Climbing Huayna Potosi in 14 days

Cordillera Real – Bolivia

Elevation:

(19,974ft/6.088m)

Difficulty

Intermediate

Duration

14 days

Itinerary

The first day in La Paz will be devoted to acclimatization, because it lies in very high elevation. You can go sightseeing (we will go together on the second day too) and enjoy the vibe of this city (-/-/-)

We will leave the hotel around 9 am after breakfast and drive for about an hour to visit “El Valle de la Luna” (Moon`s Valley), which are very interesting big sand formations. They look like big stalagmites with its nice light red colors. We will walk around and take pictures. The round excursion will take us about 3 hours. We will have a city tour in the afternoon visiting places like Plaza Murillo, which is where the congress is located, and a nice Cathedral as well as San Francisco Church, and transfer back to hotel (B/-/-)

After breakfast, we will leave the hotel around 9 am. We will drive for about 2 hours to get the Tiahuanaco ruins. Once there, we will visit the ceremonial civic town center, where we can observe one of the most important vestiges of the Aymara Culture – Pre-Inca (800 years before Christ). After that, we will continue our trip for another 4 hours to Copacabana town on the Shore of Titicaca Lake; we will have a lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon there (B/-/-)

We will get our breakfast around 8 am and leave at 9 am to an excursion to the Island of the Moon. We will be sailing part of the trip and also hiking. We will get great views of the Cordillera Real (the main Bolivian mountain range). We will experience the life of the local people on the islands. We will drive back to the hotel in La Paz in the afternoon (B/-/-)

After breakfast, we will leave the hotel around 10 am. We will drive for an hour to get the parking lot at around (17,000ft/5.182m) and we will take a short hike to the summit of the Chacaltaya, which is at (17,389ft/5.300m). We will get a very beautiful panoramic view of many surrounding peaks. The round trip will take us 5 hours. We will relax in the hotel for the rest of the afternoon  (B/-/-)

Notice: These first 5 days are not very demanding. We will drive most of the time. However, it is necessary for the proper acclimatization!  

We will have an early breakfast around 6:30 am and departure around 7:30 am. We will drive for about 4 hours to our starting point of the hike, which is Tuni Village at (14,436ft/4.400m). We will give our packs and camping stuff to the arrieros (porters, lama drivers) to be loaded on lamas or on donkeys and star our 4 hour hike to the Condoriri Base Camp at (15,092ft/4.600m). We will set up our tents and camping facilities and accommodate our stuff inside our tents. We will relax for the rest of the afternoon until dinner time (B/-/D)

We will have breakfast at 5 am and leave the camp and climb for around 5 hours to get to the summit at (17,290ft/5.270m), and 2 hours down. The first section is mainly walking on stones and grass, only the last hour will be scrambling. We will need the rope, because it is sometimes covered in snow. Crampons are not necessary. We will get to the camp in the afternoon (B/-/D)

We will wake up around 3 am, have breakfast and leave the camp at around 4 am. We will walk up for around 2 hours to get to entrance of the glacier. We will put on the crampons and rope up to continue to the summit of Tarija at (17,389ft/5.300m), which will take us around 2 hours more and then further to Pequeño Alpamayo (17,749ft/5.410m) for 2 hours more. We will get very impressive views, Maria Lloco, Huayna Potosí, Condoriri and among others. We will go down to the Camp in 2-3 hours (B/-/D)

After breakfast, we will leave the camp around 10 am. It will take us 3 hours to get to the Tuni Village, where our transportation will be waiting to take us back to the hotel in La Paz, which will take us 4 hours more (B/-/-)
 This day is devoted to exploring, relaxation and resting (B/-/-)

We will leave the hotel at 8 am. It takes us around 2 hours of driving to get to our trailhead at (15,419ft/4.700m). We will hike to the Refuge (16,732ft/5.100m) that will take us around 3 hours. Because we will be walking on a moraine and on some sand, we will get a porter, who helps us with part of our heavy stuff (crampons, ice axes, sleeping bags). Once in the refuge, we will be accommodated, have dinner and rest until midnight (B/-/D)

We will get up around midnight, eat light breakfast, and around 1 am start walking up towards the summit of Huayna Potosi at (19,974ft/6.088m). It will take us 7-8 hours to get there, and 3-4 hours to go back to the hut. We normally put the crampons and rope up close to the refuge. The hike has some sections that are not so steep, others are more flat. There are also crevasses and the last section is steep with 45º angle. Once in the refuge, we will pack our stuff and start going down to the point, where our transportation picks us up and takes us to La Paz (B/-/-)

We will use this day in case of bad weather or any other reason. Otherwise, we will spend the last day in La Paz (B/-/-)
Transfer from the hotel to the Airport (B/-/-)

Price: Please contact us

Land transportation and transfers
Professional IFMGA or ASEGUIM Mountain Guide (ratio 2 climbers -1 Guide)
Accommodation in Hotels (double)
American breakfast in the hotels
Refuge (Huayna Potosi)
All meals during the hikes and climbs (shown above with B: breakfast and D: dinner)
National park entrance fees
Group equipment (ropes, snow pickets, ice screws)
Camping equipment (sleeping tents, kitchen tent, kitchen stuff, etc.)
Donkeys or porters to carry the common climbing and camping gear to the base camps and refuge
International flight tickets
Meals in Hotels (lunch, dinner)
Personal climbing gear
Insurance of any kind
Tips
Other not specified expenses

 

Huayna Potosi - Bolivia