Summit

Also known as Sierra Nevada de Lagunas Bravas, this volcanic complex is located to the east of the Claudio Gay range. It is another of the forgotten giants of the Andes as, similar to the Colorados Mountain, it is located in one of the most inaccessible parts of the range. It is on the border with Argentina and is to the east of the Toro Hot Springs.

Sierra Nevada is a volcanic complex that covers about 250 km2 and contains multiple eruptive centres of various sizes. Some are simple craters that reach up to 400 metres in diameter. Others are sources of large lava flows that extend for up to seven kilometres. The most renowned crater is partly in Argentina and has an approximate width of a kilometre. There has been no registered volcanic activity in the modern era, but part of the complex shows evidence of activity in the Pleistocene period which ran between 1.8 million and 10,000 years ago. The other part of the complex shows more recent signs of activity, from 10,000 years ago or less.

As with Colorados, taking the town of Diego de Almagro (to the
north of Copiapó) as a point of departure, you take the road to El
Salvador, about 50 km from Diego de Almagro. From here, continue
in an easterly direction on Ruta C-177 which leads to the road that
links the salt lakes of Pedernales and Maricunga. Follow it in a
southerly direction until a few kilometres south of the La Ola Reservoir
which is owned by Codelco. Here you should take the road east,
that takes you to the Juncalito Reservoir, also owned by Codelco.

From the Juncalito Reservoir (km 0) there is a track along the south
bank of the Juncalito River which crosses a sandy area of approximately
a kilometre in length.

At km 3.5 you arrive at the Juncalito Waterfall (3,900 m). Here you
can see a semi-demolished building, known to the locals of La Ola
and Juncalito as Casa de Piedra (House of Rock). It is possible to set
up camp here for the process of acclimatisation. From here you need
to cross the river to its northern side but continue using the riverbed
as a road. A little further there is another sandy area and then a
sandy slope. Just before arriving at one of Juncalito’s tributary rivers,
the Río Negro, you have to enter the main riverbed of the Juncalito
again and follow it until the confluence of the waters (km 8) where
you turn into the Río Negro riverbed. Continue along this riverbed
until you reach a waterfall at km 9. There is a gully full of rocks here
that enables you to ford the river.

The track continues on the left bank of the Río Negro until the Toro
Hot Springs, from where you should head east through the gorge
until arriving at an area of plains. From here you can see a pass in
between two mountains. This pass leads you to Sierra Nevada, which
is still not possible to see.

On our expedition BC was set up at the base of the pass (4,700 m)
and no more camps were set up due to lack of time, but, given the
length of the approach to Sierra Nevada and the length of the ascent
between BC and the summit, it is highly recommended to consider
setting up a HC.

From BC, continue to the pass, from where it is necessary to traverse
through the snow, heading towards Sierra Nevada, until you arrive
at a plateau at an altitude close to 5,000 m.

From here you should follow the rocky ridge that rises in an easterly
direction towards the summit until reaching a loose scree slope,
with a slope of about 40º. It is necessary to climb to the top of this
scree slope (5,881 m). From this point the route turns a little towards
the south, on some sections of snow, which make the ascent a little
more difficult. Continue until reaching the summit dome (you should
descend into a basin to arrive at the foot of the dome) and then
climb the rocky dome which has an exhausting and difficult soft
scree slope of 50º.

From here you can see a deep gully and at the edge of one of the
ridges you can see the summit. You have to arrive at the base of
the last ridge to ascend to the summit.

The descent follows the same route as the ascent.

• No special permits are required to climb Sierra Nevada but you
should inform the police in the Diego de Almagro station of your
expedition, giving them a letter showing participants, nationalities,
passport or ID numbers, details of activities and specific itineraries,
dates, route and a map of the area. As the mountain is on the
border, foreigners must ask for permission from DIFROL
(www.difrol.cl).

• The best transport option is to take a 4x4 vehicle. See appendix
for recommendations. Buy sufficient fuel in Diego de Almagro
or El Salvador as there are no other places to buy it during the
rest of the journey.

• This is not a very difficult mountain but the approach is long and
the road is difficult and is therefore best negotiated in a high 4x4
vehicle. With good driving skills it is possible to arrive at the Toro
Hot Springs (Río Negro). There are even vehicle tracks to the pass,
with which you can save two or three days walk (ascent and
return).

• Given the scarcity of routes and the geomorphology of the area
it is recommended to make the ascent registering waypoints that
can ease the descent.

• It is recommended to take equipment and clothing suitable for
high altitude mountaineering. As part of the equipment it is
recommended to take an ice axe and crampons.

• Take sufficient water for the whole expedition. The Juncalito and
Río Negro rivers, as well as other possible sources of water
on the way, should only be considered as an alternative in an
emergency and must be boiled first.

• The area in which Sierra Nevada is situated has high precipitation
in winter and summer, when it is slightly affected by the 'Alti-
Planic winter'. The climatic instability can also be accompanied
by strong squalls and wind-storms. It is therefore strongly
recommended to climb during the months of spring and summer,
as the winter presents very low temperatures and abundant
precipitation. It is necessary to keep up-to-date with the weather
forecast.