Huanya Potosi

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SO it was time to begin my next climb. UNfortunately we knew that weather conditions were against us but we were still determined to get to the top of Huayna Potosi. For ROb this would be his first high mountain and for me my second. Although this time I felt a lot stronger than when I climbed Cotopaxi. Potosi is only 200meters higher than Cotopaxi and is undertaken over 3 days which is a lot more time.
We were picked up from our hostel at8am and had the luxery of of a 2hour taxi t othe base camp at 4700 meters at the base of Potosi. Once we arrived we met our guide Miguel who is 43years old and really looking forward to the climb. We also met a group of climbers who were on their decent, most of which did not make the top due to bad weather and illness. Our guide told us not to worry as he felt we were strong enough to brave the weather even though he hadnt seen us climb. We hada quick lunch when we arrived and then made our way up for some glacier training. This time my boots fit me so I was able to vertical climb without my heels popping out of my boots. We practised and messed on the glacier for around 2 hours and made our way back to camp to rest up for the night. We had a nice dinner at 5.30pm and then just went for a light walk around a lake before heading off the bed.
The following morning we awoke at 7am and had a quick dinner before hiking up to the high camp at 5130 meters. We were tld this climb could take 4hours due to the fact that we had to carry all our gear which weighed quite a lot. We set off and within 1 hour and 18minutes we had reached the high camp. On arrival we realised our guide was testing us to see how fit we were and we seemed to pass the test. We met another group there who had just returned from the climb, all without reaching the top. There was a total of 8 people and none of them made it, again due to Illness and weather. We were started to doubt how we might fair up. That evening two more groupd arrived at our camp to climb the same time as us and they all seemed younger and fitter. We had found a challenge now, to beat the younger guys! That night we went to bed at 6pm as we had to get up at 12 to start the climb at 1am.
Unforuntunately again I found it too difficult to sleep but this time it was more so to do with the blizzard outside which didnt want to leave the mountain.
AT 12 we got up a put on our gear, had breakfast and ventured out into the knee deep snow and blisterly winds. The other groups set off about 10 minutes after us so we could see them as dots in the dark behind us. We thought that the other groups we gaining ground on us as we had to start off slow due to the blizzard. The trail had been completely wiped away with a couple of feet of snow so our guide had to try and find the crevasses before we fell into them. Near the start Miguels leg fell into one but he was never in any doubt and got straight out. As we trudged our way up the mountain the food from the night before started to bellow in my stomach and make me feel uncomfortable. At the beginning I tried to fight it but after a while I had to make a visit to snow at 5650 meters which I think will probably be one of the highest places I will ever go to the toilet!!!
Once relieved I felt much better and we powered on through the blizzard which was painfully sore on the face and forced you to look at the ground instead of the route. We came to two walls during the climb, both of which were near vertical and with the amount of snow that had fallen during the night it made it quite as difficult as every tiume you had the axe or the crampons in they just fell away so this was one of the toughest parts of the climb. The first wall was around 25meters up. This was actually the most difficult one as it was very steep but once up we got a quick rest and on we went!
We reached 5800 meters and our guide asked us if we wanted to go on as all the other groups had turned back as they could not brave the weather. We told him there was no way we were going back yet no matter how tough it was, until it was impossible to pass we would keep going. We reached the second wall at 5950 meters which would last for 40 meters. This one for some reason felt easier than the last and we reached the top ridge to be greeted by a ferocious wind and snow gusting into our faces but we knew we were almost there!
We made our way across the ridge until 6030 meters and then found the ridge to the summit which unfortunately due to the huge amount of snow wall impossible to cross. It is normally a straight ledge that is easy to cross but this day with the snow it had risen around one meter into a perfect point with a drop each side straight to your death so unfortunately we had to end our climb here. We sat at the top for 30mins waiting for the sun rise but as the cold was so much we couldn´t take too many photos but we got a few snow filled photos!
At 6am we began our decent. My stomach again was a little sore so we took our time coming down and decended in 2 hours and 20 minutes. The weather begn to clear on the way down which made for some fantastic photos of the glacier and crevasses.
Once down to the High camp we had a quick rest and then packed our gear and trekked back down to base camp at 4700 meters. We went by car then with Miguel who tried his best to crash the car and then met the girls back at La Paz just in time for lunch and some sleep 😊

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Photos

At the top
A well deserved break at the top