Huayna Potosi

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6,088 metres, it was really only a number to me until yesterday. I knew it was high; it dwarfs anything in New Zealand or even our corner of the world or even much of the world. The highest mountain in Africa, Mt Kilimanjaro is only 5,895 mts. The highest mountain in all of Europe, Mt Elbrus is a smaller 5,642 mts. The highest mountain in North America, Mt McKinley is just a little taller at 6,194 mts. In fact outside of the Andes, the only other ranges with taller mountains are the Himalaya/Tibet and Hindu Kush ranges. I think I’m only just getting a good appreciation for how high we were.

So why Huayna Potosi, It is meant to be the easiest 6,000 metre peak in the world to climb and indeed the brochure I looked at said just that. It went on to say that any determined person of average fitness could climb this mountain.

Well, it was certainly easy to book and where else in the world can you climb a peak of this size for only 100 US dollars (god bless Bolivia). It was easy to get there, just a bumpy 2 hour drive from downtown La Paz. Yep, so far, so easy. Once we arrived at base camp, 4,700 meters, easy stopped. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my live, by far, no exceptions.

From Base camp the summit is only 1,388 metres above us. It almost seems like we are cheating, maybe we should drive down a little so we can walk up further. You quickly realise that there is no cheating involved. Yes it’s only the top quarter of the mountain, but it’s the hardest quarter. Every few hundred meters higher and things get significantly harder.

Every climber has to carry all their gear to high camp, at 5,130 mts, our guides carry their gear and our food. After the gear I brought plus my climbing gear that means I have to log about 35kg of gear in a backpack up 430 meters at high altitude. For those of you who have hiked up the summit of Mt Ruapehu for a few good turns in winter, think of it this way, DOUBLE the altitude and carry 5 boards instead of 1.

The first part of the hike is all on a rough track and over lose stones, its steep and hard work, but not impossible, even with the heavy packs. We set a good steady pace; after all we aren’t in a rush. The scenery is pretty spectacular with views across valleys and a sun beaten glacier which we are climbing next to. At this stage everyone is pretty excited, occasionally we have glimpses of the mountain and because we are so naïve we have no idea of what we are in for.

We reach high camp in a reasonable 2 and a half hours. High camp consists of a stone hut, downstairs for eating, upstairs 24 mattresses squashed together for sleeping, a cooking tent and a bunch of flattened areas amongst the stones for anyone who wants to tent outside (it costs a little more to sleep in the hut). James and Julie decide to tent outside because they have their own tent and James wants a picture of it amongst the rocks on the side of a mountain. Oh and a toilet with a great view but very little privacy.

After a brief rest its time to get a little bit of coaching on how to use our crampons and ice axe properly. We all hike a little bit up the glacier which slides to the side of high camp and practice the techniques displayed by our guide. This consists of how to walk with crampons, which hand to have the axe in when on different slopes and how to stop your self in case of a fall. At this point we have a brief glimpse of what we are in for because even this little bit of practicing at 5,130 mts is making us breathless very quickly and we all leave our quick lesson a little bit tired.

All that remains for the day is to get my gear organised, have dinner and then get to sleep. Dinner consists of massive amounts of bread, soup and pasta, Bolivian style of course so it’s all a bit different. The soup is lovely, but the pasta is a bit bland. After stuffing ourselves to the point of eruption we have nothing left to do except wait for it to get dark so we can get an early nights sleep. Wake up is at 12am and the hike starts at 1am.

We all stand around in the twilight freezing our butts off and swapping stories and expectations and admiring the amazing sunset from our viewpoint high among the mountains. I think like me everyone is secretly waiting for it to get dark enough to use the toilet with some level of privacy. I give up, it can’t wait, I find myself a lovely position with a view and enjoy my 5 minutes alone amid the rocks. It’s awfully cold on the exposed skin though. Let’s hope I don’t have to repeat the process during the ascent.

Everyone was in bed and lights out by 7.30. Like me no one got any sleep, the altitude, the excitement and the wind made this impossible. The 12am call comes too quickly and everyone is up and getting into their many layers of clothing. I’m not feeling the best. I have had no sleep and the food from last night isn’t sitting very well.

I take about 30 minutes to get into my gear. This consists of thermal underwear, a woollen jumper, my snowboarding pants and jacket, 2 pairs of socks, heavy rigid climbing boots, and crampons on those, gaiters to cover the boots and trouser hems, harness around the waist, 2 pairs of gloves, beanie, headlight, ice axe, and backpack of extra layers. I’m ready to go. Everyone meets at the glacier and we get assigned to a guide and clipped together, from now on you are attached to 3 others by rope, about 10 feet between each person and that’s how its going to stay for the next 11 hours. Unfortunately I’m not with James and Julie but there’s no time to think about that as we are off.

With headlights on, your world consists of a yellowish circle of about 10 feet across, the person in front is a shadow. The rope snacks from them through your little world and away to the next person who you can’t see and only think about when the rope to them goes tight and you have to stop. For the next 5 hours this is my world. I don’t see any of the crevices we step over, climb over and walk around. You can’t see the consequence of any falls while climbing the steep walls, which I guess, is a good thing.

The first 200 vertical meters are the only time I felt good, and that “good” is relative as well. I mean a felt capable of doing the climb, it was hard work but I felt like it was possible. In no time at all you are reduced to resting between every single step you take. You could almost judge how high you are by just measuring the pauses between steps.

You start at a nice slow pace with no pauses and by the end of the climb you are resting as much as 5 to 10 seconds between steps. Anything quicker is totally impossible. It’s so weird, physically not being able to take a single step. Every hundred of these pausing steps and you would have to take a longer rest of up to 5 minutes. It is such a long, slow and gruelling process and this is why it’s so hard.

The entire time you feel more exhausted then you have ever been. Your cold, you can’t feel your toes or your fingers, you feel horrible all over and the pace is maidenly slow, mind numbingly monotonous. Since walking is on autopilot you are left with all this time to think and all you can think about is how uncomfortable you are, how hard every step is, how much harder this 10 minuets is compared to the last 10 minuets. How slow you are going and how far you have to go. The guide would often point to wobbling lights not to far in the distance and say that’s just 2 hours away. It’s hard to comprehend that something so close can be so far away.

I can not describe how horrible I felt and how exhausting it was. I could barely talk properly to those in my group, I was so exhausted and my face so frozen that my words never came out clear. Every minute you’re fighting a voice that tells you it would be easier to turn around, go back down, this is too hard. At the time when I was on the tight rope between continuing and quitting, which I was many times, I would almost be brought to tears just because I was so exhausted and emotionally drained. And this is what you had to endure every minute for 6 hours in the dark before getting to the final and hardest hurdle.

The last 180 - 200 meters is an extremely steep wall of ice and snow. It’s so daunting and you are so drained by the time you get to this stage that many give up on the spot when they see it. From the 25 odd clients trying for the summit with various companies on our day 10 people gave up before or at the wall. It really takes everything you’ve got to see the wall and decide to spend the hour and a half it takes to ascend the last 180 meters.

The whole climb you are on hands and knees. The process is ice axe first. This could take a couple of whacks to get a good hold. Lift one foot and dig the toes of your crampons in for a hold, left the other and do the same. Then rest for anywhere up to 30 seconds and repeat. At this stage my fingers in my axe hand where frozen and I couldn’t feel them, my grip on the axe was very flimsy and shacky. My world was reduced to looking for my next toe hold that would allow me to rest with limited use of muscles.

Finally, and with little fanfare I made it to the top. The summit was amazing, the view was amazing, but the sense of achievement is bar none. You know how much you had to overcome to get to this point and that what makes the moment so amazing.

I had just enough time to take off my gloves and warm my hands in the sun that was coming out over the horizon. My fingers were all light purple and as they thawed out I was introduced to a whole other level of pain. Luckily this lasted only a few minutes. My fingers are fine, but the tips of my right hand a still a bit numb as I type this, no funny colouring though. After my pain there was only just enough time for some quick photos and a look around and then we had to start down again. It was all over so quickly.

The climb down was easy, gravity was on our side and this made a huge difference. It took us 7 hours to climb up and it should take just 2 hours to come down. We took a lot longer then this in the end because we were stopping so often to look at the walls, crevices, and other scenery that we had missed while climbing up in the dark.

I have never been as tired and exhausted as I was on our return to base camp. The whole thing seems a little surreal, like a dream. There were so many ups and downs and all in such a small space of time. I now have a real amazing respect for anyone who climbs mountains higher then this. Those who do Everest must not only be incredibly fit, but be the most determined and stubborn people alive. If Potosi is the easiest 6,000 meter peak to climb, I don’t even want to think about how hard the others are.

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Photos

The first look
The first view from El Alto. 2 hour drive to come.

High Camp
James and Julies Tent is the gold one on the right.

1's and 2's
Toilet with a view but little privacy

Sunset
amazing sunsets, but amazingly cold at 5,130 meters

1am and all ready
Ready and waiting to start the climb.

Final ascent
Attacking the last 180 metre 55 degree wall.

Stuff we didn't see
Coming down we got to see all the stuff that we climbed over and walked around without knowing it.

Almost there...
One of many needed breaks on the way down, it was so hot.

Success
Finished. Exhuasted. The mountain is subdued and the hero can rest.

Comments

[Nutter]

My flat mate Andrew reckons he'd have no trouble with the mountain...as long as you carried his pack...and him.