Atacama Crossing
Atacama Crossing is a very hostile 250 km footrace in one of the driest deserts on Earth.
The Atacama Desert is 50 times more dry than Death Valley in Califonia.
The enviroment of the Atacama Crossing Race contains altitudes of 2.500-3.400 meter, vulcanos, salt- and sand dunes, moonscape, glacial rivers and hot geysers.
The race is 250 km and held in 6 stages over 7 days.
Most of the stages are about 40 km, except one stage which is about 75 km. There will be different cut off time frames from stage to stage based on the level of difficulty.
See the Course of Atacama Crossing route here.
Here are 28 small video footages of Atacama Crossing 2009
You have to carry all of your own gear and there are no support crews.
The avarage weight of the Backpack is about 9 kg.
After every stage you will sleep in campsites where the night temperature can go below 0 degrees and sandstorms can appear during the night.
The race ends in the Mine City of San Pedro de Atacama.
See the official website for Atacama Crossing:
Videos of Atacama Crossing 2009
See YouTube video highlights from Atacama Crossing 2009. Click on the pictures
© Racing the Planet - Atacama Crossing
Precondition & Preparation
It is a precondition to be well and healthy and very determined to complete an extreme race like Atacama Crossing. Therefore - the keywords to complete a race like this are preparation and training - physical as well as psychical.
”A fit body is needed to run it, but a strong mind is needed to finish it”