Ojos Del Salado - Elevation

Elevation

The elevation of Ojos del Salado has been the subject of debate. Contrary to widely reproduced claims made by Argentine authorities in 1994, which still appear in some maps, publications and websites, Ojos del Salado is about 100 m (330 ft) higher than Argentina's nearby Monte Pissis (6,793 m).

An article in Andes magazine in 2006 offered that Ojos del Salado may be higher than Aconcagua, Argentina, although the argument was premised on older, less accurate altitude surveys. The results of these older surveys assigned Ojos del Salado an elevation of 7,057 metres (23,150 ft), which would have made it nearly 100 m (330 ft) higher than Aconcagua. As early as 1955, an estimate was made that the elevation of Ojos del Salado was 7,100 m (23,000 ft), but that was "simply an estimate based on the altitude of the final camp, and the hours of ascent to the summit." In 1956 the first Chilean expedition led by the retired lieutenant René Gajardo measured the height of Ojos del Salado as 7,084 m with a pocket pressure altimeter. Apart from being an inexact method, the height shown by the altimeter was far too high as air pressure is generally lower in the afternoon, the time at which the expedition reached the summit.

In 2007, a Chilean-European expedition organized by Andes Magazine and Azimut 360, performed a survey on both Ojos del Salado and Monte Pissis, using more accurate instruments. It found the former to be 6,891 m and the latter 6,793 m. This is within recent handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) surveys, which have estimated the mountain to be between 6,880 and 6,910 m (22,570–22,670 ft), although the vertical margin of error of the Chilean-European expedition's equipment, 10 m, leaves uncertainty as to the mountain's more precise altitude.