This information is a contribution from Marcelo Camus.

Normal Route Volcán Ojos del Salado First Ascent : 1937 Justyn Wojsznis y Jan Szczepanski Valley : Face : North Altitude Gain : 8202 ft. entre Laguna Verde y la cumbre. Rated by 0 people

Between November and April. It is not unusual for the weather spoiling suddenly in mid summer. The effects of the so called "Bolivian Winter" may reach these latitudes and hit the zone with snow and rainfall.

The first part of an expedition to Volcán Ojos del Salado consists in travelling all the way from Copiapó to the altiplanic Laguna Verde, at whose shore Base Camp shoulde be set up See Foto2 . From Copiapó (km. 0) take the road heading East which leads to Paipote. Once there, continue along the paved road which goes to Diego de Almagro. On km. 25 the paved road must be left in order to continue, to the right, by a very good rubble road. The road then climbs up along a dry riverbed. On km. 79 there are two options for continuing to Paso San Francisco. The first is by the Quebrada de San Andrés (main road, has some not too good sections, but the views are well worth the effort.) The second is by the Quebrada de Paipote. Both options cover a similar distance and both reach a col from which the Salar de Maricunga is visible and behind it the border complex. After going past the border complex one must go on along the main road until reaching Laguna Verde (4300m) See Foto2 .

Distance from Copiapó to Complejo Fronterizo San Francisco: 184 kms.
Distance from Copiapó to Laguna Verde: 265 kms.
Aproximate timing (Copiapó - Laguna Verde): 6 hours.

There is no approximation. The ascent starts where left by the vehicles.

Laguna Verde is a nice place for setting up Base Camp and acclimatizing See Foto2 . It is pretty wide and it has a small hut with a thermal spring inside. It is also possible to use some of the hut´s rooms as kitchen or storage, though attention must be payed to mice. Some hundred meters from this hut there is a police post. The only inconvenience is that drinking water must be fetched in bottles from a little spring at the side of the road about a kilometer past the police.

After acclimatizing enough, one must continue by vehicle (now a 4x4 is a must) to Refugio Atacama (5200m) See Foto3 . This will mean going back (towards the West) a few kilometers along the rubble road until reaching an old police post, now abandoned, and then head South by a pretty flat road. After overcoming some sand covered parts, the Refugio Atacama is reached. The ride from Laguna Verde to Refugio Atacama will take about an hour.

It is advisable to continue the acclimatization process at Refugio Atacama for a couple of days more. From Refugio Atacama, one hikes up to Refugio Tejos (5900m) (See Foto4 ) along a gentle trail visible from Refugio Atacama for about 3 hours.

From Refugio Tejos the route to the summit follows a narrow but clear trail which zig-zags all the way to the summit. Once one third of the way up it is possible to continue up the snowfield or to cross it and continue straight up. Afterwards one should head towards the mountain´s West ridge, which leads up to the crater (this section is usually very cold and exposed to the wind.) Once at the crater it must be crossed and then its eastern slope climbed, for finally traversing in South direction. See Foto5 . At this point there is a short rock climb, some 3 meters high. Though not technical, this section isn´t easy, due to the high altitude. Take care of not using the fixed ropes, which will probably be completely worn by radiation, wind and snow. Once this rock section is overcome, the summit is just a few meters of scrambling away. The summit bid should take between 6 and 8 hrs. on the ascent and 3 hrs. on the descent.