Huayna Potosi Summit Attempt

On the 18th, the team had some acclimatizing playtime (ice climbing, glacier travel) near their camp at 15,400′. On the 19th, they ate a late breakfast, packed up, and headed up to high camp at 16,830. After arriving in high camp, they went for a walk up to the glacier to scout the route and get a firmer sense of the conditions that were to come. Dinner came next, followed by a night of blowing winds. At half past midnight, the team started to get ready, ate a little breakfast, and headed for the summit. They began their hike at 2am. The changing glaciers left them with dry conditions on a good part of the route and a lot of crevasses! The wind stopped, but it was COLD! At around 7:30am, they found themselves at the base of the headwall, where they spotted some significant rockfall and dry conditions which made them reconsider the summit. The decision was made at that point to head back down, away from the cold, icy conditions that are being found on so many South American peaks this season. They took their time on the way down, careful to protect the delicate part of the climb. They arrived at high camp at around 11:30am, sipped on some hot drinks, and then went down to basecamp, where the car was waiting to bring them back to La Paz. With two team members heading back to the States the next day, they were able to end their “leisure day” in La Paz with a nice, farewell dinner. Yesterday, the remaining team members took a wild mountain bike ride down to the jungle. Sounds like all is well in Bolivia. Enjoy a couple of photos!