Highlight

The possibility of ascending a mountain of more than 5.000 m. (16.404 ft.) of altitude, accessible and technically simple, en the midst of the Andean Range and with spectacular views to deep valleys and gigantic bordering mountains. We will cross landscapes of a lunar aspect. This ascent is for people who are in good shape and enjoy a greater challenge.

Description

Day 1:

From the Franciscano lagoon (3.600 m. – 11.803 ft.), a small body of water with the shape of an eye where the ski courts of La Parva end, we will begin ascending a hillside up to a hill called Falsa Parva (Fake Parva). From here, we will keep walking on the path that continues almost flat in the midst of a rocky landscape, desert and mystic. The majestic mountains of La Paloma and Altar are now visible to the north.

After 2 hours of walking we will reach the slopes of the mountain La Parva , with a beautiful view of the mountain Pintor that shows its multiple colors and horizontal strata: green, purple, brown, orange. In this place we will camp and rest to be able to adapt to the height, waiting for the challenge that we will meet very early the next day. Here we will be at 3.950 m. (12.951 ft.).

Day 2:

Early morning, we will set out to reach the peak of the mountain Leonera. We will cross an enormous high plateau, which is totally dry and is called Cancha de Carreras. It is not hard to imagine we are in some extraterrestrial place. We will walk on an edge that takes us to the mountain, while the first rays of light appear and the cold is the most intense. In front, the mountain of El Plomo is hypnotic with its hanging glacier. We will begin ascending following the path that zigzags through the southwest face. We will pass by a simple area of rocks to reach a tiny plain covered in snow. From here, a last effort by the print that ascends in a zigzag up to the peak.

Once in the peak, the setting is overwhelming. Gigantic glaciated mountains like the Marmolejo, Piuquenes, and Tupungato rise to the south, while the mountain of Aconcagua is crowned to the north as the highest mountain of America. A global vision of the Central Andes.

We will descend and we will be at the campsite past noon. After a well deserved break, we will disarm camp and return to the vehicle at the Franciscano Lagoon to be in Santiago in the afternoon. You will have felt height sickness, the cold, and the wind, but you will have seen incredible landscapes and reached your goal.