Huayna Potosi (06.07.2003)
Written by hmsv1 (Hannah Vickers)
| Characteristic | Alpine trip |
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| Duration | 48h 00min |
| Map |
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| Ascents | Huayna Potosi (6,088m) | 06.07.2003 |
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Sunday 6th July 2003
Huayna Potosi (6088m) was to be the first 'big' mountain of a 3-week trip in Bolivia, and we headed over here after a week of acclimatising in the Condoriri group. It was a mountain we'd viewed from pretty much every peak we'd climbed in the Condoriri and we had been very impressed by it. Once we'd hiked out of the Condoriri base camp, and arrived back in Tuni, we were picked up by jeep and driven straight to our first campsite on the Huayna Potosi near the Zongo dam, situated in a rather bleak and uninspiring mining area. Our first impressions weren't particularly positive, especially after sleeping on a campsite surrounded by beautiful peaks in the Condoriri but inside the refuge where we had a supper of soup, steak and vegetables, we listened to a bit of Sophie Ellis-Bextor music on the CD player tucked away in the corner of the dining area. Add to this some artificial lighting and a warm, cosy atmosphere and our thoughts of the area soon changed dramatically!
Monday 7th July 2003
In the morning we made the 2-hour ascent up to the high camp on the rock/moraine ridge, (Campamento Rocas) which was situated about 200m lower than Campamento Argentino on the glacier. We'd decided on sleeping in the rocks instead of the glacier because our cook weren't keen on camping there, presumably because it was slightly colder. It was quite a windy little spot but very convenient, with the glacier directly next to it. We passed a couple of climbers on their way back down the mountain, but didn't see any other groups at the moraine camp when we arrived there. It wasn't ideal for sleeping, with several rocks jabbing me in the back beneath my sleeping mat, but since we weren't going to be sleeping for long anyway, it didn't really matter all that much.
Tuesday 8th July 2003
The night leading into the summit day could be best described as quite dynamic, with high winds which forced the outer sheets of our tents to flap about a lot. I spent most of the hours thinking that it was much too windy for a summit day and hoping that everyone else had also thought the same thing and would not bother waking up at 2am as planned. Fortunately (or unfortunately) the wind had weakened when we departed from camp at 3am. Despite the very low temperatures and lights from our head torches I felt very close to shutting my eyes and drifting back to sleep as we trudged up the glacier in the dark. Usually the cold serves to keep me wide awake, but not this morning. In the far distance I remember seeing the bright lights of La Paz, which brought on thoughts of a comfortable hotel bed, hot showers and clean clothes.... at that time, the luxuries of La Paz seemed far more appealing than trudging slowly up a freezing cold glacier in the dark! After we'd negotiated a ladder which crossed over a bergschrund (basically a massive crevasse), the time actually seemed to pass relatively quickly and there was only a short time until the sun would be rising!
We were soon at the base of the head wall, a 250m snow/ ice slope at 45-50ยบ - and by this time we also had sunshine on our backs, which provided some long-awaited warmth. Graded alpine AD-, we used two axes. It wasn't particularly technical, but exhausting enough for me to need dozens of "breathers" due to the altitude. It seemed like I was the only one needing to stop and pause so often - I don't remember Owen, Martin or Paul calling for a breather every 10 steps! But, with after much perseverence and also much procrastination, we finally arrived at the summit at 6088m above sea level at 9am and the three of us - Martin, Paul and me, collapsed in a heap beside Owen who quite understandably had a bemused expression on his face. We were surprised to see only 3 other people on the summit with us, since we'd been under the impression that other groups had based themselves at Campamento Argentino on the glacier (and no one behind); a Bolivian guide and German couple. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking though. In the northwest we could see across to the Condoriri group, now a cluster of tiny jagged peaks and at the opposite end, and well into the distance was Illimani. We just about succeeded in squeezing together for a summit photo, then picked ourselves up for the descent.
After descending down the head wall, the delights of La Paz were back on our minds again and we made a huge effort to hoof it down to the high camp and get packed away. Luckily for us, when we plodded in at midday our cook, Domingo had also whipped up some lunch which we sat down to eat before beginning to pack up. The walk from high camp to the Zongo dam refuge seemed remarkably longer than the previous day but in fact took only an hour, and we were picked up by jeep at 4.30pm. It was an hour's drive into El Alto, and it should have been only a short drive from there to the hotel, but due to vehicle restriction rules which operate in the city our jeep driver had to quite tactfully blag a permit from one of the traffic wardens to get us back to the hotel. It was very amusing to sit back and observe! After what had been a very early start to the day, the last thing I really wanted for was to be walking across La Paz all night, but that's somehow what happened. The boys for some reason could not make up their minds where to go out and get dinner, so by the time we got back to the hotel to sleep it was nearly midnight again: 22 hours of constant activity was far more than enough for me that day!
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