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Huayna Potosi (6088m), ge moet goe zot zijn!
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I found out there was an "easy" 6000der to climb near La Paz. Almost every travel agency in La Paz is offering the climb, so it really couldn´t be that hard. Also the fact that a 6000der would look great on my resume made me decide to do it. Two choices: 2 days or 3 days, the extra day is used for training ice walking and climbing techniques. I did the 3 days, I have some experience walking on glaciers but not that much and moreover, that extra day gives you some time to acclimatize. So the three days are: day 1 training on the glacier near the refugio (4700 m), day 2 ascending to campo alto (5200 m) and day 3 climbing to the top (6088 m).
Sunday I left for the refugio Huayna Potosi with a mini bus from the agency. Along the road we stopped to pick up the mountain equipment (crampons (stijgijzers), plastic boots, ice axe, jacket, pants) and to take some pictures of the mountain we would soon conquer. At the refugio I met my climbing partners, Caroline and Marlon, a very nice couple from Germany, and the group that would ascend the mountain the next day. Two Dutch people, Bas and Eelco (in October they will be traveling in South Amercia for two years and they are not thinking about stopping yet) and Ben from the UK. Later, at noon, also the people who climbed the mountain that morning arrived. That s when it first appeared to me that reaching the top isn´t obvious. They were all (5) exhausted, told stories of not being able to sleep at campo alto, people falling more then 10 meters down, frozen water bottles and most of all the terrible last 250 meters to the top. But they all did it, so why wouldn´t I be able to. After lunch the people from the top started to "defrost" and also mentioned the fact that the view from the top was beautiful and that they were glad they did it.
  
Training
In the afternoon of that first day we set off to glacier to get our ice training. A lot of fun actually and also good to get some confidence walking on ice and climbing while using the ice axe. Felix our guide appeared to be a funny guy and also inspired confidence as he worked very meticulously and was very patient and helpful. At night, after dinner my view on the difficulty level of this climb changed again as I got nauseous and a headache, probably as a consequence of the efforts during training at 4700 meter. I went to bed very early and almost couldn´t sleep for the whole night. The next morning I felt a little better though and after taking a pill against altitude sickness I was back to normal (except for the many times I had to pee, as those altitude sickness pills are diuretic). At noon the Bas, Eelco and Ben got back from the top and their stories inspired even more respect for the climb to the top. Eelco didn´t make it, Ben´s hands got frozen and Bas appeared to have had the least problems but was also exhausted and said that it was good for once but never again. And then also the stories about those last 250 meters: just terrible!
Anyway, after dinner we left for campo alto. A walk I hadn´t heard anything about, so it should be no problem. But it was. I reached the top very nauseous and tired. Actually quite logic that you have problems at an altitude of 5200 meters when you already had them at 4700 meters. But not good for your confidence, certainly as I saw that Caroline and Marlon weren´t affected by the climb at all. After two hours of laying down, drinking some cups of coca tea and eating a plate of noodles with a slice of strange cheese (of which I only ate the noodles and even to eat those I had to force myself) I felt better though. And when we went to bed, at 6:00 pm, I even managed to sleep.
  
To the top
Not for long though, as the wake up signal sounded at midnight. But I felt good although with some fear for the altitude sickness to come back during the climb. After a very basical breakfast (tea and some chocolate cookies) we started the ascent. I had my personal guide, Benacio, and Caroline and Marlon were on Felix´s rope. Ben and I advanced much faster and soon we couldn´t see the lights of the others any more. After two hours of gradually ascending, half way up, we reached the first "wall". With the ice axe we passed this first test of about 50 meters without any problems but I had some shortness of breath at the top. We continued walking, at a slow but steady pace and Ben kept reassuring me that "eres cliente muy fuerte de Belgica, vas a llegar al cumbre, muy seguro" and I believed him more with every step I took. After three hours though, and about an hour from the top, I started to need more breaks. And then appeared that last stretch of 250 meters, and I wasn´t impressed at all. When we started to climb it, my vision changed drastically. I couldn´t do 8 steps without resting, and at the end not even more than 3 steps. Hitting the axe in the ice, step with left foot, step with right foot and resting 20 seconds, that s what I forced myself to do. And it kept on coming, as if that stupid little hill of 250 meters grew with every step I took. My right hand also started to freeze and at some breaks I took it out of my glove to try to warm it up a little bit with the other hand and by moving it.
  
The top
After more than an hour we finally reached the summit, el cumbre, 6088 meters. A moment to be excited, but I wasn´t at all. My fingers had turned dark blue and as I was defrosting them they hurt terribly. I actually screamed. After some 15 minutes though I started to feel happy with what I had done and the view was great. After taking some pictures though we soon started the descend as the wind at the top was freezing. As the sun came out walking conditions got better and we also started to see the landscape we had passed during the ascend: beautifull ice constructions (see picture) all around. But even with that, going down was almost harder than going up. I felt sick and was exhausted. Half way down to the campo alto we ran into Felix and Marlon, hitting the first wall. They had descended to campo alto after two hours of walking because Caroline couldn´t go on any more. Then they had started the ascend again: crazy! Arrived at campo alto I tried to recuperate a little bit before descending further to the refugio but even coca tea didn´t help. So still sick and exhausted we started the descend to the refugio, together with Caroline. Arriving at the refugio an hour later was great, there s sooooo much oxigen at 4700 meters! After some sleep and a good meal I was almost back to normal. Then it was waiting for Felix and Marlone to arrive. When they did, we were very happy to hear that they also made it to the top. An even more extraordinary effort than mine! Back in La Paz I did little more than eating and going to bed. And now after a 13 hour sleep I am completaly back to normal!
Conclusion about this trip: good for once, but never again. I never suffered so much before in my life and yes I even take the marmotte into account! Afterwards it feels good that you did it, but I don´t know if I would recommend it to anyone. I don´t know if I have succeded in describing it properly so that you people back at home doing some relaxed teaching or comfortable bureau job can imagine how it is to climb a 6000der, but think before you act when you ever have to opportunity to do something similar!
Latest Comments (3)
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bergske (reply)
Jan 11, 2007 17:35 EST by bord
ja meneer, nu had ik toch verwacht dat ge die berg op uw blote voeten had beklommen ze, dan had ik u naar analogie een snicker kunnen geven ;-)
amuseert u daar nog zou ik zo zeggen en we zullen hier is een lekkere Belgische pint drinken op uw gezondheid :-p
P.S. Bavo mist het Belgisch bier al
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Re: Een groet uit Sint-NIklaas (reply)
Sep 24, 2006 18:17 EST by esbjorn
Wel, zo een week later hebben we het moeilijk om het een mission impossible te noemen, en herinneren we alleen nog de kick van op de top te staan. Voor de rest proberen we de verslagen te blijven laten komen!
Esbjorn
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In reply to:
We hebben al met volle teugen genoten van je eerste verslagjes, en zeker van de quasi mission impos... show all
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Een groet uit Sint-NIklaas (reply)
Sep 22, 2006 18:01 EST by fierskes
We hebben al met volle teugen genoten van je eerste verslagjes, en zeker van de quasi mission impossible naar de top (op zo'n korte termijn) van die 6000-der.
We kijken uit, met veel spanning, naar het vervolg van je odyssee.
Papa en mama
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| 8. | Huayna Potosi (6088m), ge moet goe zot zijn! - La Paz, Bolivia Sep 12, 2006 (  25 ) (  3 ) |
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