Ojos del Salado even in summer. Despite the generally dry conditions, there is a permanent crater lake about in diameter at an elevation of on the eastern side of the mountain. This is most likely the highest lake of any kind in the world. The ascent of Ojos del Salado is mostly a hike except for the final section to the summit which is a difficult scramble that may require ropes. The first ascent was made in 1937 by Jan Alfred Szczepański and Justyn Wojsznis, members of a Polish expedition in the Andes. Its name, meaning roughly "Eyes of the Salty One" in
Ojos del Salado of Ojos del Salado was , but that was "simply [...] based on the altitude of the final camp, and the hours of ascent to the summit." In 1956, the first Chilean expedition led by the retired lieutenant René Gajardo measured the height of Ojos del Salado as with a pocket pressure altimeter. Apart from being an inexact method, the height shown by the altimeter was far too high as air pressure is generally lower in the afternoon, the time at which the team reached the summit. An expedition to the area in the 1990s claimed that nearby Monte Pissis