Climbing Mt. Huayna Potosi, Bolivia

When arriving in Bolivia, we had absolutely no idea of what we were going to do with our days in this “high-altitude” country. La Paz (the capital) was such a chaotic place to get into after spending time in more quiet places. Noisy, polluted and cold - so we stumbled into the first travel agency we found with the aim of booking a trip to the lowland Amazon. This particular agency did not at all arrange trips to the jungle, but instead they convinced us that climbing mount Huyana Potosi was a good idea. So plans changed, and suddenly we were on our way for a 3 days trek to one of the highest mountains in Bolivia!

Again, we did not know what to expect, as none of us are neither used to hard physical activity on high altitude nor ice climbing with crampons. The first day we stayed at Base Camp for practising climbing with crampons and ice axes. The second day we continued on to High Camp (which was definitely the most challenging part, walking on rocks with heavy backpacks). At High Camp, we had an early dinner and went to sleep at 6 p.m. Our guide woke us up at midnight, and it was time to start climbing the mountain for sun rise. After 6 hours in the lights of our headlamps and the stars, the sun started to rise and we finally arrived at 6000 meters. The last 88 meters was on a narrow ridge, scary as hell for the un-experienced! The view from the summit was amazing, and although I hated myself for doing this on the way up - it was all worth it when the sun warmed up my cheek again at 6088 meters above sea level!

Lunchtime at Base Camp

Time for practice 

Acclimatizing boosting cocoa tea

Hiking from Base Camp to High Camp

Reaching 5000 meters above sea level

Rocks, rocks, rocks

Finally at High Camp

Le Toilet 

Evening snack

Midnight, time to start the climb.

Magical sunrise

I look happier than I am at this point

At the summit, 6088 meters above sea level (and a mild headache:))

The ridge

La Paz in the background

The climb definitely cost us some sore legs, head ache and burnt lips - but it was such a pleasant unexpected adventure! Now I´m running away for some serious beach time in Brazil.

KLEM

AK