“UNLIKE THE MEDIOCRE, INTREPID SPIRITS SEEK VICTORY OVER THOSE THINGS THAT SEEM IMPOSSIBLE.” - FERDINAND MAGELLAN
Leonera was my first 5,000 meter mountain.
I had the honor to climb it with my long-time friend Juan José Moral, an experienced mountaineer.
January 29 - 31, 2022. Andes Mountains near Santiago, Chile.
It’s a short drive (just over 1 hour) from Santiago to La Parva MTB park.
You can take the chairlift or start climbing from the parking lot.
It’s a 5 to 6-hour high altitude trekking to get to Cancha de Carrera base camp. We slept there on a Friday night, the next day was our summit push, and by Sunday afternoon, we were back home.
This is one of the advantages of living in Santiago. Chile is such a narrow country with the mighty Andes Mountains very close from the capital city that you can climb high altitude mountains on a weekend.
The highest altitude recommended to do a weekend climb is a maximum of 5,500; higher than that and you will need a few more days for proper acclimatization.
