I summited a 6088m mountain.
Huanyna Potosi is about an hours drive from La Paz, the first day was spent practicing with crampons and ice axes, making sure we were prepared for the difficult trek ahead of us. I have used crampons and ice axes a few times in South America, but nothing on the scale of what was to be attempted.
Our base camp was at 4700m, by far the highest I have ever stayed and only a 100m lower than I have ever been on Terra Firma. After returning from out training we were to relax and get used to the altitude, already 1200m higher than La Paz. Already partially acclimatised from my last few weeks in Bolivia over 3500m, the only real struggle was the cold. Luckily the base camp was serviced via road, and as soon as night fell we had roaring fire going.
The next day we packed our equipment and made a 2 1/2 hour trek to the second camp, at 5300m. Already the effects of the higher altitude were setting in, we made slow but steady progress, straining for breath up the steep rocky ascent, carrying a heavy load of gear needed to make the summit. This time there was no luxury of a fire, in fact the second camp was nothing more that two small steel boxes, reminding me of a half-sized shipping container.
With no insulation the only chance to keep was (apart from 14 people living and breathing in such a small confined space) was to layer on the clothes. I slept in two pairs of thermal pants, cargo pants, two thermal long sleeve shirts, a t-shirt and a long sleeved shirt.
It was early to bed (5:00 PM) as we were to wake at 1:00 AM the next day to prepare for the summit approach. Unfortunately I didn´t sleep at all, I spent the next 8 hours thinking random thoughts and trying to sleep but to no avail. Eventually the alarm was sounded and we clambered out of bed and ten people simultaneously tried to dress in heavy clothes and boots in a tiny space. Eventually it was all sorted out, we had a very small breakfast (important not to overeat at this altitude) and set off in the dark.
My partner was Marcell, a french guy with a lot of ice/rock climbing experience. With the help of our guide we eventually passed the other groups in an arduous, extremely tiring climb to the summit. We climbed very steep icy paths, navigated a few small crevasses, and hour by hour we got further to our goal. I settled into a zombie-like state; left foot-right foot-deep breath, stopping now and then to rest and recover our breath. I was quite warm with all my layers, but my water bottle iced over in my backpack, and my sunscreen was frozen solid.
We stopped for a well deserved rest at 5900m, I lay on the ice quite happy to fall asleep, but with the end in sight (figuratively, there was no moon) we pressed on. After a few steps my newly purchased head torch failed..... Not wanting to turn back I pressed on in semi-darkness, stumbling along the path mindful of the steep drop-offs that accompanied many sections of the path. I made it to the final resting point, 6000m. It was a steep, very narrow (often room for only one foot at a time) path to the top. Luckily my head torch came back to life, I think the intense cold of laying on the ice temporarily killed the batteries, as it did for my DSLR at the summit.
Chewing the last of my coca leaves I pressed on, I was rewarded 30 minutes later by one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The three of us (myself, Marcell, Luis our guide) were the only people on the summit as dawn broke at 6088m. I forgot all about the cold and my tiredness and watched in awe as the day broke.
Slowly other groups began to arrive, but the summit lost none of its magic, it was breathtaking to see the darkness leave the mountains and the day begin. I was only able to take a few photos, the bitter cold drained the camera batteries and it was hard to take photos wearing three layers of gloves.
We stayed at the summit for 25 minutes before starting the journey down.
While much quicker on the descent, the altitude, lack of sleep, and exhaustion from climbing 800m took its tool, by the time we reached the second camp I was ready to drop. I changed out of my layers as the sun soon started cooking, and packed the heavy back to descend back to base camp. It was quite an experience to be out of breath just by taking off a pair of ice boots. Wanting to get to the bottom we soon set off on the last 600m descent, although my legs were not obeying my mind we managed to get back to 4700m without any major problems. I sat in the base camp and quickly downed two coffees and began to feel more alert.
Out of the ten who attempted the climb, only six reached the summit, the drop-out rate is around 50%. Most of this can be attributed to altitude sickness but it also takes a lot of fitness and determination to make it all the way.
It was an incredible few days, the physical and mental challenge combined with the breathtaking beauty of the mountain is something that will stay with me forever. One of the most rewarding things I have ever done.
More photos here
