a debate whether Ojos del Salado was higher than Aconcagua and thus the highest summit of the Western Hemisphere, and drew attention to the mountain. Three separate Chilean, Argentine and Austrian parties went to Ojos del Salado in 1956; the Chilean party measured an elevation of with a barometer, a value that was once again presented as proven by the press despite the unreliability of this technique. The Chilean party also claimed seeing the Argentine pampa and the Pacific Ocean from the summit. In 1957, the official elevation of Ojos del Salado was according to Argentina and according to Chile. The debate on the elevation and confusion about which mountain was Ojos del Salado and who climbed which peak prompted an expedition by the American Alpine Club in 1956. The expedition was hindered by bad weather conditions and a gust of wind stretching a measurement line may have almost frustrated the goal to determine the summit elevation of Ojos del Salado. The same party later used geodetic methods to establish the elevation of Ojos del Salado as and lower than Aconcagua. In 1989, Francesco Santon of the University of Padua in Italy and with Argentine assistance, used GPS-based positioning to determine an elevation of . Mountaineering and tourism Ojos del Salado and the surrounding mountains draw fewer mountaineers than Aconcagua, with only several hundred climbers every year. Since the 1990s commercial tours have become important facilitators for ascents. The mountain can be ascended from both the Argentine and the Chilean side, but owing to the better logistics most ascents occur from the Chilean side. The high elevation, cold and windy weather and impassable terrain are common challenges for would-be climbers. The mountain is also accessible by vehicle, up to elevation. Ascent from the Chilean side is easier as the first refuge can be reached by car, but the actual climb is easier from the Argentine side. A dirt road departing from the highway to Paso San Francisco heads south to Ojos del Salado, past Refugio Murray to the bivouac Refugio Universidad de Atacama/Jorge Rojas at elevation, from there a path goes to Refugio Tejos at elevation and eventually to the summit of Ojos del Salado. From Argentina, the path runs from Cazadero Grande (Quemadito hut) along a large creek to its origin at Aguas Calientes at . From there it continues first up dry valleys to Acqua di Vicuna at