The team had three attempts at the record, with the first
try on January 1st 2007, when a sudden and strong snow
storm made it impossible to climb to any reasonable
height. The second try was a month before the final
attempt, and finished when the car caught on fire at
20,731ft due to a fail on a hydraulic reservoir that was
melted because of high exhaust temperatures.
Besides the dizzying heights and lack of oxygen, the
hardest aspect was the variety of terrain that the team
encountered in the volcano; steep climbs, huge rocks,
snow, glaciers and deep sand. According to Gonzalo, the
most difficult section was crossing half a mile on the main
glacier at 21,000ft, because the huge holes in the ice were
covered by new snow, making it impossible to know what
the terrain was like underneath. This meant that mistakes
were simply not an option as they couldn’t risk delaying
or halting the attempt under any circumstances.
This record was the result of almost a year of preparation
and planning. The track was analyzed through maps,
satellite pictures, cartography, and many conversations
with people who had been there on previous car and
climbing expeditions, and knew the volcano. Their rig
was tested on the same Andes Mountain range, but
lower and closer to Santiago, the capital. And everyone
involved had also spent months of hard work personally
preparing for the trip to increase their physical strength
and endurance, ensuring they were ready for the
extreme altitudes ahead.
In comparison to previous expeditions, this journey
was fairly low budget, with sponsorship gained from
a number of companies, along with donations from
friends and relatives, and the team’s own money. With
this limited budget, the expedition had to be developed
without any additional support.
“We were absolutely alone up there,” said Gonzalo
Bravo.
As a reference, the previous record was set by two Jeep
Wranglers with several support vehicles and a full team
of people assisting. The first record was set by Volkswagen
at a cost of €500,000.