Ojos del Salado and the Puña de Atacama: the videos

April 29, 2020 Trip reports andes, cerro vicunas, chile, explorersweb, jagged globe, mountain films, ojos del salado, puna de atacama, south america, trekking, volcanoes 0 Comment

It takes me so long to get round to editing my videos these days that I know some of you die of excitement waiting for the next one to appear. Lockdown has provided me with a window of opportunity and I’m hurtling though them like a snail. Here, finally, are the videos of my trip to Ojos del Salado a year and a half ago.

What the devil is a circumhorizon arc?

February 13, 2019 Opinion and advice andes, chile, cloudspotting, ojos del salado 1 Comment

As we made our way from base camp for an acclimatisation hike on Ojos del Salado in the Puna de Atacama region of the Andes last month, we witnessed a strange phenomenon in the sky.

Salt before breakfast: an ascent of Ojos del Salado

January 23, 2019 Trip reports andes, cerro vicunas, chile, chris groves, jagged globe, ojos del salado, puna de atacama, south america, trekking, volcanoes 0 Comment

Christmas for me usually means some new ascents in a mountainous region of Africa or Latin America. When I received an email from Jagged Globe announcing a new trip to Ojos del Salado, I didn’t have any doubts that was the peak I wanted to climb.

Cerro Vicuñas, the world’s easiest 6,000m peak? Quite possibly

January 16, 2019 Opinion and advice andes, cerro vicunas, chile, chris groves, drohmo ri, incahuasi, jagged globe, ojos del salado, olympus mons, puna de atacama, south america, trekking 14 Comments

Last year I returned from the Himalayas and reported that I may have discovered the easiest 6,000m peak in the world to climb. But there is another place in the world where lots of easy 6,000m peaks can potentially be climbed on a day hike from the road.

Ojos del Salado — the photos (and a quick message about cheating)

January 10, 2019 Humour andes, chile, ojos del salado 3 Comments

It’s a slightly rapid half-post this week. This is because I’ve been climbing the world’s highest volcano and away from all contact with the outside world.

Ojos del Salado at last: climbing the world’s highest volcano

December 19, 2018 Expedition dispatches aconcagua, adams carter, andes, chile, chris groves, jagged globe, llullaillaco, ojos del salado, puna de atacama, volcanoes 3 Comments

This weekend I’ll be departing for my annual New Year mountaineering trip, and this time I think it’s going to be a bit special. Edita and I will be attempting Ojos del Salado, a peak I’ve been wanting to climb for a few years now.

My 5 wettest mountain adventures

August 12, 2015 Humour africa, andes, bhutan, chile, himalayas, kyrgyzstan, manaslu, nepal, pamirs, patagonia, peak lenin, rwenzori mountains, snowman trek, torres del paine, uganda, weather 2 Comments

I expect most of us have experienced it at some time in our lives: escaping the office for a few weeks of sunshine, only to end up somewhere wetter than a haddock’s bathing costume. Nobody likes rain, but sometimes it just won’t stop.

Cerro San Lorenzo and the Patagonian summer

January 15, 2014 Trip reports alberto maria de agostini, andes, argentina, cerro san lorenzo, cerro torre, chile, jagged globe, patagonia, south america, thierry levenq, weather 4 Comments

Sometimes it’s useful to have low expectations so that when the impossible doesn’t happen, you’re not disappointed. This is especially true in Patagonia, where the weather is temperamental. I didn’t have high hopes of reaching the summit of 3706m Cerro San Lorenzo, but I was determined to give it a go.

Why would anyone spend Christmas in Patagonia?

December 18, 2013 Expedition dispatches alberto maria de agostini, andes, argentina, cerro san lorenzo, chile, patagonia, south america, southern patagonian ice field, tierra del fuego, torres del paine, weather 0 Comment

There’s not really a good time of year to visit Chilean Patagonia. Quite a lot of wind circulates the globe at that latitude and slams into its mountains with full force, producing severe and prolonged storms and freezing temperatures. So why will I be returning there this Christmas for the first time in ten years?