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This mountain lies to the north of the Tres Cruces Sur and is separated from it by a very high pass. Tres Cruces Central is, surprisingly
for many people, a volcano. It is completely in Chilean territory, inside the Nevado Tres Cruces National Park. On its eastern slope there
are enormous snow-fields which make it attractive to the mountaineer.
Belonging to the massif called Tres Cruces (Three Crosses), this peak has a crater a kilometre in diameter. The crater continues as a
fissure that contains about 10 craters, from which, thousands of years ago, lava flowed to both the east and west.
The Tres Cruces Massif, apart from its south, central and north summits, ncompasses a series of mountains such as Rodrigo, Cristi,
Las Vicuñas, the Pissis Volcano and others. In the entire massif there are about 30 eruptive centres but the three principal peaks are
the only famous ones, from which the central summit is the only one that is volcanic. |
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As Tres Cruces Sur and Tres Cruces Central are linked by a pass from
which you can access either peak, the same access information until
this pass is given for both peaks.
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 you have to go back about 60 km until the
Piedra Pómez plain. Here there is a turning south that takes you to
the base of the Tres Cruces Massif.
BC can be set up at the place that you can reach with your vehicle
(5,000 m). This is at the start of the Lamas River in an open area in
front of the west slope of the Tres Cruces Sur.
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Leave BC heading north, going initially through sandy areas and
then through difficult scree slopes. This journey is not too long and
leads to a large field of penitentes that faces south and which is
located in the middle of the gully that separates the south and the
central summits. Here you can set up C1 at approximately 5,400 m.
Continue the ascent up the scree slope that you can see from C1.
Its gradient, which can reach 40º, and the sandy terrain make the
climb difficult but once you are approaching the end of the ascent
the climb becomes easier and you reach a plateau with meltwater
lagoons. It is well-protected from the wind and is therefore ideal to
set up a HC or for bivying. This last option is only recommended if
the team and equipment are in the right condition, as you are at an
altitude of 6,000 m.
Once you are in the pass you can see the Central summit without
any difficulty. To ascend to the summit, advance in a zig-zag through
a long scree slope that continues up the south-west face until
reaching the base of some crags under the west face of the summit.
The first half of the scramble through these rocks seems difficult
but can be overcome in a few minutes. With a final effort you arrive
at 6,629 m, the highest part of the Tres Cruces Central.
The descent follows the same route as the ascent.
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• No special permits* are required to climb Tres Cruces Central 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. 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 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 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.
• There is no water in BC but in the other camp sites you can melt
the nearby ice.
• 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 Nevado Tres Cruces Central will also require such a permit.
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