Unimog expedition team on the world's highest active volcano.

6694 metres above sea level – you can't get more off-road than that. Never before had a wheeled vehicle been driven at such an altitude. Matthias Jeschke and his expedition team achieved just that on 13 December 2019 with their two Unimog vehicles and thus broke the former world altitude record for wheeled vehicles in Chile. The expedition team of ten installed a system of emergency radio units for mountaineers on the Ojos del Salado volcano which at 6893 m is the highest active volcano in the world and the second highest summit in South America.

Extremely well-equipped for extreme conditions.

The Andes, where the Ojos de Salado volcano is located, are a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region with the strongest volcanic activity. Accordingly, the terrain into which Matthias Jeschke and his team dared to travel is rough and impassable: The ground to be covered is made up of steep climbs, boulders, volcanic rock, rubble, glaciers and snow. To ensure that the vehicles were ready to tackle the challenges of such extreme altitudes, both Unimog trucks were equipped with special tyres, strong winches and special bodies with variable centre of gravity balancing. The team was supported by the concentrated expertise of the specialists at the Unimog museum and at AS Söder, the Unimog bodybuilder partner as well as by engineers from the Unimog development division at Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks in Wörth.