Nevado Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano on earth and is located approximately 750km north of Santiago de Chile, capital of Chile , at the border of Argentina and Chile .

The Ojos may be approached from both countries, the final road to the base camp is fully on Chilean side. The approach from Argentina runs over many unpaved and rough terrain. On sole Argentinean terrain the mountain can only be approached via an expedition using mules.

Due to the fact that the mountain is located in the Atacama desert , the humidity of the air is extremely low. Snow patches are found during the Southern summer only in remote areas around the peak.

We – Sebastian Martinez, a Chilean mountain guide and I – start on December 21st in the morning from Caldera via Copiapo in the direction of Ojos del Salado . The contact to Sebastian I got on an expedition to the Aconcagua in December 2006. His father is managing Aventurismo ( Aventurismo ), a company which organizes tours to the Ojos del Salado and manages the infrastructure in this area. Aventurismo is a 100% reliable partner, Sebastian and Maximiliano know all the people in the area and have an excellent network here in Chile .

In Copiapo I buy a very detailed map of the area from Maximiliano (at that time the very last piece) and get very surprised as I realize that this map is made by the Austrian–German Alpenverein (it's the map 0/13 ‘Nevado Ojos del Salado', scale 1:100.000). This map is the most reliable and accurate available for this area.

Our first night we spend in ‚only' 9.680ft above sea level to improof acclimatization by small steps. We camp in a small valley along the ruta 31 towards Argentina . On the way we have the first stop for changing a tire – nothing special in this area. More special is the observation of two condors, which are sighted frequently in this region and altitude.

On the next day we cross an almost 13.000ft high pass and end up in a vast highly elevated plane and spend two nights at the fantastic Laguna Santa Rosa in almost 11.500ft. The lake is populated by hundreds of flamingos, flocking together close to the banks in the early morning and evening.

Regularly we undertake small day-tours to improof acclimatization and to keep us fit. From the Laguna Santa Rosa we ascend on the third day of the expedition to the summit of the Siete Hermanos, a 5 hours trail up to 15.200ft.

On day 4 we proceed from the Laguna Santa Rosa towards east, in a vast salt pan we can catch a GSM mobile phone signal from a far distant transmitter which provides this service to the military and some mining companies working in this area. We use this chance to transmit our position and latest plans to the Aventurismo office in Copiapo and some private chats with relatives at home. Via almost flat sandy tracks we proceed in easterly direction.

On the way we make the first glimpse on the Ojos del Salado , until today other high mountains always obstructed the Ojos. Impressive! In the late afternoon we arrive at the Laguna Verde at 14.100ft, an absolutely impressive view. Laguna's with this name seem to exist in a dozen in this area, on the Bolivian side of the desert I know two more of them. Now the air get's really thin, the measured air humidity is only 24%. By the way it's December 24 th today and in a small hut, only meters from the bank of the Laguna, we celebrate with 5 other mountaineers and 3 carabineros Christmas eve.

Day 5. One more tour for acclimatization and training, a quite easy one this time, after 2,5 hours we reach 16.500ft, the target altitude for today. We check our blood saturation with a pulse oximeter, my finger gives me an indication of 78% saturation, which is in the ‘normal' range for this altitude and grade of fitness.

The weather is stable, in the afternoon we watch extensive cumuli clouds, which obscure some of the mountain tops east of us. In the late evening we observe faint lights of remote thunderstorms, probably from lower areas in Argentina .

On day 6 we drive with the 4WD car to the Refugio Atacama, a big container with a ranger who lives here during the ‘season', and some temporary tents from several national and international expeditions. The way up here is already harsh, lava rocks laying around everywhere measure up to 20 inches. The ‘track' you have to find by yourself due to the fact that tracks are almost everywhere in any direction.

We are now at an altitude of 17.150ft, during the night it gets very cold. In the early morning I measure -8°C. The drinking water has to be melted each morning. The air is crystal clear, no dust or haze, almost unlimited visibility.

The night sky here is absolutely impressive, no lights around for hundreds of miles, only black night and a fantastic southern sky with the milky way and the 2 Magellan clouds.

For further acclimatization we walk up a good visible track up to the Refugio Tejos, 19.160ft, it's day 7 of our expedition. Now it get's more complicate to keep a constant rhythm of breathing, the amount of oxygen is getting lower and lower. On top of that a strong gusty wind blows from time to time which doesn't make it easier to climb up.

We carry up some stuff which we will need for the final climb starting here from the Refugio Tejos later. It's always better if you see some sense in the things you are doing here, climbing up and down for acclimatization only sometimes seems to be a waste of time and effort.

The tents heat up extremely during daytime due to the steep angle of sunshine, at this time of the year the sun at noon shines almost vertical from the clear blue sky. The temperature in my tent rises to 38°C, far from perfect to relax.

After two nights in 17.150ft we finally climb up to the Refugio Tejos, this time with fully packed backpacks, at least we carry everything which we thing we could need within the next days. This climb is already extreme, here counts each pound you carry up. Now it pays off if you had the chance to invest a little bit more in a lightweight equipment.

Totally exhausted we reach the container Refugio Tejos after 3 hard hours of climbing almost without any break. With a pulse meter plus protocol function I check the heartbeat, the average figure over the climb is 142 beats per minute, walking up results in about 150 beats. A quite high frequency although I would rate my health condition as very good.

The rest of the day we need for further preparation for the summit climb, means preparing all equipment, packing the backpacks, drinking a lot of tea and water and try to eat something, which is very hard, because almost all of us have a loss of appetite.

Day 9, the summit day: we weak up each other around 5AM, I force down a single toast and a cup of tea. At 6AM we start: Sebastian, Matsumoto (a Japanese mountaineer), Mario (the park ranger) and I.

In 20.340 we step on ice: we have to traverse a big glacier up to 21.000ft. Fixing the crampons on the boots turns out quite difficult, as I don't want to pull off my gloves due to the icy temperatures and strong wind. At the end it works somehow, the glacier lies behind us and didn't cause any major problems. Small and medium crevasses we can circle around or jump over, a rope is not necessary.

At the upper end of the glacier we make a deposit for the crampons and continue the climb. The ground is covered by small round lava stones – as usually on volcanoes – and turns the climb into a torture, climbing 2 steps up and sliding 1 step back.

After 6 hours of struggling the track gets less steep, we reach the caldera of the volcano at 22.250ft. It's a dell in an almost flat plain, filled with a frozen lake, covered with snow. Opposite from our present position is a semicircular steep wall with the summit of Ojos.

Almost have an hour we stretch out and look at the scenery, proud to have reached this altitude, on the other hand we know very well that this is not the final target: a steady climbing walk plus a final steep climb is still waiting for us.

Don't loose the motivation now, we get up on our feet and proceed walking between big lava rocks, up and up, around the crater of the volcano. Now it gets steeper and steeper, I need both hands to proceed, every step every climb you have to consider, failing and having an injury at this altitude is not an option. The lung aches, the wind blows through a break in the wall of the crater rim like through a channel, a channel we are now climbing up very steep. A few meters are left then I look over the crater rim, the altimeter shows 22.540ft, the heart beats at about 165, just 74ft are missing.

Over a partly steep sloping rim we finally reach the summit of Nevado Ojos del Salado at 14:42 local time: 22.614ft.

The panorama is terrific, the wind almost calm, the sun shines vertical from an almost black sky and due to the very low humidity the visibility is almost unlimited. Theoretically we should be able to see down to the Pacific ocean , but the western horizon just shows a slim grey shadow, with a little fantasy …

The air pressure measures exactly 416hPa, this is 42% of the air pressure on sea level, this is the reason that our faces look so swollen.

The saturation of my blood's oxygen measures as 58%, on sea level this would mean an immediate revitalization process has to be started. Apathy overcomes us, the time seems to have no importance any more, and we just sit around and enjoy the success.

The rest of the expedition is degraded to a secondary event: we descent, after the glacier we continue each in his own pace. Detracted by impressive photo motives I loose my way and end up in a field of penitentes – these sharp ice needles which ‘grew' here up to more than 2m – and find out that I have to cross them to prevent climbing up again.

In the Refugio Tejos I tumble on my sleeping bag and snooze for almost an hour, than we are reunited and prepare or further descent , because we want to sleep at the Refugio Atacama where some delicious food is waiting for us.

Next morning we drive down to the Laguna Verde and spend the whole day relaxing at the shore of this beautiful lagoon.

December 31st: we say good bye to the carabineros at the close border station to Argentina and drive the long way back to the Laguna Verde and this time via the Paso San Francisco to Copiapo, where we arrive early afternoon.

Sylvester we celebrate together at a big private party with a marvelous view over the bay of Caldera and a gigantic firework in front of the Pacific ocean .

REMARKS

Please feel free to contact me personally by private mail if you need any more details for preparing an expedition.