Acclimatization Process
This is the first and most important step to reach the summit in a good time! Even after you drove with your Gravelbike 350km across the desert! On 26th of December 2024 we arrived in Santiago de Chile and we started our 26 day acclimatization process just after we arrived at Copiapo three day's later. The same day we drove to a nice oasis at around 3000m in the middle of the desert. We had a comfortable night in our tent's and went for a walk in the morning. After a nice lunch we drove further up to Laguna Santa Rosa/Maricunga where we later come back and spend new years eve! During our stay there we climbed the 5073m Dona Ines volcano. This volcano is part of the Pastillitos volcanos next to Santa Rosa. From this first two steps we drove up to our next step...
Step 1: Acclimatize below 4000m: Santa Rosa, Maricunga, Pastillitos | Laguna Santa Rosa
From Santa Rosa at 3860m we drove up to Laguna Verde a Salt lake at around 4300m. At this height we spend all together 4 nights in the old "police station". We needed this time next to the sea and the "hot springs" nearby to get back a litle bit of power! Andi started after some rear brake problems at the nearby road with his bicycle training. After a while our Body adapted to the low air pressure and we could go higher up to our next Shelter MURRAY!
Step 2: Acclimatize to 4300m: Laguna Verde | Laguna Verde
Refugio Murray. also known as Refugio Claudio Lucero is a Shelter at 4500m on the junction to Ojos del Salado - Barrancas Blancas - Laguna Verde and Copiapo.... Murray had been a great place to meet a lot of nice people, charge up our batteries to have enough energy to stay via Starlink in contact with the rest of the world. We had also a 10 day snow period during our stay at Murray and could not go up higher.
Step 3: Murray! 4500m: Barrancas Blancas Blancas, Nevado San Francisco, Mulas Muertas | Refugio Murray / Claudio Lucero
The Refugio Atacama is located on the north slopes of the Ojos del Salado. This two Shelters are placed on a wide plateau at a height of 5200m. It is a perfect spot to spend one or two nights there before you went up to Tejos!
Step 4: Acclimatize to 5200m: Atacama
Refugio Tejos is a high-altitude camp at 5800m on the north side of the Ojos. This Shelter get used by a lot of climbers to acclimatize next to the summit. The Shelter is next to the way up to the start of the "normal route" to the Ojos and the "rocky channel" on the other side to Amistad. They have installed this Refugio after a helicopter crash in the area, to have a shelter during this work...
Step 5: Acclimatize to 5800m: Tejos
Refugio Amistad 6100m! This Shelter had been build during high-altitude Truck Expedition with Matthias Jeschke! The coldest night during this trip... -15 degree Celsius inside the Shelter! At this temperature in the morning everything becomes laborious! If you need to be more acclimatized then just reaching the summit for your project on the Ojos, there is no way to get around this Shelter for a couple of nights! Be mentally prepared!
Step 6: Refugio Amistad 6100m: Polacos 1, Polacos 2, West Route | Refugio Amistad
Everything started with the Idea in 2021! A lot of research and development of the Idea! Preparation and Training in the Alps and on the Bike, the acclimatization right on the spot, then back down to the pacific coast and from there, after all this Kilometers on the bike, the walk up from Refugio Atacama to Tejos, now very early in the morning it is time to feel the motivation for the last but hardest part! The run to the summit!
Ojos del Salado 6893m | Ojos del Salado
One of the first problems had been not our fault! 3/4 of our luggage did not arrive in Santiago together with us! We had to wait in the area and went to a ski resort in the Andes called Portillo next to the boarder to Argentina! Two of three lost luggage arrived on the next day! One of my Bags did not arrive! Not funny, but we had to go north to the Atacama. After a lot of calls and mails the Bag arrived at Copiapo Aeroporto 11 day's later.... dont fly iberia and have problems with your luggage.... then you have a real big problem! At Laguna Verde at 4300m Andi prepared his bike for his first training session, during preparation he noticed his rear wheel brake did not do anything. The cause of the problem was clear... a small, little, tiny air bubble at around 380m above sea level like in his Home village is no problem at this height! But if you go up more the 4000m in altitude... this small, little, tiny air bubble in a hydraulic system becomes huge! And a huge Problem as well! 260km away down in Copiapo we found a bike-store... problem solved! Imagine you ride a bike and the Wind blows from wrong direction, not funny! Imagine the Wind speed lies at around 50 to 80km/h in average, every afternoon ..... At 10th of January weather around the Ojos turned into... every day some snow, or snow storm, or sometimes just extreme fog.... That means we had to stay down at 4500m and wait for better weather to go up again!
Problems, Luggage, Snow, Wind, Brake.... | Copiapo