Ep 79 - Cerro Toco summit, breathtaking views at 5604 meters in the Andes - 4K

Cerro Toco is a stratovolcano located in the eastern part of the Atacama Desert in Chile's Antofagasta Region. Located about 6 km south of the border between Bolivia and Chile and 12 km SE of the Juriques and Licancabur volcanoes, Cerro Toco offers views from the top that are breathtaking. At 5,604 meters, and reaching just into the “Extremely High Altitude” range, our walk up Cerro Toco may seem challenging. After all, by comparison, Denali is North America's highest peak at 6,190 meters, Mount Elbrus, at an elevation of 5,642 meters, is the highest mountain in Europe, and Mount Kilimanjaro, another dormant stratovolcano in Tanzania, is 5,895 meters, and the highest mountain in Africa. I had spent 5 days climbing up that 5,895 meters on Kilimanjaro years earlier, starting at 1,600 meters. My high camp on Mount Aconcagua (the highest peak in the Americas) was Nido de Cóndores, situated at 5,550 meters, where I slept at -20C, before my summit push. Also in the Andes, with a starting elevation of 2,900 meters for the climb, I spent 9 days on Aconcagua, solo and unsupported. But don't be fooled, this is the high Antofagasta plateau of the Andes, with Cerro Toco in the Chajnantor Scientific Reserve. The Atacama Cosmology Telescope and the Huan Tran Telescope are located on the western side of the mountain at approximately 5,200 m. This made the approach easy, and 430 meters in vertical gain to the summit a beautiful walk, and very humble endeavour by mountaineering standards. The views from the top, however, were ever bit spectacular! Since Cerro Toco consists of 2 main volcanic domes, we'll avoid the standard route, and climb our own line up to the slightly lower (5,600 meter) East summit first, before traversing the broad col to the 5,604 meter West summit. This should allow us to enjoy full 360 degree views! Here are some key moments: 0:26 – Intro scenes 1:12 – About Cerro Toco 1:53 – View of the Atacama Desert, and some vicuñas crossing 2:43 – The trail-head. Route guides say that 4WD is required, but not if you simply take the second left near the top instead of the first. 6:20 – First good view of both summits, 5,600 meter East on the left, and 5,604 meter West summit on the right. 11:52 – Enjoying the view, and taking one of several short rests. At 5,600 meters the barometric pressure is roughly half that of sea level, leaving you with only about 50% of the oxygen available at sea level. The only way to mitigate this is to spend several days to acclimatize, allowing your blood to thicken with more red blood cells. I did not have time to fit acclimation into the itinerary on this trip, so taking it slow is the way to go. 12:40 – Leaving the main route here to reach the East summit 16:16 – Arriving at the East summit, with a breathtaking panoramic view of the Atacama Desert below. Few people come up here (you can see no footprints in the old snow), but the view to the East, and the Atacama Desert, is maybe nicer than from the West summit. 16:57 – Getting a good panorama of my climbing partner as he reaches the top. Behind him we see Volcan Licancabur on the left, and Volcan Juriques on the right, these 2 summits form the Chile/Bolivia border. 18:44 – Interesting erosion lines in the ground, as I start the traverse over to the West summit 19:03 – There is no path between the two summits, but route finding is easy in this clear weather. In the clouds, or white-out, this would not be the case. The temperature was a very nice -4C up here, but it can drop to -30C, or lower, very quickly. These elevations always require preparation, and respect, as your water can freeze quickly, even if you don't, and any injury impacting mobility can quickly become a very serious situation. 21:10 – Down on the col, and back onto the main route, for the final push up to the West summit 23:18 – The last steps up to the West summit at 5604 m. 30:52 – The descent, with a short final stop to enjoy the view 31:30 – The drive back down the access road to Cerro Toco If you enjoyed this please consider hitting the like button, hype, and subscribing. This helps the channel get noticed, so that others get a chance to see it, and may just surprise you with some interesting new videos! 100% of the ad revenue that this channel generates is donated to charities working to conserve the amazing planet that this channel explores. Thank you!