| Day 1 | Arrival in La Rioja (515 m) – Argentina
Reception at the airport and transfer to hotel. In the evening, information briefing with the staff.
Night in hotel. Included meals: Non |
| Day 2 | Cortaderas (3300 m)
Pick up at hotel and drive to Fiambala’s area in the Catamarca region, to a hotel 100 km. from Fiambala, with very good commodities.
Rest of the day for acclimatization, as there has been a significant altitude gain in a short period of time.
Night in hotel.
Included meals: Breakfast |
| Day 3 | Climb: Cerro Coquenas (4048 m)
After breakfast, departure for the first acclimatization hike of the program. There will be a short drive to a rustic refuge at the foot of the mountain (3265 m), from here the team will hike over a low inclination plateau until a steeper section is found. The terrain is easy and perfect to walk very slow and gain good altitude. If the weather is clear, the will be a first good look at Ojos del Salado, Incahuasi and San Francisco volcanoes.
After the activity, back to hotel.
Night in hotel.
Ascent: 783 m / Descend: 783 m / Highest Altitude: 4048 m / Activity duration: 5 h / Distance one-way: 6,11 Km.
Included meals: Breakfast, Picnic |
| Day 4 | Climb: Cerro Morocho Chico (4485 m)
Today the team will be taken for a short 30 min drive to the trailhead, from here the trek will start ascending a well marked rocky trail for about 4-5 h to the summit. There will be a perfect view to the next acclimatization summit Cerro Morocho Falso and the Cerro La Punta. The descent will take about a couple of hour and then drive back to the hotel.
Night in hotel.
Ascent: 450 m / Descend: 450 m / Highest Altitude: 4485 m / Activity duration: 4-5 h / Distance round-trip: 8,7 Km.
Included meals: Breakfast, Picnic |
| Day 5 | Climb: Cerro Falso Morocho (4577 m)
The summit day starts after breakfast. 1 hour drive from the hotel cross across the “Puna” (highland desert) landscape until the base of the mountain and then the trail follows a well-defined “S” shaped valley until the summit. This is a trekking peak, with no technical difficulties. The view from the top is outstanding, over to the neighboring peak: Incahuasi (6621 m), Nevado San Francisco (6016 m) and in the back the program’s main objective: Ojos del Salado (6893 m).
The descent follows the same way up. Once back at the vehicles, a 30 minutes drive to the base of San Francisco volcano, where the base camp will be setup at 4400 m.
Night in tents.
Ascent: 547 m / Descent: 547 m / Highest Altitude: 4577 m / Activity duration: 5 h / Distance round-trip: 8,88 Km.
Included meals: Breakfast, Picnic, Dinner |
| Day 6 | Acclimatization to Nev. San Francisco – camp I (5200 m)
In the morning the team will prepare for a hike up to Nevado San Francisco’s camp I, taking some food, water and gear for the climb. The idea with this ascent is to get a more solid acclimatization reaching 5000 meters and to minimize the load for the next day.
A fairly well marked trail will lead the way to the camp 1. Descend follow the same path back to the road, then a short drive back to Las Grutas.
The descent follows the same way up.
Night in tents
Ascent: 600 m / Descent: 600 m / Highest Altitude: 5200 m / Activity duration: 4-5 h / Distance round-trip: 7 Km.
Included meals: Breakfast, Picnic, Dinner |
| Day 7 | Nevado San Francisco – camp I (5200 m)
After a good rest, the group will pack down the camp and head back to Nevado San Francisco’s trailhead. This time the team will take all the necessary gear for the climb and camp. After about 3 hours, the camp will be set up and then rest for the summit attempt next morning.
Night in tent.
Ascent: 600 m / Highest Altitude: 5200 m / Activity duration: 3 h / Distance round-trip: 4,18 Km.
Included meals: Breakfast, Picnic, Dinner |
| Day 8 | Climb: Nevado San Francisco (6016 m)
Nevado San Francisco is the third summit of the program and a very important one, as it is the best acclimatizing before Ojos del Salado, with its summit just above 6000 meters. San Francisco is known as the easiest 6000 meters mountain in Argentina and therefore a very popular one.
The summit day starts early; taking a trail that crosses a huge moraine from the right to the left side, aiming at a col between the two summits of the mountain. The highest one is the right one and in order to climb it, the team will follow a snowfield that stretches all the way up to the main summit.
From the top there is a great view to: Incahuasi, Pissis, Walter Penck, Ojos del Salado, Morocho, falso Morocho and the San Francisco Lake, just to name a few.
On the decent a short stop at camp I to pack up the campsite and continue to the vehicles. The drive will take about 2 hours back to the hotel close in Cortaderas.
Night in hotel.
Ascent: 816 m / Descent: 1266 m / Highest Altitude: 6016 m / Activity duration: 8-10 h / Distance to the summit: 3,4 Km. / Distance from summit to parking place: 7,58 Km.
Included meals: Breakfast, Picnic |
| Day 9 | Ojos del Salado base camp (5360 m)
Today is a long road trip (8 h) to Ojos del Salado’s base camp. Starting from Cortaderas, heading westwards towards the Chilean border. The 4-wheel drive will drive over the “Puna” (highland desert) until base camp, located at 5500 meters. The camp will be set up and the idea is to take it very easy for the rest of the day.
Night in tent.
Included meals: Breakfast, Picnic, Dinner |
| Day 10 | Acclimatization to Ojos del Salado – camp I (5757 m)
After a good rest, the plan is to hike up to camp I, carrying some provisions for the climb. This ascent will take about 4 hours, due to altitude. If any of the team’s members is not feeling up to it, is a great opportunity to stay back at BC and rest.
The descent follows the same way up.
Night in tent.
Ascent: 397 m / Descent: 397 m / Highest Altitude: 5757 m / Activity duration: 4-5 h / Distance round-trip: 7,58 Km.
Included meals: Breakfast, Picnic, Dinner |
| Day 11 | Ojos del Salado – camp I (5757 m)
Easy going morning to get all the gear and logistics prepared for the summit bid. Once everything is ready, the whole team will move up to camp I. On arrival the staff will work hard melting water and getting everybody ready. On the afternoon a summit’s information briefing and early dinner.
Night in tent.
Ascent: 397 m / Highest Altitude: 5757 m / Activity duration: 3-4 h / Distance: 3,79 Km.
Included meals: Breakfast, Picnic, Dinner |
| Day 12 | Climb: Ojos del Salado (6893 m)
The summit day starts early; departure time will be set by the mountain guides, according to the team’s physical condition and the weather forecast. Breakfast will be served 1 hour before the scheduled departure. The team will begin the ascent heading towards the saddle that link the two summits of the mountain. There is still a big discussion on which of the summits is higher, but recent surveys have shown that the altitude difference is just few centimeters. The West summit (Known also as the Chilean summit, even though the borderlines crosses both summits) is the easier of the two and the most popular from both the Argentinian and Chilean sides. The East summit is a bit more difficult due to an scrambling section below the summit. The climb does not require great technical skills, but nevertheless, it is a high mountain and a demanding altitude hike. The weather is crucial for the ascent, due to its location in the Atacama Desert, where high-speed winds can hit the mountain any time making it impossible to ascent.
The average time from camp I to the summit is 8-10 hours, but this might differ according to the meteorological conditions and the physical shape and acclimatization level.
From the summit, any one of them, there is a great panoramic view over to both countries. It is a magnificent experience to be standing in the second highest mountain in the Americas with the Atacama Desert’s “Puna” below!
The descent goes all the way down to BC, after a short stop to pack up the camp.
Night in tent.
Ascent: 1136 m / Descent: 1533 m / Highest Altitude: 6893 m / Activity duration: 14-16 h / Distance to the summit: 4,7 Km. / Distance from summit to BC: 8,49 Km.
Included meals: Breakfast, Picnic, Dinner |
| Day 13 | Spare summit day
This is a reserve day in case bad weather or bad conditions
Note: Everything is included in the mountain. If the mountain is climbed/attempted on the schedule days, all services away from the mountain are on the client’s own account.
Included meals: Breakfast, Picnic, Dinner on the mountain |
| Day 14 | Fiambala
Departure from BC back to Fiambala (8 h).
Night in hotel.
Included meals: Breakfast |
| Day 15 | La Rioja
Return to La Rioja for a last night in the area.
Night in hotel.
Included meals: Breakfast |
| Day 16 | Departure
Pick up at hotel and transfer out to Airport (1 h) – End of services
Included meals: Breakfast |
