Summit

Immediately to the north of the Barrancas Blancas Volcano and in the middle of the spectacular Andean landscape around the Ojos del Salado, lies this discrete, rarely-visited mountain. As happens with many mountains in the area, there is very little information about the Vicuñas due to its isolation. In fact, few areas in the world are as wild and imposing as this: the isolation, the climate and, especially, the magic of the Puna de Atacama make this a unique area.

Unlike the majority of the mountains in the area, this is not a volcano but an Andean massif born from a geological process called diastrophism. However, the Vicuñas doesn’t have much reason to envy its neighbours as it is also formed from volcanic material; the process of its origination was enriched by the great quantities of volcanic material that came from the surrounding mountains.

The access route is similar to that of the El Ermitaño Volcano and
the other Six Thousand Metre Peaks in the Ojos del Salado area.
Taking the city of Copiapó as a point of departure, head towards
and then take the international road, Ruta 31, that leads to Argentina
via the San Francisco border crossing.

In the area of the Maricunga Salt Lake is the San Francisco border
post where it is necessary to register your expedition.

Continue along Ruta 31 to Laguna Verde (4,342 m) where there is
a police station that is closed during the winter and re-opens at the
beginning of October. Here, the budget company Aventurismo can
supply radios, water, bathrooms and hot springs which makes it a
good place for the process of acclimatisation.

From Laguna Verde it is necessary to go back to the turning that
leads to the old police station next to what was the Murray Hostal
and is now the Claudio Lucero Refugio (4,540 m). From here, you
must turn right into a small gorge that has a vehicle track and which
leads to the pass between the Vicuñas and Barrancas Blancas
mountains.

The road rises through some small hills and plains, and, depending
on the vehicle, you can drive until an altitude that fluctuates between
4,700 and 4,900 m, setting up BC at around 4,900 m. Climbers
should be warned that if the route is done on foot, the approach
becomes too long.

The route that leads to the summit of Vicuñas is quite simple. The
whole route, until the summit, is a variety of scree slopes; made of
sand, pumice stone, even basalt in some sections. The best conditions
for the climb are when there is a little snow which stabilizes the
terrain, allows you to make good steps and improves the efficiency
of the climb.

From BC you have to start the ascent in a straight line towards the
highest visible part on the left of the pass until reaching some large
rocks at 5,700 m where you should start heading left.

When you are at about 6,000 m, you cross a small plateau near the
summit. From an area of large rocks to the end of the plateau,
where the ridge that leads to the summit begins, takes a little more
than an hour, walking at a steady pace. A couple of crevasses at
5,800 m mean the ice can be a little dangerous. There are 50 metres
which must be climbed with the utmost care, on a slope of no more
than 40º.

Once on the ridge, turn towards the right and after a few minutes
of walking on rocky ground and some snow (depending on the time
of year) you reach the summit. The highest point is the second
summit from north to south.

Once at the summit it is possible to see the magnitude of the Six
Thousand Metre Peaks in the area, such as the imposing Ojos del
Salado, the Nevado Tres Cruces and Incahuasi, to name but a few.

The descent follows the same route as the ascent.

• No special permits* are required to climb Vicuñas but you should
inform the police in the San Francisco border post 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.

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

• If you do not have your own transport it is recommended to send
a letter asking for support to the headquarters of the Army 1st
division in Antofagasta (Av. Ejército 01180, Antofagasta). Once
approved it will be sent to the 23rd Regiment in Copiapó, which
will co-ordinate the support.

• Another option is a transport service from Copiapó. Among the
companies that offer the service are Aventurismo (52-235340 /
mobile: 99694654, who also offer transport from Laguna Verde
to the various mountains), Gran Atacama Tour Operador (52-
219271, www.granatacama.cl) and Atacama Chile Tour Operador
(mobile: 98723652, www.atacamachile.com).

• The day of the summit climb, it is recommended to leave no later
than 6.00 am.

• The facilities of the company Aventurismo at Laguna Verde can
be used from November 1st to March 31 every year. You can pay
at Laguna Verde.

• 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. This can be taken
from Copiapó or the water in Laguna Verde.

• The Puna de Atacama area 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.

* From December 1st 2004 the company Aventurismo (32-235340) has had
the rights for access to the summit of the Ojos del Salado Volcano and its
neighbouring summits over 6,000 m, also to the Atacama (5,200 m) and
Tejos (5,800 m) refugios and the Laguna Verde thermal springs. The permit
includes a series of services that can only be used if the expeditions are run
between November and the end of March. At the date of publication of this
book, the only permit that requires payment is for the Ojos del Salado, but
eventually the Vicuñas Mountain will also require such a permit.