take a few steps at a time before becoming completely breathless. It took extreme will power to continue going up. I could see the crater walls starting to come into view and I knew we were going to make. Then we came to a flat area which had once been the caldera. It was full of snow. A path went around the left side of the snowfield towards a rocky couloir. This was the secret to penetrating the crater walls. It would lead to the notch between the two summits. From the notch, one could continue to follow fixed lines to the right and climb the highest summit which is nicknamed the "Chilean summit". The "Argentinean summit" could also be climbed, but as a secondary, lower point, it had no fixed lines and was rumored to be more difficult. We had carried our harnesses and a rope intending to do both peaks but Greg and I agreed that we were too knackered to hit both.

The Snowfield

Approaching The Couloir

It took Greg and I ages to scramble up the rocks in the couloir. At some point we both dropped our packs to make it easier. Rob and Petter appeared, coming down. They had climbed both peaks without the rope. They were happy to see that we had made it and they encouraged us on our way before heading down. We reached the fixed lines and scrambled up towards the notch. I changed out of my mittens and into some lighter gloves so I could use my fingers. It was great to do some scrambling on solid rock after so many hours of fighting the loose ground. The wind was quite fierce in the notch and we didn't hang around long. We turned right, towards the main summit. Above the notch there was considerable exposure off of the right side, down into the crater. By Washington State standards, this was probably a YDS 3.5. And there it was! The highest point in Chile and the top of the world's highest volcano. Greg scrambled the last few feet up, and I was right behind him. This was my fourth country high point and my third of the volcanic seven summits. Hot damn! Greg found the register and I signed in as gimpilator.

Fixed Lines

Loose Rocks

Nearing The Notch

We didn't spend long up there, just about 15 minutes. Greg scrambled down to the notch and I did my best to follow him. There was one tricky spot just above the notch where the rock was down-sloping toward the crater. There were very few hand holds in this spot. I held onto the rope and tried to find the footholds below the rock I was on. I could not see what was below me. Thankfully Greg was able to tell me where to step and after a minute I joined him in the notch. The rest of the scramble down to retrieve our packs was easy enough and I noticed how much better I felt moving downhill. I was still struggling to breathe even on the descent but it was a lot easier. Before leaving the crater I turned around and took one last look up at the summit rocks.

The Summit

Greg And I On The Summit

When we got back to those horrible scree and pumice slopes, we found that it had all been worth it. They made for an extremely easy descent. If anything speaks loudest about the loose terrain, it's our ascent and descent times. It took us 7.5 hours to reach the summit from the refuge and only 2 hours to get back down. When we saw Duane, he explained that his headlamp had quit working and he had experienced trouble trying to adjust the zips on his pant. Lastly he couldn't get his gloves on properly, so he had decided to turn back. Not long after Greg and I returned, the other three guys were ready to go down to the Atacama Refuge. Greg and I needed some time to rest and pack up, so we told the others to go ahead and we would follow up shortly. I was beyond exhausted and neither of us wanted to face this last bit of hiking. Fortunately it was only another hour walk to get down to the base. I coughed a lot on the way down, in fact I had been coughing all day. Usually my altitude cough subsides on the way down but this was something different. I suspected that all the dust I had inhaled had really agitated my lungs.

Downclimbing

At the camp we were told we could stay in one of the geodesic dome tents. I was in a total daze from exhaustion. Inside the tent I sat down in a plastic chair and proceeded to do nothing but stare off into space for the rest of the day. People told me I looked "out of it". Well, I was out of it. Duane decided that he was going to give it a second try. He had worked out the issues with his gear and was just as determined as ever to get to the top. I was happy that he would have a second chance. That's what our plan was designed for. But it would have been nice to get to a hotel the next day and have a shower and a meal. Now we would be spending the next several days at 17,000 feet in a dusty, geodesic, dome tent. Oh well, more time to rest. Petter and Rob began talking about hiking up one of the other peaks in the area, the next morning. Greg liked the idea but I was definitely not up to that. I told them that after a day of rest I could probably join them for another peak. We agreed to rest for a day. Something funny happened when I was inflating my sleeping mat that night. It's an Exped Downmat 9 Delux so it takes a lot of air. Using the built-in hand pump, it usually only take about 3 minutes to inflate. This time it just wasn't holding the air. After 10 minutes of pumping I was starting to worry that it had been damaged in some way. After 15 minutes I finally finished the job but I couldn't understand what the issue was. Several days later, the answer came to me. We were camping at 17,000. It was the highest place I had ever used that mat. The air was very thin. So it took a lot thin air to build up the proper pressure, thus the extra time and energy. Very amusing.

The Rest Day

The next day Duane hit the trail around noon. To our great surprise Adam showed up around 1:30 pm having bribed the ranger for a ride up in his truck. He said that his cough had improved while he was waiting for us and now he was ready to give it a try. He paid for his permit and then bribed the driver Luis as a porter to carry his larger pack up to Tejos. Now Adam and Duane would be able to climb together. I was excited for them. The rest of the day was uneventful. Every time we moved in the tent it stirred up that awful dust

Cerro Vicuñas

A Wild Vicuña

On the fourth day of our Ojos plan, we packed up our gear and drove down the valley. We knew that Adam and Duane would be well on their way to the summit. Looking at the map, we had selected nearby Cerro Vicuñas (19,905 feet) as the day hike. Driving down to the peak I started to doubt my ability to do the hike. I still felt just as exhausted as the day before and my cough had gotten worse staying in that dusty tent. I made a quick decision. I needed to be in top physical condition for Aconcagua which was now just around the corner. My body was wiped out and it would be a mistake to add on another tough day. I told the guys that I would be staying in the car with German. I spent most of the day sleeping, waking up only periodically to eat something. When the guys got down in the afternoon they told me it had been the windiest hike of the trip. Even Petter said that he had struggled this time with fatigue. At one point they had all huddled down on the ground, in a straight line, behind one rock, to get out of the wind. They said the rock wasn't very big. I was glad I hadn't joined them. Back down at the Murray Refuge we met up with Adam and Duane. Adam was not successful in his attempt. He said that his progress was just too slow and he eventually realized he would not make the summit. Duane on the other hand was successful and we were very happy for him. When he first showed up, his smile was just beaming. He told us stories about the wind. Apparently it had been much stronger than what we had experienced. He estimated that the gusts around the summit had been 70 or 80 miles per hour. What a strong resolve he must have had to summit under those conditions! We had a group celebration with a cinnamon <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babka_%28food%29>babka cake</a> and cinnamon tea all provided very graciously by Adam Helman. It was the best cake I had ever tasted. This was the end. After this, the fellowship of the Atacama would be broken and it would be down to three of us.

At The Airport In Plastic Boots

We drove to the airport the next day and said goodbye to Adam Helman. He would be riding back to La Paz with Luis to catch his return flight to San Diego. I was sad to see our driver go. German had been good to us. We also said goodbye to Duane as he was flying back to Seattle. Poor Duane hadn't even had the chance to get a shower before his flight. Four days on the mountain and then three long flights back to the states. Petter was coming with us to Santiago. His connection to Norway wasn't until the following day. We stayed in a hotel literally across the street from the airport. In the morning we bid farewell to Petter and crossed the street to the airport. It was a short flight over the Andes to Mendoza. We passed over some incredibly large glaciers which were heavily crevassed. And then I saw it to the north, standing tall above all the other peaks. Aconcagua!

Aconcagua South Face

Go To Part 4

[EastKing]

Nice report! Now I am in suspense over Aconcaugua!!!!

[Maria]

Thanks for the time you've put into sharing your trip with us It's been a great writeup. Looking forward to reading part four

[GaliWalker]

What a great end to Part 3 - awesome report so far!

[Obi Tony Kenobi]

Gimpilator, you have my heart racing just reading your TR to South America! I love it!

[Matt Lemke]

I'm jealous

[Redwic]

This is a great story! I love seeing the penitentes! What an experience! I cannot wait for Part IV (and to see how much your beard grows)!

[Eric]

Another great TR. I can't imagine being at 22K let alone having to do some class 4 at that elevation. No doubt you guys did great. I'm not surprised that Duane toughed it out in the wind and summited while solo. Duane is laid back and chill but he is quite the strong mountaineer when required. Too bad about Helman but you win some and you lose some. The mtn will still be there for him some other day.

[pugwonk]

Really enjoying these - created a login so I could comment! Looking forward to the grand finale. Chris

[Magellan]

Another fantastic report! Good Lord you guys are tough. I'm really excited to hear about the Aconcagua trip.

[Get Out and Go]

Vast...desolate....and yes, beautiful! (Obviously, not the PNW green beauty) The area looks like the kind of place one could go for solitude and reflection.

[fzte]

Amazing stuff. It must be strange going from a scorching wasteland to a freezing mountain. Can't wait for part 4!

[ree]

Wow again... You got some lovely dawn shots. Love the beautiful sky colors. Laguna Verde looks beautiful. Looking at the terrain, it looks so easy to hike! It quickly becomes a "Luis' Roadhouse Situation" when you take into account the elevation. The rocks at the top had a nice pink/golden color. What is it about the Andes that gets the wind??? I never experienced windy weather like I did in South America. So were you anywhere near the part of the Atacama with all the geothermal activity? I guess there's a place near by called "moon" something or other... I read reports that that area of the Atacama is spectacular. Glad I didn't sit next to Duane on the long plane ride back to the states! Congrats on a fantastic trip!

[Josh Journey]

Can't wait for the Aconcagua trip report!

[shell]

WOW!! Thanks for sharing an amazing adventure!! I can't wait to read Part 4!!