On September 3, 2024, Emil Stefani, Martín Hurtado, and I—all members of the Club Andino Universitario (CAU) mountaineering group—crossed Lago O’Higgins to Punta Nahuelcar, adjacent to the Southern Patagonian Icefield. Once on the glacier, we ferried equipment to the DGA hut (managed by Chile’s water authority) and waited one week for a good weather window.

We then crossed to the southern base of the Ambrosio group in the O’Higgins massif, navigating around crevasses to the west. (Ambrosio O’Higgins was the father of Bernardo O’Higgins, a leader of the Chilean independence movement in the early 19th century.) On September 18, we skied to the plateau north of Cerro Hipólito (2,364m), again navigating crevasses. We left our skis there and continued with crampons along the southeast ridge (50°–60°) of Cerro Ambrosio Este, protecting crevasse crossings with stakes. To reach the summit (2,640m, 48°47’31.0”S, 73°13’54.0”W), we climbed a snow mushroom a couple of meters high. We were rewarded with views as far as Cerro Chaltén (Fitz Roy) and Cerro Torre.

We descended the same route, skiing down from about 2,100m. Afterward, we waited another week for good weather before crossing back to Villa O’Higgins. In total, we were away 25 days.

Our climb was the first known ascent of this peak, but nearby Cerro Hipólito and Cerro Ambrosio Oeste were climbed in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Hipólito was summited by Pablo Besser, Elvis Acevedo, and Tomás Torres, and Ambrosio Oeste was climbed by Thor Retzlaff and Matthew Tufts (see report here). 

       —Agustín Ferrer, Chile