Trip Reports

Bolivian Climber - July/August 2017

Huayna Potosi
Trip Report

Written by Leader Juan Carlos Gonzalez Camacho, May 2018

Editor's note: This report was not posted last summer. Our apologies to Juan Carlos and the team.

This year our Bolivia Climber program was blessed by perfect weather throughout the entire climbing program. It was only after the last summit when we saw the first clouds coming in, until then a deep blue sky accompanied us all days. The mountains were in great conditions and our team in a very good shape and highly motivated. The combination of all these factors made the trip into an unforgettable experience for everyone in the team, both clients and staff, archiving all of our goals: Point Austria, Pequeño Alpamayo, Huayna Potosi and Ilimani. 

 

I first met the group in Copacabana on July 26th, by then they have already been enjoying the city of La Paz with the cultural guide Rose Mary, a very engaged lady with a lot of information to share covering from practical information to esoterical divagations, a perfect combination for a place like the Titi-Caca lake. Fabricio had also been hanging around with the group, taking good care of them and putting a dose of good humor and lots of energy!

 

We visited the Sun’s island, drank from the youth fountain, hiked to a nice view point at 4165 meters from where it is possible to see the northern half of the Cordillera Blanca and in the distance 2 of our objectives stand out: Huayna Potosi and Ilimani. We had a great lunch with some of the local specialties, before heading back to our Eco-lodge by the shores of the lake. 

 

Next morning we began our trip into the mountains, driving back to La Paz for about 2-3 hours and then taking a dirt road for about another hour until a valley called Tuni, where our first campsite was located. Here we meet our local mountain guides: Sergio, Rene and Ignacio (also known as Sajama, as he was born at the foot of Sajama volcano, the highest mountain in Bolivia). The kitchen team was also there: Wenzel and Eloy, who did a fantastic job feeding a hungry bunch of climbers.

 

We did a nice short acclimatization hike up to around 4650 meters and had a fantastic panoramic view of most of the Cordillera Real and Huayna Potosi, a nice inspiration for the days to come. 

 

Next day, we did a 4 hours hike to Condoriri’s base camp by the Chiarkota Lake 4750 meters. This lovely camp located at the base of a group of summits known as Condoriri (Condor in Aymara language), is one of the best spots in the Cordillera, offering a wide variety of ascents and perfect conditions for a good acclimatization. Also a great summer retreat place for our team members: Matt and Sara, whom we suspect had Eskimo genetics, always walking around in shorts (at 6 in the morning) and taking a dip in the lake…for refreshing porpoises! 

 

On July 28th, we did our first ascent of the program to Point Austria 5300 meters; leaving camp at 9:00, we took a very good trail that gently gains altitude until the Austria pass 5000 meters, at this point we got the best possible view over to Condoriri’s summits and down to the Juacocha lake. The last section of the climb goes in an almost strait line to a ridge from where we could see the Altiplano and Lake Titi-Caca in the background. The weather was so good that we stayed at the summit for about over an hour. 

 

Next 2 days we prepared for our climb to Pequeño Alpamayo, doing a glacier-training day at Tarija’s glacier and a rest day at the camp, where we had to cope with an amazing lunch prepared by our cooks and Ignacio. Two additional mountain guides joined us also: Marcelo and Jesus, who would be with us for the rest of the program.  

 

By this time, our fellow team members Rob and Magda had already established a casino at the camp where the card game “shithead” was the main attraction and would turn into a classic activity in the camp’s evenings…. not to mentioned the stressing and traumatic experiences produced by it!

 

On August 1st, we departed at 3 AM divided in 6 teams, for one of the most beautiful summits in mountain range: Pequeño Alpamayo 54450 meters. The conditions on the mountain were very good and all the groups moved very close to each other. We reached the summit of Tarija 5345 meters around 07:40, then a short descend to Pequeño Alpamayo’s ridge and from there 1,5 hours more to the summit. We had the pleasure to have the whole group together at the summit; we enjoy the clear view over the Cordillera and down to the Amazon. After a good rest and a snack, we headed back down to our “home”. 

 

After concluding this first part of the program, our target was Huayna Potosi with its summit slightly above 6000 meters. Huayna is one of the most popular climbs in Bolivia and has an amazing final ridge to the summit, which is worth all the effort it takes to get there. In the early morning on August 4th and after a very short night at the high hut 5200 meters, the teams began to move at a good pace up the long traverse that leads to the steep section know as “Pala Chica” (the short ice field), after negotiating it we followed a long plateau until the begging of the ridge. Just before starting this last meter to the summit, the first lights of the day hit the mountain and the whole scenery was just beautiful with a clear view for kilometers on every direction. Once again all the team gathered at the summit and we could celebrate together this great climb and enjoy this almost exceptional weather and temperatures conditions!

 

We descended back to the hut and then on to the pick up place, few hours later we were immerse in the luxury of our La Paz hotel and having a wonderful dinner!

 

August 6th, after a full day rest in La Paz and having said goodbye to 2 of our team members: Hattie and Jamie, who continued their trip down to the Amazon and then to Peru’s Huayhuash trek. We travel towards Ilimani, our final goal and the highest mountain in the Cordillera Real with 6462 meters. The road trip is a very scenic one, where we had to sort out town and roadblocks, as it was the begging of a series of Bolivia’s independence celebrations. Each town in Bolivia organizes its own celebration and they do it in the middle of the roads, so if you are caught sometimes you have to wait for hours to get by. Fortunately our driver Victor, know all these very well and we could avoid any delay. We reached Pinaya around midday, had a nice lunch and hiked to base camp. We had a very nice afternoon and the groups got ready for the challenge ahead.

 

Next morning, we hiked 4 hours to “Nido de Condores” (Condor’s nest) 5450 meters, having some delicious burgers for lunch and a good nap! Condor’s nest is located just by the Ilimani’s glacier on a ridge with a perfect view to the climbing route. We had, in my opinion, the most amazing sunset in the trip. The colors and shapes of the last evening lights were so pretty and we could even see in the long distance the Sajama volcano! It is these moments in the mountains that make all the efforts worth it.

 

We start the climb at 2:00, leaving Condor’s nest, following a well defined ridge that end by the place know as “La Bola”, up to this spot the climb is a bit demanding and the terrain a mixture of moraine, snow and ice sections with a lot of “Penitentes” (small snow towers). Then come the long switchbacks of “Escalera al cielo” (Stairway to heaven), a section that needs a lot of motivation and good rhythm to get up. After crossing a wide crevasse a long traverse to the ridge at 6300 meters, where we took a good rest before the final push to the summit. At 07:55 in the morning, we where all together celebrating our last summit in Bolivia. We climbed Ilimani in about 6 hours with the best weather conditions I’ve ever had in this mountain. The temperatures were very comfortable and the snow very good.

 

On the way down, at the only big open crevasse on the route, Nick Hunt decided to take a close inspection of the glacier’s inner world when a part of the ice bride collapsed as he was crossing it. The swift and professional reaction of their guide Marcelo and with the help of Rene brought him quickly up to the surface completely unharmed. Thanks to these 2 excellent guides!

 

A short stop at high camp to gather all the teams and get something to eat, before continuing down to base camp. Next morning a short hike to Pinaya, where Sergio, Marcelo and the cooks had a very tasty “asado” waiting for us. Then back to La Paz for the official celebrations at the local pubs!

 

I want to personally thank very much all the Jagged Globe Bolivian climber members: Brett (This was his second trip to Bolivia and successfully climbed all summits in both trips), Rob, Anne, Magda, Nick and Rhona, Matt and Sara, Nick and Kirsty and Hattie and Jamie. You guys have been a tremendous team! I am very glad to have had the opportunity to walk with you!!!

 

Also many thanks to al the staff that made this successful trip possible: Sergio, Marcelo, Ignacio, Rene, Jesus, Wenzel, Eloy, Rose Mary, Victor, Fabricio and Grissel…. My apologies if I happened to forgot anyone!

 

See you on the next mountain!

 

Juan Carlos Gonzalez



  

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