Pequeno Alpamayo & Huayna Potosi
August 6– August 22, 2010
Illimani Extension
August 22– August 27, 2010
Cost: $3,950
(land costs, including all meals)
Cost: $1,200
(land costs, including all meals)
Difficulty Level: Easy Intermediate
Participants should have either prior glacier/ice climbing experience
or have climbed/trekked at altitude (over 15,000 feet).
Of all the Andean countries,
Bolivia remains the least touristed and most adventurous. It offers
all the attractions of its more popular neighbors, but has not yet
been “discovered” by the
masses. This offers a unique opportunity to adventurous climbers.
And for climbers, Bolivia is a dream. Even its capital city is made
for mountaineers. La Paz sits
in a valley at 11,900 feet, surrounded by glaciated peaks and
rolling hills. The airport, the
highest international airport in the world, is even higher, at
13,200 feet! This means our
acclimatization begins as soon as we land in Bolivia. We will take
full advantage of this
acclimatization time, exploring the Andean highlands and the sights
of La Paz for two full days
while we get used to living and sleeping at the same elevation as
most of Colorado’s summits!
We will also spend two days on Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable
lake in the world, where
we will visit the famous reed islands.
From Lake Titicaca, we will attempt our first peak, Pequeno Alpamayo
(17,482 feet). Like its
famous taller neighbor in Peru, Pequeno’s face is beautiful and the
climb is technical yet
reasonable. It is also an ideal place to increase your
mountaineering skills. We will spend 5
days practicing glacier and climbing skills, acclimatizing, climbing
sub-peaks, and finally
making our summit bid. The summit day consists of a moderate
glacier, followed by two
pitches of fourth class rock, and then steep ice or neve on a
knife-edged ridge. After our team
makes its summit bid, we will return to La Paz for a hot shower and
a much deserved night in a
comfortable bed!
At 19,975 feet, Huayna Potosi is taller than all but a handful of
peaks in the Americas. After a
short drive from La Paz to base camp, we spend a day practicing
steeper ice climbing skills on
the glacier’s edge. Our summit day route is comprised of steep
glacier travel, huge crevasses,
and a final airy ridge to the summit. A summit of Huayna is a proud
day, and is excellent
preparation for longer routes on the big mountains of the world. The
views from this summit
encompass the countless peaks of the Cordillera Real, the city of La
Paz, and on a clear day the
distant peak of Sajama, Bolivia’s rarely climbed tallest peak. After
our team makes its summit
bid, we will return to La Paz for a hot shower and a much deserved
night in a comfortable bed!
While heading home after the summit of Huayna Potosi is one option,
we encourage those that
have the time to stay for an attempt of Illimani (21,125 feet).
Illimani looms over La Paz, and
no climber has ever arrived into Bolivia’s airport without being
awed by its steep flanks and
sheer size. With the acclimatization and skills we have gained on
Pequeno Alpamayo and
Huayna Potosi, we will be ready to tackle this challenging peak, the
tallest in the Cordillera
Real. After a beautiful drive through Bolivian farmland and small
indigenous towns, we will
arrive at our base camp. From there, and with the assistance of
local high altitude porters, we
will move to the Nido de Condores, translated as the “Nest of the
Condors”, our very aptly
named high camp at 18,372 feet. Summit day takes us across an
exposed ridge and then onto
broad snow slopes, around crevasse fields, and eventually onto the
final, classic, knife-edged
summit ridge.
Our Bolivia expedition will be guided by one of Alpenglow’s
AMGA certified lead
guides. AMGA (American Mountain Guides Association) certification is
the highest possible
training available to guides, and only the most experienced and
dedicated attain it. Our lead
guides have also traveled and climbed extensively in South America
and know the Bolivian
Andes intimately. Their knowledge of Andean culture as well as the
mountains, combined with
their passion for teaching others to become competent mountaineers,
guarantees that your
experience will be one to remember! We combine our guides’
experience with the local
expertise of one of Bolivia’s original logistics operators, a great
cook, and our small team size
(maximum ratio of 3 climbers to one guide) to ensure that you stay
healthy, strong, and are
able to enjoy each component of your experience.
