Tag Archive for: El Salvador

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

We’ve kicked off an exciting combo expedition to Ojos del Salado and Aconcagua! Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano on the planet and Aconcagua is the tallest peak outside of Asia, together combining for a challenging duo for a few intrepid climbers! The Madison Mountaineering team has arrived in Chile where they’ll first attempt Ojos del Salado, before turning their sights towards Aconcagua. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from El Salvador:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ojos del Salado (6893m/22,615ft) and Aconcagua (6961m/22,837ft) expedition – today is December 30th.

Yesterday, everyone arrived in the Copiapó (390m/1,280ft) airport in the Atacama region in northern Chile, and then we drove to the little mining town of El Salvador at about 8,000 feet or just over 2,000 meters. We spent the night here and just had a nice breakfast. This afternoon, we’ll have lunch here and then we will continue to our first campsite on the Pedernales Salt Flat to the east of us. We’ll be there for a night and then will do our first acclimatization ascent on Doña Ines volcano (5075m/16,650ft).

All is going well! The team is in great spirits and good health. It’s beautiful weather here in the Atacama, really pleasant summer temperatures, and clear skies – but the skies are almost always clear because it’s one of the driest deserts on the planet.

So, we’ll be in touch via inReach over the next few days. We won’t have much cell service or WiFi, but we’ll be able to communicate by satellite text. That’s all for now!


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:

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

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

The rugged beauty of the Atacama. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Appetizers!

Appetizers!

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

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

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

Climbing Cerro Doña Inez. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Climbing Cerro Doña Inez. Photo: Terray Sylvester

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

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

Preparing for asado in camp at Pedernales Salt Flat.

Preparing for asado in camp at Pedernales Salt Flat.

Alpenglow on Cerro Doña Inez. Photo: Terray Sylvester

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:

Today the team ascended the 16,650 foot volcano, Cerro Doña Ines as part of their acclimatization efforts! Tomorrow, the team will continue on and enjoy a well-deserved dip in the hot springs at Laguna Verde. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester, checks in via Garmin inReach Mini with todays dispatch:

Hello from Pedernales! Today we enjoyed a scenic and successful acclimatization ascent of Cerro Doña Ines (5075m/16,650ft), and then returned to our camp here on the Pedernales Salt Flat for a second night. Although the Atacama is austere, we’ve had some excellent wildlife sightings, including flamingos, vicuñas, and many guanacos. From the summit of Doña Ines we enjoyed a spectacular view of the multi-hued mountains of the Altiplano.

The team is doing very well and we’re all looking forward to the hot springs at Laguna Verde tomorrow! Hasta mañana.


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:

Driving into the planets's driest non-polar desert!

The 2022 Madison Mountaineering Ojos del Salado expedition team continues onward in their journey towards the 22,615 foot Chilean giant! After having a slow and restful morning, the team hit the road only to stop for lunch and to catch up on the World Cup, before settling into their camp for the night on the Pedernales Salt Flat. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester, checks in via Garmin inReach Mini from Chile:

Hello from Pedernales Salt Flat! Today we enjoyed a restful morning in El Salvador, ate lunch while watching the World Cup, then drove to our camp here at about 11,200′ on the edge of a broad salt flat with the high peaks of the Andes in the distance. We’re exploring the salt flat this evening before dinner. Tomorrow we’ll acclimatize on Cerro Doña Inés (5070m/16,634ft).

All is well! 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:

Our Ojos del Salado climbers in the town of El Salvador!

The team continued on to El Salvador today, after the expedition got underway in Copiapó! El Salvador serves as a great place to continue the acclimatization process as the team prepares for their ascent of the tallest volcano on the planet, Ojos del Salado. Here’s expedition leader, Terray Sylvester with todays dispatch from the Atacama Desert:

Hello, this is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ojos del Salado (6893m/22,615ft) expedition! It’s December 9th.

Today we packed up our vehicles and drove from Copiapó (390m/1,280ft) to the little mining town of El Salvador, out here in the Atacama Desert. El Salvador is at about 2,200 meters, so we’ll spend the night here before we drive up to our first campsite on the Pedernales Salt Flats tomorrow. This is a good spot to start the acclimatization process for Ojos del Salado which is almost 7,000 meters tall.

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

Our Ojos del Salado climbers in the town of El Salvador!

Our Ojos del Salado climbers in the town of El Salvador!


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:

The team enjoying a welcome meal in Copiapó!

The Madison Mountaineering Ojos del Salado expedition is underway! The team arrived in Copiapó today and is prepared for the journey ahead after doing one final gear check, orientation and enjoying a nice meal to kickoff the expedition. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in from Copiapó with the inaugural dispatch of our Ojos del Salado expedition:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the 2022 Ojos del Salado (6893m/22,615ft) expedition – it’s December 8th.

Today our entire team arrived in the city of Copiapó (390m/1,280ft) here in Chile’s Atacama Desert. We did our gear checks, an orientation and then we went out for a nice welcome meal of steak, and ceviche, and some really tasty Chilean wine. The weather is fantastic here – it’s warm and sunny with pleasant breeze, the flowers are blooming… It’s just a really wonderful place to be during the Northern Hemisphere winter!

So, tomorrow we will drive out of Copiapó and head for the tiny town of El Salvador. With that, we will begin our journey to the summit of the highest volcano on the planet, Ojos del Salado.

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: