Huayna Potosi

Packed up camp and walked for an hour through the hills, past lakes and over flowing streams and waterfalls, until we reached the clearing we had first arrived in almost a week earlier. Our van (and Roberto!) was loaded up with our kit and we drove back to La Paz for a well earned shower, feed and rest. Washing my hair again felt like such a luxury - as did having a whole hotel room to myself!

The next morning we got on the bus at 9am after a hearty buffet breakfast (pancakes mmm) to drive the two hours to the base of Huayna Potosi. We were greeted in the base hut by an eldery Bolivian woman who was obviously the 'boss' of the huts (!) and offered us a delicious lunch of chicken and rice before we set off up the mountain. The walk was straightforward, up a rocky path for a couple of hours to the second hut at 5270m.

We were pleasantly surprised to see the American group when we reached the hut, and passed the afternoon chatting to them and playing yahtze with my team. The hut was cosy - with a small kitchen space, a dining area with two long tables and benches, and a dormintory room with around 30 bunks and mattresses for the climbers to sleep. We had an early start ahead of us so got dinner around 6pm (spag bol) then clambered into our bunks and sleeping bags. Difficult to sleep, not only with the constant moving around of other people during the night, but excitement for the climb ahead. Bring it on!

Awoke at 1.15am for breakfast at 1.30am - chocolate cake and cocoa tea. Grabbed my clothes hanging at the end of my bunk then put on my boots and harness. Bit of a disaster as my headtorch wouldn't turn on, but luckily had some spare batteries and got it working again. I wasn't going to bother bringing my big down jacket and mitts in my rucksack but as we set off up the glacier around 2.20am I was glad I did as it was absolutely freezing. I ended up wearing my thermoball jacket, my Rab neutrino, and my Rab neutrino endurance as well as my mitts, thermals and sallopettes! Brrrrr.

It was roped up with Rolando and two of the guys whilst the others set off ahead with Eulogio. However about an hour later we bumped into the other team - one of them wasn't well and had to head back to the hut with Eulogio whist the other was roped up with us. We also saw a couple of other groups turning back as we headed up the glacier. The next few hours were a long plod in the cold and dark, broken up by a fun ice climb of a few metres. The sun was rising as we tackled the next stretch and the view was stunning over the surrounding peaks, with a orange glow spreading over the snow. Over a couple of steep snow peaks, and then we reached the base of the final summit slope. We took a break at this point to take off some layers and have some chocolate and bloc shots to get some extra energy before tackling the last stretch. Just at that point Eulogio appeared (having gone down to the hut and back) and roped up with two of the team, whilst Rolando stayed with me and one other.

The last slope was very steep and it was slow going getting up it - traversing all the way left and then right to the summit. The American group was just ahead of us and shouted encouragement as they passed us on the way back down. We finally reached the top just after 9am (over 6 hours later!) exhausted but elated! The view was spectacular so the six of us spent some time taking it all in and taking some photos. I feel very proud to have perservered to the top and finally broken the 6,000m mark :)

The route back to the hut took only 2.5 hours but it was a loooong plod and the sun was in full force. I felt my face burning and legs fading as we reached the hut and was very thankful to pull off my big boots and relax on the rocks when we arrived! After rehydrating and having a light lunch, we packed up the rest of our kit and headed down the final rocky stretch to the base camp. Pretty exhausted by this point so it was great to see our van waiting for us at the bottom to take us back to the hotel. We celebrated back at the hotel restaurant with some local red wine, cerviche and steak along with lots of mountain stories and tales of snowy adventures!

The next morning we all had a well-deserved lie in then spent the afternoon explorning La Paz, starting with a trip on the cable car up to Mirador at the top of the city. The view over the city was amazing, including back out to Huayna Potosi and Illimani (at 6438m). Its such a sprawling city admist the mountains and most of the buildings look half finished, especially at the outskirts. However its much cleaner than other South American cities and houses are interspersed with plazas and sports pitches which adds a splash of greenery to an otherwise red-brick and dusty city. Not much at the top (someone has missed a trick not building a panoramic restaurant here!) so we headed back down into the city and got a bus (mainly held together by sellotape) to San Francisco - heart of the backpacker district. The guys arranged a trip mountain biking the 'Death Road' whilst I shopped for a throw and some Bolivian jewellery. We had pizzas and beers for lunch in a little cafe then wandered back to the hotel passing through the old part of town, past the law courts and presidential palace. Dinner at Mungos bar round the corner, where the American guides later joined us to celebrate the end of my trip with Pisco Sours, negronis and dancing until 4am to Latino pop music.

The guides entertained us with stories of their mountain trips, although was sad to hear about their experiences on Everest the preceding season during the earthquake. It reminded me how fragile life can be on the mountains and how we can never underestimate the power of nature. These guys have chosen a different lifestyle from the people I know back in London - a more difficult one at times (long stints from home as well as the obvious dangers) but I can't help but feel there are such huge rewards as well - constantly being out there challenging your mind, spirit, and body and experiencing such natural beauty.

7.40am flight back to Miami and then onto London. What a trip! I feel very blessed to have summited five peaks in two weeks, including the incredible Pequeno Alpamayo and Huayna Potosi as well as met such friendly and inspirational people along the way. Despite going back to city life I hope I don't forget the lessons the mountains have taught me.

#bolivia #huaynapotosi #6000