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ANDES MOUNTAIN RANGE · CATAMARCA · ARGENTINA · FEBRUARY 2027
Expedition to Pissis (6,792 m) + San Francisco (6,018 m)
Thirteen days in one of the most remote areas of the Andes: gradual acclimatization, a 6,000-meter training climb, and the final ascent of the second-highest volcano on Earth.
On February 7, 1937, the Poles Stefan Osiecki and Jan Szczepanski were the first to reach the summit of Pissis. Since then, very few people have attempted it again. We are in the Andes Mountains, in the far northwest of Argentina, in the province of Catamarca, one of the most remote areas of the country. We’ll spend seven days gradually acclimatizing from Cortaderas, ascending and descending between 3,300 and 4,650 m, passing through Laguna Azul and the Balcón de los Seis Miles. Afterward, we’ll do some serious training before tackling our real goal: Cerro San Francisco (6,018 m), on the border with Chile. And with that under our belts, we’ll rotate through high-altitude camps up to 5,700 m for the final push to the summit of Pissis (6,792 m), the third-highest mountain in the Americas and the second-highest volcano on Earth. True high-altitude mountaineering, with camping, glaciers, and extreme altitude. Groups of 2 to 6 people with certified guides.
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Why this expedition?
6,000 m of training
Summit on San Francisco Mountain (6,018 m), on the border with Chile, before heading toward Pissis.
Remote area
Laguna Azul and Balcón del Pissis, deep in the Andes Mountains.
Final Assault
High-altitude fields, a glacier, and a summit at 6,792 m—the second-highest volcano on Earth.
Is this expedition right for you?
- Do you want to explore a place where very few people have been? Pissis is one of the least-visited mountains of its height.
- Do you want to sleep in a tent at an altitude of more than 5,500 m, as a reward for being where almost no one else is?
- Are you drawn to the idea of spending two weeks offline, with no cell service or noise—just you and the puna?
- Would you like to see the sky as you rarely will: free of light pollution, at an altitude of more than 6,000 meters?
- Are you looking for a small group and a shared experience with people who are also looking for something different from the usual?
The Trip in Pictures
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Meeting point in Fiambalá, a town known for its hot springs and sand dunes west of Catamarca, also famous as a stop on the Dakar Rally route. We’ll set out in 4×4 trucks toward Cortaderas: the landscape changes abruptly, from the valleys of Fiambalá to the open puna, with the first volcanoes peeking over the horizon. We’ll check in at Cortaderas (3,300 m) and hold a general briefing on the expedition: equipment, logistics, and the plan for the coming days.
Elevation: 3,300 m
Meals: dinner
Lodging: Hostería Cortaderas
First round-trip hike from Cortaderas, climbing to 3,800 m. A gentle pace, staying well-hydrated, and my first real steps at high altitude.
Elevation: 3,300 → 3,800 m
Hike: 7 km, 3 h
Elevation gain: +500 m / −500 m
Meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Lodging: Hostería Cortaderas
Second acclimatization stage: We’ll climb to 4,478 m on Cerro Falso Morocho and spend the night again in Cortaderas, using the “climb high, sleep low” technique.
Elevation: 4,000 → 4,478 m
Hike: 6.5 km, 4 hours
Elevation gain/loss: +500 m / −500 m
Meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Lodging: Hostería Cortaderas
The third and final stage of the acclimatization program—the most demanding of the three—will take us up to 4,645 m at Las Peladas before we descend again to spend the night at Cortaderas.
Elevation: 3,760 → 4,645 m
Hike: 10 km, 5 h
Elevation gain/loss: +950 m / −950 m
Meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Lodging: Hostería Cortaderas
Active rest day: We’ll review and prepare all our high-altitude gear (crampons, ice axe, expedition clothing), undergo a medical checkup, and go over the ascent plan with the guide. This will be our last night with a bed and a shower before we head into the high altitudes.
Elevation: 3,300 m
Meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Lodging: Hostería Cortaderas
Transfer by 4×4 to the San Francisco High Camp, at 4,770 m: the expedition’s first night in a tent. We’ll set up camp and organize all our gear to make the summit push the next day.
Altitude: 3,300 → 4,770 m
Meals: full board, with fresh provisions from the 4x4s
Accommodations: tents, 1:2 ratio
From Campo de Altura, we’ll travel by 4×4 to Paso de San Francisco (on the border with Chile) and hike to the summit of Cerro San Francisco, one of the most accessible 6,000-meter peaks in the world and the best test of acclimatization and equipment before Pissis. We’ll return by 4×4 to Cortaderas to sleep in a bed one last time.
Elevation: ~4,770 → 6,018 m
Hike: 13 km, 9–11 hours
Elevation gain/loss: +1,300 m / −1,300 m
Transportation: 2.5 hours
Meals: full board
Lodging: Hostería Cortaderas
A great 4×4 trek to the Mar del Plata Base Camp, at the foot of Mount Pissis. Along the way, we’ll pass by Laguna Azul and the Balcón del Pissis, where we’ll catch our first glimpses of the area’s peaks, which rise over 6,000 meters.
Elevation: 3,300 → 4,600 m
4×4 transfer: 8 hours
Meals: breakfast at the hotel, lunch and dinner with fresh provisions from the 4x4s (not yet freeze-dried)
Accommodations: tents, 1:2 ratio
We will climb from Base Camp to Camp 1, at 5,400 m, carrying our summit gear. It will be our first real night of the expedition spent in a tent at this altitude.
Elevation: 4,600 → 5,400 m
Hike: 7.4 km, +850 m, 4 hrs
Meals: freeze-dried breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Accommodations: Camp 1, 1 tent per 2 people
We’ll climb from Camp 1 to Camp 2, at 5,700 m, carrying the rest of the summit gear. At this altitude, getting a good night’s rest is already a challenge.
Elevation: 5,400 → 5,700 m
Hike: 4 km, +300 m, 3 h
Meals: freeze-dried breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Accommodations: Camp 2, shared tent (1:2 ratio)
The big day. We’ll set out at dawn from Camp 2 and climb up the glacier, using crampons on the final sections, to the summit of Pissis, the second-highest volcano on Earth. The descent is long, all the way back to the trucks or Camp 1, depending on the group’s stamina.
Elevation: 5,700 → 6,792 m
Elevation gain: +1,182 m (ascent), up to −1,500 m if descending the entireroute
Hike: 10 km, 14 h
Meals: trail food / freeze-dried meals upon arrival; it is recommended to bring energy gels and bars, at least 1,500 kcal
Accommodations: Camp 2 or Camp 1, tents at a 1:2 ratio
Reserve day for the program, with a buffer in case of bad weather. The guide will assess the best day to attempt the summit, and depending on that decision, the schedule may vary slightly—this maximizes the chances of reaching the summit.
We’ll break camp and drive down in 4x4s to Cortaderas and then Fiambalá. Official end of the expedition.
Transportation: 12 hours by 4×4
Meals: breakfast and lunch (dinner not included)
Still have questions about the day-to-day itinerary?
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Meet Your Guides
Sebastián Aldana
An Argentine mountaineer from Jujuy and a high-altitude mountain guide with more than 30 years of experience. On September 30, 2016, he reached the summit of Manaslu (8,163 m, the eighth-highest mountain in the world) without supplemental oxygen, becoming one of the first Argentines to do so. In addition to leading international expeditions, he teaches training workshops for mountain guides in Jujuy.
Fede Lombardi
Founder & mountain guide, Vertidissim
Born in Córdoba and raised in Buenos Aires, Fede left a career spanning more than 15 years at a technology company to devote himself to what he’s truly passionate about: taking people to the mountains. He settled in Girona in 2022 and has since led more than 30 expeditions to 10 different destinations, including the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Aosta Valley, and the Costa Brava. He is a certified low- and mid-mountain guide, a certified cycling guide, and an ultradistance trail runner with over 15 years of experience. He is also a triathlete and an open-water swimming specialist on the Costa Brava. More than 100 verified reviews on Google attest to the quality of his work, with an average rating of 4.9/5.
“Happiness is only real when it’s shared” — Chris McCandless.
What Our Customers Say
Things to Know
What's Included
- High-mountain guide (1:4 ratio) and assistants
- 13-day expedition: 7 days of gradual acclimatization, summit of Cerro San Francisco, and an attempt to summit Pissis
- Full lodging: Hostería Cortaderas (6 nights) and tent camps at high altitudes
- All meals described in the itinerary (in Cortaderas and freeze-dried/expedition meals in the tent)
- Transportation in 4×4 SUVs throughout the expedition
- Expedition communication equipment (satellite radio, Starlink, or BGAN)
What is NOT included
- Flights or transportation to Fiambalá (meeting point)
- Personal and technical mountaineering equipment
- Travel Insurance and High-Mountain Rescue
- Meals not listed in the itinerary (for example, dinner on the 13th)
- Tips
Additional Services
- Single room in Cortaderas, with a surcharge (please contact us)
- Single tent in the high-altitude camps, with a surcharge (please contact us)
Physical Fitness Level and Required Experience
Required Equipment
- 60–80 L Expedition Backpack
- At least one 1-liter Nalgene-style container (one additional container is recommended)
- 12-point crampons (aluminum or steel)
- Ice Axe
- Glacier goggles (Category 4)
- High-altitude down clothing (jacket + pants)
- Waterproof hardshell jacket, min. 10k
- Warm high-altitude gloves
- Comfortable hiking boots + plastic boots or high-altitude double boots for summit days
- Hat, balaclava, and neck warmer
- Sleeping bag: -10 °C comfort rating (ideally -15 °C)
- Insulation and inflatable mattress
- Thermal base layer shirt and long thermal base layer pants
- Technical long trekking pants and waterproof overpants
- Headlamp + 2 sets of rechargeable batteries
- Warm socks
Recommended equipment:
- Trekking poles
- Extra sunglasses and high-altitude sunscreen
- Power bank or spare battery for the headlamp
- Earplugs for sleeping in a tent
- Wide-mouth Nalgene bottle for nighttime use inside the tent
Accommodations
Hostería Cortaderas (3,300 m). A mountain oasis right on the Ruta de los Seismiles, with 20 rooms and capacity for 85 guests, including double and triple rooms, as well as 5- to 6-person suites for groups. All rooms have private bathrooms, and the hotel’s design—featuring enclosed inner courtyards—provides protection from the strong winds of the mountain range. It has its own restaurant serving local specialties (the potato cake is the most popular dish), Wi-Fi, and device charging stations. This will be our base of operations for the first few days: we’ll be staying here on nights 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7.
Base Camps 1 and 2. From the High-Altitude Camp onward, we will sleep in shared tents, with two people per tent. Each participant must bring their own sleeping bag (with a comfort rating of at least -10 °C) and an insulated sleeping pad. There are no bathrooms at the high-altitude camps: basic needs are taken care of on the mountain following the expedition’s protocol (non-organic waste is collected and brought down). Meals are freeze-dried on most nights at camp.
Dates for 2027 and price
3,800 € per person
Feb. 13–25
What's Included
How to Make a Reservation
What's Not Included
Before reviewing the terms and conditions
Get all the trip details in a PDF: itinerary, required gear, and conditions. We’ll send it to you right away.
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Terms and Conditions
Climate and Security Clause
This decision rests solely with the guide at the time; it is made based on the information available that day and is not subject to negotiation. The group’s safety always takes precedence over the itinerary. Whenever possible, an equivalent alternative activity will be proposed, or the itinerary will be rearranged to take advantage of better weather windows on other days.
Days or activities canceled due to weather or safety concerns are not eligible for a refund, as they result from a safety decision and not from a cancellation of service by Vertidissim.
In the specific case of the summit day, since it involves crossing a glacier, the decision on whether or not to attempt the summit is also based on the glacier’s conditions (crevasses, snow cover, overall condition) in addition to the weather.
Reservation and Cancellation Policies
Cancellation by the participant:
More than 60 days before departure: 100% refund of the amount paid, minus the deposit.
Between 60 and 30 days before departure: 50% refund of the amount paid, minus the deposit.
Between 29 and 15 days before: 25% refund of the amount paid, minus the deposit.
Less than 15 days before or no-show: no refund.
Cancellation by Vertidissim: If the trip is canceled for reasons beyond the participant’s control (not to be confused with the weather clause, which applies to specific activities during a trip that has already begun), 100% of the amount paid will be refunded, or the trip will be rescheduled for another available date.
Insurance: Travel and high-altitude mountain rescue insurance is not included. We recommend purchasing a policy that covers trip cancellation, accidents, and mountain rescue up to 6,800 m, as Vertidissim cannot be held responsible for personal contingencies (accidents, illness, flights, etc.).
Name Changes: You may transfer your spot to another person up to 15 days before departure, subject to a €50 administrative fee.
