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Cerro Dos Conos (5790 and 5880m) | Alta Catamarca, Argentina

Thanks to their easy access along an old mining road, these peaks will allow us to make a high altitude ascent in a single day.  The views from the top are immense.  It's likely that we will have to go around some snowfield in the first part.

Area: Alta Catamarca, Argentina               Andes

Type of activity: Expeditions

I also recommend reading:  Index of the area     Villages and refuges     Recommendations     Transports

1 Map Argentine IGM

2 Diagram

3 Dos Conos Left

 4 Dos Conos Right

SUMMARY

Difficulty:  A high altitude climbing trek, extremely dry climate and often windy.  Distances longer than they seem.

Recommended material: High mountain-expedition equipment.

Best time: November-March

Difference in level: Depending on how far you go by 4x4, between 700 and 1000 m.

Times: -

Map:  Carta topográfica-Hoja 2769-17 Paso de San Francisco 1:100.000 IGM Argentino or Alpenvereinskarte 0/13 Nevado Ojos del Salado 1:100.000 (German).

Recommendations: Dangerous without previous acclimatisation, as you go very high by car.

Other possibilities: You can go up one of them or both in a circuit (much longer).

Waypoints in UPS UTM/Datum WGS84 position format: Where we started to walk (highly variable depending on the state of the track)  19J 0569933  7032366   Dos Conos Left  19J 0569240 7035096 Dos Conos Right  19J 0571796 7035383

ACCESS BY 4x4

A little before the Paso de San Francisco and coming to "Las Grutas" (1-2 km), there is a track that goes off to the right, not well indicated at first, but later very clear, which winds upwards.  This is an old mining road, and we will go as far as the snow allows (snowfields very common), and will most probably go out at around 4900-5200m. Before this track, another comes out that diverts a lot to the right of Dos Conos, this is in a very poor state and would lead us to Peinado, don’t get the wrong one.

 5 Dos Conos from Cerro Bertrand

6

7 Dos Conos Volcanoes

8

ASCENT

We walk up the same track until it starts to disappear and then we will go to the right, towards the summit on the left. At the foot of this peak, we can choose between doing the summit before us of 5790m, or the main summit of 5880m (on the right).  We can get to the main summit along the ridge if it is not windy, or flank to the right and climb the back closer to the summit. It is also possible to connect the two by the ridge, but this makes a very long day.

 9 We start to climb around the snowfield (“penitentes”)

 10 The invisible enemy, the wind

 11 A lot of wind, enormous lenticularis cloud

 12 We gave up at the rock on the right

Different names we can find along the route

Cerro Dos Conos, Dos Conos Volcano

Date of information: 2007

Date of the route: Attempt December 2006

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