Cerro San Francisco Archives

Ojos del Salado 2023.12.29

Gearing up for Ojos del Salado!

On the summit of Cerro San Francisco with views of Incahuasi volcano. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

With another successful acclimatization climb in their bags, the Madison Mountaineering team is taking a rest day today while they prepare to make their move to Ojos del Salado base camp! The team started today with a soak in the hot springs – a perfect way to recover after several days of activity! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Laguna Verde:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ojos del Salado (6893m/22,615ft) and Aconcagua (6961m/22,837ft) combined expedition – today is January 3rd.

Yesterday, the second, we had a great climb on Nevado San Francisco (6018m/19,744ft)! Started early in the morning, left our beautiful lakeside camp here at Laguna Verde, and drove to about 4,900 meters. We had a really pleasant climb – excellent weather, not a cloud in the sky for most of the day to the summit San Francisco at just over 6,000 meters, 6,017 meters. From up top, we had excellent views of the massive Incahuasi volcano (6638m, 21,778ft), El Fraile volcano (6061m/19,885ft) a little farther away, Laguna Verde with all of the 6,000-meter volcanoes around it, and in the distance our next objective, Ojos del Salado which is the second highest peak in South America and the planet’s highest volcano!

In the evening we came back down to Laguna Verde where we had a great dinner of grilled chicken and guacamole and fresh salad. And then we got a good nights sleep!

Today, we are taking a rest day here at Laguna Verde! We’ve had a nice soak in the hot springs here and are just enjoying the almost Caribbean vibes beside this amazing turquoise lake here at 4,300 meters on the Altiplano.

Tomorrow, we plan to move to base camp at the foot of Ojos del Salado! So all is well here in Chile and we’ll be in touch tomorrow.

Penitentes just below the summit of Cerro San Francisco at about 6000m. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Climbing Cerro San Francisco. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Summit photo!

The team’s trusty 4WD in camp at Laguna Verde.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions. Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

January 3, 2024/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ojos del Salado 2023.12.29

New Year’s Day in the Atacama

Summiting Doña Ines! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Ojos del Salado and Aconcagua expedition team packed up their camp and drove through the Atacama Desert to their next stop, Laguna Verde. It’s been a beautiful New Year’s Day and we couldn’t think of a better way to kick off the New Year! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Chile:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ojos del Salado (6893m/22,615ft) and Aconcagua (6961m/22,837ft) combination expedition – today is January 1st, 2024.

Today, we are moving from our camp beside the Pedernales Salt Flat down to Laguna Verde, which will be our new base camp for the next few nights while we acclimatize on Cerro San Francisco (6018m/19,744ft). Then from there, we’ll move to Ojos del Salado base camp (5251m/17,227ft).

It’s a beautiful day here, very pleasant drive through the Altiplano. We had a nice New Year’s celebration yesterday evening with steaks and guacamole and some champagne, which was the same color as the rosey alpenglow on the peaks across the salt flat.

We’re looking forward to getting to Laguna Verde where we can set up camp and relax in the hot springs there! All is well here and we’ll be in touch.

Celebrating the New Year and a successful acclimatization climb of Doña Ines!

Flamingoes near our camp at Pedernales Salt Flat. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

En route to Laguna Verde with the Salar Maricunga in the distance.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions. Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

January 1, 2024/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ojos del Salado 2022.12

Ojos Expedition Wraps Up!

Our climbers John, Joe and Kris on the summit of Cerro Doña Inez! Photo: Terray Sylvester

Our Ojos del Salado expedition is nearing its conclusion, complete with multiple summits, amazing food, incredible views and many memories to take away! The team is all safely off of Ojos del Salado and will return to Copiapó shortly. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with one final dispatch before the team departs back home in the coming days:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the 2022 Madison Mountaineering Ojos del Salado expedition – it’s December 19th.

Yesterday was our summit attempt on Ojos! The day started windy and pretty cold actually, but conditions improved quite a bit as we climbed higher and we had just spectacular views of the surrounding Atacama and all the volcanoes near us here. We made it to the summit crater at about 6,700 meters, and at that point we made the difficult, but I think correct decision to turn around to ensure our climbers safety on the descent. It was a tough decision, but the wise one.

Now we’re back in base camp! Our team is all happy and healthy, and we’re packing up and preparing to drive back to Copiapó. That will wrap up our itinerary! Right now, our climbers are deciding whether they’ll fly directly home, or whether they’ll head over to the coast nearby and spend a few days relaxing on the beach.

All in all, it was a great expedition! Beautiful scenery, great food and we got to soak in hot springs as well. We summited two other volcanoes: Cerro Doña Inés at about 5,000 meters and Cerro San Francisco at over 6,000 meters. And, all over our climbers set new personal altitude records which was gratifying too.

So, that’s a wrap and can’t wait for the next one!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions. Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

December 19, 2022/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ojos del Salado 2022.12

Sunny Skies on Cerro San Francisco!

Photo pulled from Madison Mountaineering archive. Photo: Ted Hesser

Today, the Madison Mountaineering Ojos del Salado expedition team took full advantage of beautiful weather, after a bout of rain and snow in the day prior. The team successfully reached the summit of Cerro San Francisco at 19,744 feet and is now back in the comforts of their camp, preparing to continue their journey tomorrow. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in from Laguna Verde with todays dispatch:

Hello from Laguna Verde! Today we climbed Cerro San Francisco (6018m/19,744ft). The weather was perfect, with light winds and sunny skies. From the summit at 19,744′, we enjoyed excellent views of the Argentinian Atacama and neighboring volcanoes including the spectacular Incahuasi (6638m/21,778ft) and our main objective: Ojos del Salado (6893m/22,615ft).

We were back in our camp here at Laguna Verde by 4 p.m. for a lunch of chicken asado and fresh, homemade salsa. Tomorrow we’ll move to base camp at Ojos!

The team is doing well. We’ll be in touch!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions. Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

December 14, 2022/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ojos del Salado 2022.12

Lakeside at Laguna Verde!

The Madison Mountaineering Ojos del Salado expedition team enjoyed an active rest day today, making the most of their time waiting out a storm by doing an acclimatization hike, eating good food and soaking in the hot springs! Everyone is in good spirits and looks forward to their next acclimatization climb tomorrow. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with today’s dispatch from Laguna Verde:

Hello from Laguna Verde! A storm system has been bringing rain and snow to this zone of the Andes. So today we decided to take an active rest day. We hiked partway up Mulas Muertas Volcano (5910m/19,390ft) this morning, then enjoyed a lunch of steak and guacamole before soaking in the hot springs here in our lakeside camp.

Tomorrow’s forecast looks good for our ascent of Cerro San Francisco (4940m/16,207ft). The team is all well and looking forward to it! We’ll be in touch tomorrow!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions. Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

December 13, 2022/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ojos del Salado 2022.12

En Route to Laguna Verde!

After a successful acclimatization climb yesterday, the team is on the road today en route to Laguna Verde where they’ll camp for the night and enjoy hot springs and spectacular views of the night sky and surrounding Andes. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with todays dispatch from Chile:

Hello, this is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ojos del Salado (6893m/22,615ft) expedition! It’s Monday, December 12th.

Yesterday we completed our first acclimatization ascent. We went up Cerro Doña Inés (5075m/16,650ft), a volcano at just over 5,000 meters. We had a beautiful climb, the team did great, everyone was feeling healthy and strong, and the weather was just perfect! We had only light winds and spectacular views of the Pedernales Salt Flat and the surrounding, brilliantly colored terrain of the Atacama.

So right now, we’re driving to Laguna Verde. We’ll camp their tonight and enjoy the hot springs! And then tomorrow, we’ll hopefully complete our second acclimatization ascent of Cerro San Francisco (4940m/16,207ft).

So, all is well here in Chile and we’ll be in touch!

The rugged beauty of the Atacama. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Appetizers!

Our climbers John and Kris toasting a successful day in Chile! Photo: Terray Sylvester

A view of the Atacama Desert from the summit of Cerro Doña Inez. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Climbing Cerro Doña Inez. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Our chef, Juan Carlos, making the magic happen. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Preparing for asado in camp at Pedernales Salt Flat.

Alpenglow on Cerro Doña Inez. Photo: Terray Sylvester

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions. Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

December 12, 2022/0 Comments/by Garrett

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