Chilean Andes Cerro El Plomo 5 Day Trek

 

We get up early to start our adventure and are driven towards the Andes mountain range, heading up a scenic winding road to ski centre La Parva with its incredible panoramic views of snow-peaked mountains. Here in La Parva we set up camp and trek around the surrounding area to start our acclimatisation. During dinner we discuss details for the upcoming days. We stay overnight at La Parva.

 

After breakfast we start walking towards Piedra Numerada along a trekking trail bordering La Parva mountain range. We cross small valleys formed by the last glacial age and hopefully see Andean condors flying overhead and other Andes mountain fauna including foxes, rodents and birds. The vegetation is mainly composed of small flowers and bushes. We finally reach Piedra Numerada, a huge mountain boulder in a small valley. Here we set up camp, explore the surroundings, and enjoy a plentiful dinner. 

 

In the morning we begin our hike towards the next camp located at the foot of Iver glacier, covering one of the slopes of El Plomo. Trekking will be at moderate pace due to the high altitude. As we advance, the mountain valley gradually gets narrower and incredible views of the Andean mountain ridges come into full view. After three to four hours walking we reach La Hoya del Plomo and marvel at its hanging glaciers. We set up camp and enjoy free time exploring before the evening meal where we discuss the final details of tomorrow's summit attack. Overnight La Hoya del Plomo.

 

Today we get up very early and begin our trek around 5am, retracing yesterday's steps until we reach the path leading up to the summit. We first head to Los Espejos, where the trail turns towards Iver glacier, and then we continue up to the Agostini Refugio. At this point we take a break and mentally prepare ourselves for the tough moraine in front of us.

 

After conquering the moraine (small towers of rock indicate the finish) we continue walking until we reach La Pirca del Inca at 5.050 meters (16,568 feet). This rock wall is famous due to its proximity to the discovery of an Inca child mummy in 1954 - known as the Boy of El Plomo, this the first frozen high-altitude Inca mummy to be found. 

 

Here we put on crampons and start walking carefully across the glacier for about twenty minutes to reach the other side. Then it's just one hour more until we're at the top of the summit! The view from the top is unbeatable, with Andean peaks as far as the eye can see. We can even see famous mountain Aconcagua at its 6,959 metres in height! After a well-deserved break and a lot of photo snapping we head back to base camp at La Hoya for dinner and well-deserved sleep.

 

We descend to Valley Nevado ski centre on our final day in the mountains, where our transportation awaits us. Driving down the winding mountain road en route back to Santiago we enjoy our final views of the snowy peaks and mountain ridges. Adios Cordillera de los Andes!