The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Climbing Ojos del Salado, the Highest Volcano in the World

After my Peak Lenin frostbite issue (see my post from September 2017), until now I had hesitated in climbing another high peak. But curiosity as to the lingering effects on my fingers must have gotten the better of me. This past two weeks eight of us (five Brits, myself and another American, and a Swedish woman (the only woman) attempted to climb a series of ever-higher peaks culminating in the 6891 meter (22,608 ft) Ojos in Chile. Ojos, whose summit is on the Chile-Argentina border, is the second highest peak outside of the Himalaya and the highest volcano in the world. Unlike its slightly higher (about 200 ft) more southerly neighbor in Argentina, Aconcagua, climbing Ojos does not require stumping up about $1000 in permit fees. It also has an interesting scramble at its summit, which is generally protected if you are using guides, as we were. Also, since it is not THE HIGHEST mountain, but only the SECOND HIGHEST in both the western and southern hemispheres, only a fraction of the number of climbers attempt the summit. Finally, the road systems, mostly made for the mines in this corner of the Atacama desert, provide many options for nearby acclimatization hikes, eliminating the need to repeatedly go up and down the mountain before summit day.

The photos which follow give an idea of the experience. Just imagine you are in a meat locker with a high-powered fan blowing while climbing. Read on to see whether I reached the summit.

Vallecito acclimatization hike vista. Our first hike was a short leg-stretcher about 1500 ft above our 10,000 ft campsite in the Vallecito Valley
Laguna Santa Rosa at sunset. We spent 3 nights in a hut beside this lake while doing two acclimatization hikes.
Laguna Santa Rosa from our Hermanas Peak hike. This photo shows the mineral salts around the lake. Hermanas Peak is 4950 m (about 16,250 ft). A little blob in the landscape, it is higher than Mount Blanc. Forty-plus mile an hour winds on the ridges made the climb not particularly enjoyable.
A flamingo feeding in Laguna Santa Rosa at sunset. There were several dozen altogether, but they were very shy so my 6x optical zoom couldn’t really do them justice.
Summit view from Cerro Pastillitos (5090 m, 16,700 ft) with the Tres Cruces far in the background. This peak was a long scree climb, our first over 5000 meters. All eight clients attained the summit.
Lagunas Verdes in the morning. After Laguna Santa Rosa, we drove to this highly toxic lake at about 4200 meters for the next 2 nights of camping.
A dessicated cow at Lagunas Verdes. Perhaps it drank from the arsenic-laced water that precludes any life? The warm springs on the lake shore were a welcome relief to some of us, however.
Some of our group at a rest stop during ascent of Carrancas Blancas. It was our first 6000 meter peak.
The Vagabond Hiker pointing out Ojos from near the Carrancas Blancas summit
Our summit team on Carrancas Blancas. I am on the left here. Only four of the eight clients reached the 6000 m (19,700 ft) south summit. The true summit is more than a mile along the ridge and only 200 ft higher, so no one made the additional 4 hour trek.
The Atacama Basecamp. About 5220 meters (17,100 ft), we camped there four nights during our climb of Ojos.
Ojos from the road hike up to Tejos Refuge. At 5825 meters (19,100 ft) supposedly it is the highest refuge in the world. While it is sometime used as a high camp, the small container-like building only has 8 bunks so we later chose to drive up to it to commence the summit day climb.
Ice Penitentes on the hike up to the Tejos refuge. These formations are common high in the Andes, and are a product of very dry air, strong winds, and of course the cold.
Dawn view with my boot on the Ojos climb. We had started climbing at 2:45 AM and I took this photo at about 6:30 during a rest break. There was no snow, so ice axes and crampons were not required. With the cold, though, double mountaineering boots were mandatory. At this point sunrise was about 1/2 hour away, but on the west side of the mountain it would not reach us until the summit block.
I reached the summit of Ojos del Salado (6891 meters, 22,608 ft) at 9:15 AM. Note the burly mitts to keep from getting a repeat of my Peak Lenin frost bite. Argentina is behind me. Two other clients (out of eight) attained the summit.
A final view of Ojos from Murray refuge with mining junk in the fore ground. We completed the trip in only 11 days (10 nights), much faster than is typically done on Aconcagua.
A study in contrasts on our jeep descent through Atacama foothills. The streams are created by snow melt in the summer. Contrary to common perception, it does precipitate in the Atacama, though generally only at high elevation as snow.

For the next 3 days I will be in Santiago, then on to other parts of Chile for the next 7 weeks. I expect to do another 2-3 posts during that time, though admittedly nothing nearly as extreme as Ojos. Stay tuned and keep hiking!

The Vagabond Hiker

Walking Lanzarote in the Canary Islands

Certainly there are worse places to spend the month of November than Lanzarote in Spain’s Islas Canarias. Located about 80 miles off the Coast of Morocco, it is to a large extent defined by the series of volcanic eruptions in the 1730’s.  Admittedly, my main purpose of renting an AirBnB apartment  overlooking the Atlantic in Puerto del Carmen was to enjoy the (relatively) warm ocean.  Nonetheless, I managed several interesting hikes/walks that encompassed some of the most interesting landscapes on the island.  Check out the photos below. . .

An Old Town harbor garden in Pueto del Carmen, near the beginning of my local coast walk.

Looking towards Puerto del Carmen from the coast path. I did this coastal hike (from my door) 6-8 times during this past month.

View along the path around the outside of Caldera Blanca. Here it doesn’t look much different from southwest Utah.

View of the Caldera Blanca from along its rim, with the west coast of Lanzarote and the ocean in the background. Amazing views make this one of the most popular hikes on the island.

A view towards the  Montana Caldereta from the rim of the Caldera Blanca. A recent lava field surrounds the caldereta. The white line in the background is a village.

Femes village, the trailhead for one of my hikes in the southeast of the island. Typical Lanzarotan architecture is seen here. Unlike other Canary Islands, Lanzarote has largely been spared unsightly development.

A ridge view near Pico Redondo towards Playa Blanca at the south end of Lanzarote. The island of Fuerteventura is on the left in the background. A 45 minute ferry runs several times a day from Playa Blanca to Fuerteventura and back.

A ridge view on Lomo del Pozo towards Puerto del Carmen

A coastal view back towards El Golfo on the west coast of the island. This land was created in the 1730’s through a series of eruptions.

Typical plants surviving in the tough west coast soil north of El Golfo in Timanfaya National Park

Further north on the west coast is the Playa de Famara.  With favorable winds and good surf, this beach is popular with both surfers and wind surfers.

The southern end of El Risco de Famara (cliffs) just north of the Playa de Famara. The path ended near here.

The Finca de Corona at the trailhead to another Risco de Famara hike even further north. It happens to be for sale.

Finca lands growing something. Agriculture (and viniculture) is definitely a challenge in the poor volcanic soil.

View from the top of the Risco de Famara. The path goes down off to the left here.

One of the few plants I saw in flower on the Risco de Famara

View towards Isla Graciosa from near the bottom of the Risco de Famara. I didn’t make it over to this small island last month. Something for next time.

Dunes and the Risco de Famara. The path back to the top is near the center of the cliffs here.

View from my balcony late one day. The island of Fuerteventura is visible to the right in the distance.

Wishing my readers a wonderful holiday season, my next post will be towards the end of January from Chile following my attempted climb of Ojos del Salado, the world’s highest volcano.

The Vagabond Hiker

Trekking India’s Kumaon Himalaya

The little-known region of Kumaon, comprising the eastern portion of the Indian state of  Uttarakhand, is arguably the centerpiece of the Indian Himalaya, dominated by the awe-inspiring Nanda Devi and Nanda Devi East. Often overlooked by trekkers, it offers wild unspoiled landscapes far removed from the pilgrimage hordes and most mechanized traffic. The trekking route we took is located close to the border of western Nepal and Tibet, following an ancient trade route to the latter in a remote corner of Kumaon.

Starting in the village of Munsyari, our Exodus Travels group of 12 clients, two guides, three camp support staff, and four muleteers  trekked through small settlements and pristine forests following the Gori Ganga River to the historic settlement of Milam. Milam was a thriving village trading with Tibet before the war with China in 1962. We then trekked up to the Pachu Glacier with its spectacular views of Nanda Devi and Nanda Devi East.  At 7,816 meters, the former is the highest mountain completely within India (Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world, is on the border with Nepal).  Enjoy the photos I took on this remote and spectacular 11 day trek.

Day 1. Munsyari hotel view of the Kamaon Himalaya (also referred to as the Eastern Gharwal Himalaya). This town, 1.5 days driving from the Kathgodam railhead, was the starting point of our 11 day trek.

Day 1. At these lower elevations, though it was late in the season, goats were still to be seen.

Day 1. An orchid which I have not attempted to identify.

Day 1.  A Kashmir Rock Agama. We saw quite a few of these 6-8 inch long lizards at the lower elevations (under 3000 meters).

Day 1. Some of our donkeys crossing a stream. We had around 15 donkeys to carry much of our personal equipment, our food, tents, etc. Early on the muleteers were drunk and lazy, which led to delays in setting up camp several nights.

Day 1. A rather bold Neptis hylas (unknown subspecies) seen at our lunch break.

Day 1. A partial rainbow at Lilam camp where we stayed on the first night. At only 1850 meters, it was still warm in this cramped hillside camp.

Day 2. The Gori Ganga. We would follow this river, sometimes hundreds of feet above its deep gorge, for much of the trek.

Day 3. A white-capped water red-start (Phoenicurus leucocephalus). I thought at first it was a wagtail because of its behavior.

Day 3. A side stream into the Gori Ganga. Numerous side streams and waterfalls punctuated our journey.

Day 3. A spectacular waterfall into the Gori Ganga with four Exodus clients.

Day 3. The Gori Ganga valley at a point where it had opened up somewhat. The trail (actually a jeep track here) is clearly visible on the left hand side above the valley.

Day 3. Some of our group crossing a side stream of the Gori Ganga.

Day 3. A scree descent. Numerous landslides during the last monsoon created some challenging footing on the trek.

Day 4. The Gori Ganga valley above Railkot. Absolutely spectacular.

Day 5. The Milam glacier overlook. This day was an aberration from the generally good post-monsoon weather. This was the first of three optional day hikes where we stayed at the same camp for two consecutive nights.  A great chance to catch up on laundry!

Day 5. The outskirts of Milam, the furthest north village towards Tibet. The red shrubs are barberry. Trading has historically made the inhabitants relatively wealthy, but that all changed in 1962 after the Chinese attacked an unprepared India. The passes beyond Milam have been closed since ever since.

Day 6. Part of the Milam border post with a view towards Tibet. Photography was forbidden, but I sneaked a couple of pics anyway.

Day 6. Our Milam campsite. The clients had eight tents (the yellow ones were shared, the green ones for single travelers) and, importantly, two lavatory tents.  There was also a cook tent and a smallish mess tent that we crammed into for breakfast and dinner.

Day 6. Tirsuli (r) and Hardeol (l), two 7000 meter peaks to the North.

Day 6. Some flowers in deserted Pachu village. The villages we past were mostly abandoned, though a few locals still farm and have summer grazing pastures.

Day 6. Our first view of Nanda Devi East. The trees are birches, already changing color at this elevation (about 3400 meters).

Day 6. One of our donkeys with Nanda Devi behind in clouds.

Day 7. Morning alpenglow on Nanda Devi (r) and Nanda Devi East (l). The ridge connecting them is about 2 kilometers long. I took an untold number of photos of these two mountains during the several days they were in view.

Day 7. The Vagabond Hiker at Pachu Glacier with Nanda Devi  (in clouds) and Nanda Devi East behind.

Day 7. Here I was at the high point (est. 4500 m) above Pachu Glacier. Nanda Devi is in clouds this late in the day. Only one other client made this snow ascent during our lunch stop on this optional day hike.

Day 9. Trail side Himalayan gentians.

Day 9. The Shalang Valley towards Nanda Kot (6861 meters, far right in the background). Because of a new bridge, we were able to condense two days and gain an optional day hike around Martoli Peak.  Even our guide Rajeev, had not been this far before.

Day 9. “Elephant Peak” to our SE (zoom) from the northern flanks of Martoli Peak.

Day 10. The Gori Ganga, here at river level.

Day 11. A beautiful gorge along the Gori Ganga.

Day 11. On our final day trekking back to the road-head.  Munsyari is highlighted in the distance on this rainy day. We took a different, spectacular high level route back to our first river crossing.

I have been enjoying an autumn break in the UK this past week. Next week I will fly to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.  During my month there I expect to fully explore the hiking opportunities on this volcanic island off the west coast of Morocco.  Until my next post, happy trails.

The Vagabond Hiker

 

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