Range Puna de Atacama
The main objective of this trip was to climb the six ultra peaks, and if there was time to spare, perhaps visit one of the other lower or easier peaks. Due to the subtleties of acclimatisation, weather conditions, and logistics, we chose Cumbres Calchaquies for our first climb. The plan and the order changed several…
Range Puna de Atacama
This is the last major hill on this trip and likely the last for the year, though you never know, there might be one along the way. At the hotel, we agree to check out in the late afternoon and head towards the trailhead. We start climbing, and a local farmer shouts that we are…
Range Puna de Atacama
And again, it is forbidden… And again, an interesting top, next to the golf course. We leave the car and somehow magically get punched on the other side of the fence. A hundred metres across the meadow, and we are at the top. We get a good view of the surroundings, measure the height, and…
Range Puna de Atacama
There are no easily accessible ultra peaks around, so we opt for a nicely shaped ribu rising from the Dique la Angostura lake. Franco says that Nuñorco means breast, so we will climb the breast, which has a thousand metres of prominence. The weather is beautiful in the morning. We choose one of several trails…
Range Puna de Atacama
There was heavy rain in the morning, but we are not afraid of rain, unfortunately the weather forecast for the rest of the day is even worse. The day starts late, and we are in no hurry, so we drive towards Dique la Angustura lake. On the way, we have to wait for a few…
Range Puna de Atacama
After we drive ten or fifteen kilometres along a private road, we stop at a farm, Franco talks to the owner’s brother, and we pitch our tents in the yard. The most spectacular sight of the evening is the huge insects flying around and glowing bright green. The light is so strong that you can…
Range Puna de Atacama
For the second time, we head towards Cerros de Pereyra. The first time we came to a gravel road, due to a very heavy downpour, we turned around. Maybe we would have reached the village of El Fuerte, but we probably would not have reached the trailhead. This time the weather was good. We believe…
Range Puna de Atacama
Very prominent peak, one of the world’s top 100 by prominence. No other reason was needed to climb it. We are little acclimated from the previous two mountains – Cumbres Calchaquies and Cerro Malcante; and only need a good weather window. And here we go: Sunday morning should be fine for summit. Franco arranged mules,…
Range Puna de Atacama
The forbidden fruit is sweeter, and Cerro Malcante also intrigues us more than the other mountains. We arrive early in the morning, park the car on the side of the road, and a few minutes later we are climbing up the steep slope. So far, no one has stopped us, but a few hundred metres…
Range Puna de Atacama
We stay in the tidy town of Cachi. It’s still late in the evening, and through the hotel window I can see a few small hills, also marked on the map as viewpoints. We go to visit them. Start by checking out the UFO landing strip. It’s a meticulous job; the white pebbles are arranged…
Range Puna de Atacama
The first Cerro Pan de Azúca climb was great, but it didn’t help us acclimatise and get used to the higher altitude. Next, we chose the Cumbres Calchaquies, as the first night would be at 3000m, the second night at 4100m, and the summit at 4740m. Optimistically, we decided that this would be the right…