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Published: August 20th 2007
Graveyard - Huayna Potosi
An ominous sight driving past this graveyard on the way to Huayna Potosi (background). Our spirits perked up when we were told it was not climbers lost to the mountain.For months I had been dreaming of climbing
Huayna Potosi . Firstly, because it was over the magical 6000m, and as Edmund Hillary of Everest fame once said, “because it is there”.
We had chosen an agency called Refugio Huayna Potosi as it is run by Doctor Hugo Berrios Martin, who has not only been instrumental in training guides for the mountain (so he should know the mountain well), he is also versed in high altitude medicine, a skill I hoped we would not need to use.
After 5 days acclimatizing in La Paz (3600m), I set off for the three day climb with an Aussie climber called Joel.
We arrived at the first base (4700m - nearly as high as Mount Blanc) and trekked to a glacier at 5000m to train in the art of snow and ice walking and climbing. With the snow line at 5000m, the main ascent on day three would be across glaciers and snow fields. Ski boot style plastic boots with crampons attached are not the most endearing things to walk in. After half an hour of practice, I soon learnt that if I leaned back in the boots and walked, feet pointing out,
Base camp - Huayna Potosi
The view from our hut of Huayna Potosi (right peak) wasn´t that bad. in a low slung cowboy swagger (imagine Clint Eastwood swagger with the baboon arms of USA President George Bush) I was soon able to walk up and down slopes with ease. The traction was amazing.
Climbing walls of ice was harder to master. The technique involved reaching back with the ice axe and hammering home the steel spike, pulling to make sure (and pray) it was secure, then kicking hard into the ice to create one step, then lifting the other leg and kicking hard into the ice to create another step, repeating the whole process while ascending the wall. Thankfully, we had safety ropes as there were a few times when my toe holds were not as strong as I thought! However, with a few practice climbs, I was confident of my one (reach and smash), two (kick left foot hold), three (kick right foot hold) technique. As clouds and dusk settled over the glacier, we set off for the walk back down to camp for a good feed and a well earned sleep.
In the evening, we sat around the fire and listened to numerous tales about the colourful life of Doctor Hugo who had joined
Moon at dusk - Huayna Potosi
Looking east from base camp (5200m) with the moon and Mount Illimani in the distance (right) us for the glacier training. That night I slept well, only waking the half dozen times Joel got up to go to the toilet. It is a hard balance between drinking enough water to stay hydrated, and the bladder weakening effects of altitude. However, I chuckled in my sleeping bag at the prospect of finally meeting someone with a weaker bladder then me. Cath would be pleased I am not a unique freak!!
The second day was a relatively slow start as we only had the three hour walk to the base camp at 5200m. We spent the morning sitting in the sun admiring the view of Huayna Potosi’s summit, contemplating if we were to conquer, or be conquered by it. Apart from my own fitness, there were numerous factors that could work against us, including injury, altitude sickness and adverse weather conditions. As we sat there, we could see the little black dots of climbers high up on the snow covered slopes descending from their morning climb. Each time we saw a group I hoped they had succeeded, as the more that made it, the greater I felt the odds were for me. As it turned out, of
Looking good at 1am - Huayna Potosi
With five layers of clothing on I felt like the Michelin man. As long as I kept walking, I stayed warm in the -10C temperature. the 8 dots (6 Bolivians and 2 Germans), only three made it to the top; the Germans and only one Bolivian. A 40% success rate didn’t fill me with confidence.
After lunch we set off, arriving at the tin hut which was base camp a few hours before sunset. At 7pm, we bedded down to try and get a few hours sleep. At high altitude, many people find it hard to sleep because of the lack of oxygen (50% less at 5500m) and cold, so we were eager to get as much sleep time as possible before the 1am start. In true Rob style I slept like a log, only awakening twice gasping for air as my breathing had slowed almost to a halt.
Waking up at 1am, it was a toasty -5C inside the hut and -10C outside. Believe me, the last thing I wanted to do was get out of my warm sleeping bag. After an hour fighting with clothes and drinking a hot cup of mate de coca (the Bolivians swear by coca leaf tea to help with altitude and increase the body’s ability to absorb oxygen - it’s the white powdery stuff that ain’t
good for ya!), we emerged from our hut to a nightscape bathed in the light of a full moon. With the white peaks outlined against the black sky and the moonlight shimmered on the snow, it was light enough to trek without headlamps.
Roped together and setting a deliberately slow pace, Miguel, our guide, led Joel and myself off across the surreal landscape towards the peak. Watching my feet and concentrating on my Eastwood/Bush swagger, I soon found myself in a four beat tempo (yes, years of dance music had affected my brain!), breathing in and out with the slow-step pace set by Miguel. Step one (breath in), step two (breath out), step three (breath in), step four (breath out), step one (breath in), step two (breath out), step three (breath in), step four (breath out), and so on. I felt good with the altitude and thought we could have gone faster, but, everyone had warned us to go slow and save our energy. As it turned out, they were right.
After 3.5 hours of walking across snow ridges and up crevasses to my slow techno beat, we reached our last challenge before the peak - a 150m,
Dawn - Huayna Potosi
This shot was taken as I lay on my side, exhausted trying to recover my breath and energy. The light was simply magical, but I only had a few seconds to get the shot. To the left is Mt Illimani. 55-60 degree wall of ice and snow. People had said Huayna Potoosi would be relatively easy and not at all technical. I’m not quite sure how they define technical, but ice axe, crampons, ropes and a vertical climb on ice and snow sound technical to me. My fear was compounded by the fact that my hands had frozen to the point where I couldn’t feel my fingers, let alone grip the ice axe. After 5 minutes of moving my fingers and shaking my hands the warm blood started to flow back into them. The pain was excruciating and all I could do was swear through gritted teeth. With partial movement back in my fingers, we set about the ascent with Miguel leading, me roped to him and Joel roped to me at back.
When we started, the moon was behind the peak, leaving us in total darkness, so I didn't realise how high or vertical we had to climb until, half way up, the first light of dusk appeared. By then, there was no turning back. Looking down, I could see Joel and 75m of air below him. We were roped together for safety, but it had occurred to
Rob - Huayna Potosí
Exhausted and still unable to stand, this shot was taken by Joel. me a few times the unlikelihood of one of us holding the other if they fell. I thought it best not to dwell on this for too long and concentrated on staying attached to the slope.
I became absolutely focused on my one (reach and smash), two (kick left foot hold), three (kick right foot hold) technique, and with each axe smash and kick of the crampons, I inched towards the peak. The physical exertion, thin air and -10c temperature finally started to take it’s toll. At 100 meters, Joel called out “momentito”. We stopped and I looked down to see him fighting to gather his breath. I too realised how hard I was breathing, with 50% less oxygen, you have to breath twice as hard to get nough oxygen. Once recovered, we set off. I felt I was fighting the wall - whack, kick, kick, whack, kick, kick - head down fighting hard for breath and the strength to beat out each axe and foot hold. After another 30 meters, disaster nearly stuck Joel and I. It would have been messy, but don’t worry as it wouldn’t have been fatal or caused physical injury (I think). Perhaps, just
Rob - Huayna Potosí
Finaly able to stand and enjoy the view. (C) Joel a tad embarrassing and most definitely would not have made it on to this blog if disaster was not avoided.
We came to a halt and Joel and I looked at each other and simultaneously shouted that we needed a dump!!! I’m not sure about the medical facts behind the phenomenon, it was either the result of a focused mind and exhausted body (champion marathon runners are known to suffer from the condition) or my body sensing dawn and switching to its usual routine. Maybe a combination of both. What ever the case, here we were, 130 meters up a wall and nature wasn’t waiting. I cannot begin to explain the agony and panic. I dug my axe and crampons into the ice, closed my eyes and between breaths focused all my energy on holding my butt cheeks together. Joel did the same, but with the added horror of having me directly above him! Five layers of clothing would have protected him, but at that moment we both only had self preservation on our minds. After 20 butt-clenching seconds, the pain subsided and we finally caught our breath. I called up to Miguel, “nessicito kha kha”, to which he
Sunrise - Huayna Potosi
This pyramid shaped shadow (with the moon above) cast by the mountain points towards the site of ancient Tiwanaku, with Lake Titikaka to the right. chuckled and responded, “no es possible”. I explained what had just happened with Joel and I, and we all started laughing our heads off. In terms of bonding moments, that one goes down as legendary.
Finaly, after a 30 gruelling, challenging and (momentarily) humorous minutes, we finally threw myself, stomach first onto the ridge at the top. Laying on the snow, gasping for breath, the sun broke the horizon and smothered us in the glow of the breaking day, providing much needed warmth for our bodies and souls. Once we had recovered and Miguel made sure Joel and I were tied to safety lines, I was able to stand and take in the amazing view. 6km above the earth, we were, quite literally, on top of the world. The unbroken 360 degree view was mind blowing. The world was waking up and we were looking down on it in all its glory - lakes, mountain ranges, La Paz, we were even higher than a jet that was flying below us. A magical moment came when we saw the pyramid shaped shadow the mountain cast westwards, touching the horizon directly below the full moon (see photo). It was only during
the descent did it dawn on me that the shadow at sunrise is exactly where the ancient ruined city of Tiwanaku is situated. We have read nothing about this on our trip to Tiwanaku, but, it wouldn’t surprise me if this mountain had significance in pre-Columbian culture.
After 20 minutes on the peak, we set off for the 6 hour descent. Psychologically, I was ready to get to the peak, but I had not thought about the 10km, 1300m descent. Both Joel and I were shattered, which made things more difficult and dangerous as I often stumbled over my tired legs. Head down, I plodded along as best I could, focusing on my achievement and the prospect of seeing Cath’s beautiful smile to keep me going. At 12pm, 11 hours after we set off, we were finally off the mountain and feasting on a well earned lunch.
Fed and revitalized, it was back to La Paz for our next challenge the following day - cycling 64km down Bolivia’s infamous Road of Death…
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Andy W
non-member comment
Mountain-mazing
Wow! Apart from the butt-clenching bit, the trip to 6K sounds amazing. And you were blessed with a bit of sun. Next stop Everest??