Passers-by and travelers at Frankfurt Airport stare at me in confusion. "What is a girl doing so loaded down with a surfboard in the middle of November?" asks an elderly gentleman. I find it difficult to explain to him that the large bag is not containing a surfboard, but ski equipment, sleeping bag, sleeping mat and tent and that I am on my way to Chile to ski the highest sand mountain in the world... Shortly afterwards, I meet my photographer friend Stefan Neuhauser, with whom I have already been on several ski trips together. Some time ago, we were sitting together at breakfast in Norway when the Allgäu mountain guide Peter Schmid told me about Chile. Among other things, he organizes long-distance trips and had discovered the Cerro Solo (6205 m), which is considered the highest sand mountain in the world. As soon as he mentioned this, we came up with the idea of skiing this mountain.
I am terribly excited as we approach Santiago de Chile: From the airplane window, we can see the mighty Aconcagua mountain, which is still covered in snow. We still have no idea what lies ahead of us and what the first turns in the sand will be like, especially as we are actually looking forward to the approaching winter back home, but no, we are just landing in Chile to ski in the sand.
We spend two days in Chile's capital before traveling on to San Pedro de Atacama to meet up with Peter and his travel group. In order to carry out day trips for altitude acclimatization, we set up a base camp for a few days, which served as a temporary home: The ruins of mud houses protect us from the sun and a huge tent in the middle of the plateau is used as a kitchen and dining room and the tents pitched all around complete our home. Every day we climb higher until all group members have cracked 5000 meters.
Then the more than 5500 m high volcano Lascar is on the agenda, from whose summit we can look into the deep crater: The deep view is impressive, because as far as you can see into the roughly one kilometer wide maw, you still don't get the impression that it ends anywhere. Smoke rises again and again and a breeze of sulphur smell stings my nose. The view from the crater looks like something out of an animated film: a brown desert landscape with cone-shaped volcanoes rising out of it and the occasional shimmering light blue saltwater lagoons...
On the ascent of Aconcilcha, our first 6,000-metre peak and the main goal of the tour group, I get altitude sickness. I ask myself what the hell I'm doing here. Climbing for hours through the gravel, slowly step by step up a mountain and suffering from headaches and nausea to the point of vomiting, even though I could have opened the ski season at home long ago and let the lift pull me up the mountain in comfort. But no, I had to go to Chile to acclimatize for a mountain in this deserted area with no snow - to ski on sand.
A little wistful, but full of eager anticipation of sand skiing, we say goodbye to the tour group we have become friends with and head south. In addition to Peter the mountain guide, another enthusiastic high-altitude mountaineer, also called Peter, and two young women, Verena and Brigitte, have decided to join us. On the Pan-American Highway, we realized for the first time in a long time how pleasant it can be to drive on a tarred road, as we had only ever driven on gravel tracks and off-road. We finally caught sight of the Pacific at Antofagasta. We see this enchanting stretch of coastline, with its bizarre shapes created by water and wind. The steep, eroded flanks leading directly down to the sea are fascinating and really invite you to go skiing. In the evening light, I ski in gullies between sand towers of various shapes on the damp sand - which is much easier to ski on than the dust-dry sand in the middle of the desert - and enjoy the view of the Pacific on the descent. A barbecue with fresh fish at sunset rounds off the day. The night in a tent right on the beach is also an experience and the next day we continue our journey rested and equipped for the last stage of our journey at high altitude after doing some bulk shopping.
Another day in an off-road vehicle takes us to Laguna Verde, a saltwater lagoon at an altitude of 4,000 meters, where we set up our base camp for the long-awaited Cerro Solo. Setting up the tents proves to be a major challenge due to the strong winds, despite the semi-circular stone walls already in place, which offer a little protection from the wind. After setting up camp, the reward is a long soak in the hot water springs, which are located right next to the crystal blue, ice-cold lagoon. White volcanic rock adorns the landscape around the lagoon.
We prepare for Cerro Solo with another day trip. Unfortunately, Stefan has to drive back to the provincial capital of Copiapo with Verena, who is ill at altitude, while we pack our backpacks for the ascent to the highest sand mountain in the world. The alarm clock wakes us up at three in the morning. The muesli doesn't taste good at all, but I choke it down, remembering that we have a very long and arduous climb ahead of us. Under a clear starry sky, we drive along a gravel road in the off-road vehicle until our driver suddenly turns off-road. Again and again we have to stop and turn around to find the flattest route towards the mountain, which can be seen dimly in the rising sun.
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