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Ascent of Cerro Tomasamil on 2011-01-04

Climber: Rob Woodall

Others in Party:

Petter Bjørstad
Duane Gilliland
Adam Helman
Greg Slayden
Adam Walker
----Only Party on Mountain

Date:

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Motorized Transport to Trailhead:

4x4 Vehicle

Peak:

Cerro Tomasamil

Location:

Bolivia

Elevation:

5829 m / 19127 ft

Ascent Trip Report

We climbed this summit two days after Cerros de Cañapa. A quick roadside GPS waypoint suggested a saddle elevation of 4248m (parent = Canapa, Prom >=1604m).

Tomasamil is located some distance E of the main (dirt) road. The terrain is easy and our drivers agreed to drive the two Landcruisers cross country as close as possible to the base of the mountain. We left the road at S21.26287 W68.02233 and set up camp 3km further E at S21.26765 W68.00219, 4346m. This left us with a 1500m ascent but the distance was now more manageable. We spend a leisurely day enjoying the sunshine and the views of Ollague and Canapa, acclimatising and preparing for tomorrow’s ascent. The one drawback of the site was the dust blown up by the fresh breeze.

Next morning we made an early start on the ascent. Petter and I started a little later than the rest of the party and, perhaps benefitting from the full daylight, took a more direct route and caught the other four just before the N ridge, where we rested (S21.27190 W67.97699, 4834m). We had chosen the N ridge as it appeared to offer a simple ascent, and so it proved. There was some very minor scrambling and some loose ground but the ascent was simple, completed in 6 hours. All six of us summited (Adam H despite his cough) and we enjoyed over an hour resting / sunbathing before the descent. My GPSr at summit recorded S21.29245 W67.96843; elevation readings over an hour or so were 5852m, 5855m, 5860m.

Most of us descended NNW making the by now-traditional quick and easy scree descent. Adam H had a few items to recover along the ascent route including a fossil which he’d found: we regrouped near the foot of the N ridge before returning to camp.

Timings: camp 0610, summit 1210-1335, camp 1630.

NOTE: the GPX track extends to the main (dirt) highway.

The next morning we crossed the border into Chile (2 hours leaving Bolivia, 1 hour entering Chile) and started our drive to Ojos del Salado which was the main group summit goal of the trip.

Cerro Tomasamil photos

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

1503 m / 4934 ft

Extra Gain:

10 m / 33 ft

Distance:

16 km / 9.9 mi

Route:

north ridge

Trailhead:

northwest slope 4346 m / 14259 ft

Grade/Class:

YDS 2

Quality:

8 (on a subjective 1-10 scale)

Route Conditions:

Unmaintained Trail

Gear Used:

Tent Camp

Weather:

Pleasant, Calm, Clear

Ascent Statistics

Time Up:

6 Hours

Descent Statistics

Time Down:

2 Hours 55 Minutes

GPS Data for Ascent/Trip

GPS Waypoints - Hover or click to see name and lat/long
Peaks: climbed and unclimbed by Rob Woodall
Click Here for a Full Screen Map
Note: GPS Tracks may not be accurate, and may not show the best route. Do not follow this route blindly. Conditions change frequently. Use of a GPS unit in the outdoors, even with a pre-loaded track, is no substitute for experience and good judgment. Peakbagger.com accepts NO resposibility or liability from use of this data.

Download this GPS track as a GPX file

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