Cerro El Plomo is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

near

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. With an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of 5,444 m (17,783 ft), it is the largest peak visible from Santiago on clear days. The adequate season to climb this mountain is between November and March. In spring (September to November), soil conditions have abundant snow on the approach. The best time is in January and March, where the approach is snow free, except for some specific areas, and the climate is more stable. The Incas climbed to its summit periodically in the 15th century. The first European ascent of the mountain was by Gustav Brandt and Rudolph Lucke in 1896. During a flight from

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, to Mendoza,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, on 16 July 1932, the Pan American-Grace Airways (Panagra)

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American Trimotor, three-engined transport plane, transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, afte ...

''San José'' crashed on Cerro El Plomo during a severe snowstorm, killing all nine people on board. Buried in ice and snow, its wreckage remained undiscovered until March 1934. Pirca del Inca at Cerro del Plomo

Mummy

The mountain was used as a ceremonial site by the Incas. The mountain achieved its fame in 1954 when a

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

of an approximately nine-year-old child was found on the summit. The mummy resides in the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural in Santiago, Chile. El Plomo desde el sur

Gallery

File:Cerro_del_Plomo_route.jpeg, Normal route from the Piedra Numerada base camp. File:El Plomo 1.jpg File:El Plomo 2.jpg File:El Plomo and Leonera.jpg File:Cerro El Plomo.jpg, Cerro El Plomo from Apoquindo Ave., partially occluded by Cerro Leonera.

References

External links

Description of Cerro El Plomo expedition routeDescription of the ascent route to El Plomo in WikiexploraAndeshandbook: complete description, history, place name and routes of Cerro Plomo
Mountains of Santiago Metropolitan Region Five-thousanders of the Andes {{Santiago-geo-stub