Tag Archive for: Incahuasi

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)

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

Climbing Cerro San Francisco. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Climbing Cerro San Francisco. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Climbing Cerro San Francisco. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Climbing Cerro San Francisco. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Summit photo!

Summit photo!

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

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.

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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: