San José (5850 m / 19,193 ft.)

Training for the Aconcagua

This peak is easy to reach, provides an uncomplicated climb at high altitude, has one of the few shelters in Central Chile, and is situated in the middle of fantastic scenery. No wonder the San José Volcano is becoming increasingly popular! More and more mountaineers from all over the world come here to get used to the altitude and train for the Aconcagua ascent. The low initial elevation of the trail, only 2370 m/7780 ft., makes the San José an ideal training site for climbing the much higher Aconcagua because the altitude gain is similar for both ascents using the trails detailed here.

The San Jose tour described here is for a six-day trek; without previous acclimatization, however, you should not do it in less than 8 days. These extra days are important for better acclimatization and can be used to take in supplies to higher altitudes. We do not recommend leaving strong-smelling foodstuffs because of the foxes living even well beyond 5000 m/16400 ft.. If you have another rest day, not only will you increase your chances of reaching the summit but the entire tour will also be more enjoyable and less tiring. You might not necessarily need an ice axe and rope, if you have previous experience and according to snow conditions. However, you absolutely must take crampons. Remember to take sufficient fuel for the stove to melt snow; it will be indispensable once you have passed the shelter.

Starting point

Santiago

How to get there

The road through the Cajón del Maipo ravine leads through the little town San José, then past Baños Morales towards Baños Colina. Some 47 km/29 miles after San José, the gravel road crosses a bridge over the Colina river. Right after the bridge there is a goat pen where you can leave the car. The family living there will provide you with fresh cheese, organize pack animals, and keep an eye on the car. The starting point of the tour is at 2370 m/7780 ft.

Day 1
(5 h, 700 m/2300 ft. , 40 m/130 ft. )

A sandy road leads along the slope on the right bank of the river towards Baños Morales. After only a short distance we turn right onto a trail that leads, slightly ascending, around the striking El Morro rock.

After about one hour the landscape begins to change. The rocks give way to the lush meadows of the Engorda valley in front of us. In this broad valley the trail branches off in all directions. We do not follow the valley uphill but hike across it northwards until we find a small bridge across the Engorda stream at 2500 m/8200 ft. (200 m/650 ft. , 40 m/130 ft. ). An alternative, if the water is low, is to follow the valley and cross the river at a suitable spot.

The usual route carries on northwards to the Marmolejo mountain through the valley of the Estero Colina that is completely covered with rubble. From here we can see the thick glaciers of the long summit ridge. To the southeast, the Engorda Valley continues and in the east the mighty, rounded block of the San José rises. Below it, two brooks plunge down over the rocky slope. We walk some 45 minutes through the slightly ascending valley (80 m/260 ft. ) towards the right brook. At 2600 m/8530 ft. a clearly marked trail begins on the south bank of the right brook. This trail winds its way uphill over 520 m/1700 ft., crossing the brook a couple of times and reaching the Plantat shelter at 3130 m/10270 ft. after about 2 hours.

While this shelter is not serviced, it does offer sufficient "luxury" for a pleasant acclimatization day that we use to transport gear up to the next camp. A half-hour to the Josecito Mountain at 3290 m/10794 ft. offers a great view of the San José. The Josecito lies southwest of the shelter and is easily recognized by the cross on its peak.

Day 2
(5 h, 980 m/3215 ft. )

In front of the shelter, a brook has been dammed to form a little pond. On the other side of the brook, the trail starts going uphill over the scree slope. Be prepared to find snow here until the end of December. After climbing eastwards for about one hour (390 m/1280 ft. ), we arrive at the ridge called Lajas because of its rock plates (campsites). The ridge stretches in the shape of an arch from Josecito as far as the slopes of the San José.

Between this ridge and the San José lays the upper part of the Engorda Valley, which is covered with snow. Without losing altitude we continue the ascent for another 430 m/1411 ft., it takes us about an hour and a half. At almost 4000 m/13120 ft., below the imposing sérac, there are some rocky islands in the middle of the snow. Be careful! Below the glacier, the risk of falling rock is very high!!!

Our route now has the characteristics of a ski run as it continues uphill westwards around the ridge where the sérac sits. After another 45 minutes, at 4100 m/13450 ft. (160 m/525 ft. ), we arrive at some more rock islands that offer good camping possibilities. Alternatively, there are better places to camp at 4200 m/13780 ft. and 4330 m/14200 ft.

Depending on the season, the route is marked with stone figures and all the campsites are on the stony ridge stretching from Josecito at the Plantat shelter over the Lajas up to here. From now on, drinking water can only be obtained from melting snow, which is why it is imperative to carry sufficient fuel!

Day 3
(2 h, 450 m/1480 ft. )

Depending on the condition of the snow, we either follow the partly visible trail marked with stone piles that runs across the scree slope or climb up the snowy valley. From 4300 m/14100 ft. we either climb over the moraine (be careful, the rocks lie on bare ice and the terrain is extremely slippery!!!), or else go up through the snow between this northern moraine and the next slope south. Depending on the weather, standing rows of ice pinnacles can be in the way and make you sweat.

After climbing for 2 hours (450 m/1480 ft. ), we reach a beautiful campsite at about 4530 m/14860 ft. with several flat places. In the afternoons, melted water often murmurs through the nearby rocky area and spares us the lengthy task of melting snow. We can use the afternoon to do another acclimatization tour and transport gear up to the next camp.

Day 4
(2.5 h, 430 m/1410 ft. )

From the campsite, we hike southwards through rough boulders straight to the slope. Here the trail should be visible, zigzagging uphill over loose rock to the ridge. After about one hour (160 m/525 ft. ) we reach the upper part of the ridge at 4700 m/15420 ft. We are now directly above the sérac that we passed on day 2 where there are great places to camp.

On the ridge, the trail continues to zigzag eastwards over loose scree and rock. To the south, the terrain stretches slightly descending to the nearby glacier and, to the north, a rim stretches along the mountain ridge. Right below the rim, the terrain gives way to steep scree slopes. There are more possibilities for campsites to the left and to the right of the trail at 4800 m/15750 ft., 4850 m/15910 ft. and 4960 m/16270 ft.. The camp at 4960 m/16270 ft. can be reached after climbing for about 1.5 hours (270 m/890 ft. ).

Day 5
(5 h, 900 m/2950 ft. )

Summit day! A trail continues climbing through the rubble to the upper part of the glacier, crossing it in a short distance and leading straight to the pass between the north and south summits. Depending on the condition of the snow and visibility, it might be recommendable to climb over the entire glacier. When we did this tour, we did not see one single crevasse, but we did need crampons. The ascent from the camp at 4960 m/16270 ft. up to the Portezuelo pass at some 5400 m/17700 ft. (440 m/1440 ft. ) takes at least two hours, the last 500 m/1600 ft. before the pass was already free of ice.

To the south lies the peak of the volcano. However, the highest visible peak is not yet the summit... As is typical of many volcanoes, the San José also has a "false summit". An arduous 1.5 hours climb (280 m/919 ft. ) takes us to the edge of the crater at about 5700 m/18700 ft. To the east lies the highest peak known as Cumbre Internacional (5850 m/19193 ft., west of the slightly lower sulfur finger of the Chilean Summit that we reach after another half hour.

If you want to make sure you have reached the highest spot, walk around the entire crater, if you have still energy left. You will enjoy the magnificent view of the heavily glaciated Marmolejo to the north with its steep-dropping horn, which is especially impressive.

Go back by the same route. Starting off from the camp at 4960 m/16270 ft., the climb to the summit and the descent to the Plantat shelter can both be managed on one long day.