Adventures on Ojos del Salado & Other High Peaks in the Chilean Andes

Please note event will be held at Purpose Brewing. Social from 6:30-7:00 p.m. Program from 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Nick Clark and his son Alistair have been climbing and running mountains together for most of Alistair's life. Alistair's mountain journey began as a passenger on his father's back. From there his mountain adventures have progressed from local Fort Collins peaks to well over 40 of Colorado 14ers and two 17,000'-18,000' volcanoes in Mexico.

Before graduating high school and setting him off on his own, Nick wanted to take Alistair on a big adventure. And so plans for a trip to the Chilean Andes were hatched. The centerpiece of the trip was the summit of Ojos del Salado, the highest volcano in the world and second highest peak in the Americas (22,615'). The trip also included summits of three other high peaks across diverse regions of the Chilean Andes: Cerro el Plomo (17,783'), Cerro Las Tortolas (20,161'), and Volcan San Jose (19,213').

Nick and Alistair both have competitive running backgrounds and they both share a passion for moving quickly through mountainous terrain. Their style rides a line between trail running and mountaineering. In true Clark style there would be no guides on this trip, much of the logistics would be figured out on the fly, and the focus would be on efficiency.

Some mistakes were made along the way, but from those mistakes come learnings, good stories and fortuitous twists in the journey.