Top of the world (1)

JG: Let me explain the events leading up to the most difficult/challenging/exhausting/accomplished thing we've ever done.

We were turned on to Huayna Potosi mountain near La Paz from a new friend in Bogotá, who is an established rock and mountain climber. HP is known to be one of most doable climbs for a novice, to an altitude of 6,088m (almost 20k feet above sea level). After some cursory research, we booked a 3-day, 2-night excursion and started on Sunday.

Two hour taxi ride with our scantly English-speaking guide from La Paz (3600m) to base camp at 4700m, with a flat tire along the way (see pics for the clown factory trying to change said tire without a jack). Base camp amounted to a heatless hut with mattresses and sleeping bags on the floor. The bathroom was a small brick outhouse that contained in it a latrine that did not flush. We engaged in some ice climbing practice during the afternoon, had an early dinner, and turned in. I wore the same clothes to bed (two pant layers, three shirt/sweater layers) that I arrived in, mainly because the temperature did not get above 45° F.

The next morning we hiked up to high camp (5200m) with our backpacks and all of our gear - ski boots, crampons, ice axes, headlamp, sleeping bag, and all belongings - about 30 lbs in total over rocky terrain spanning two hours. We rest at high camp and meet several others, mainly from Europe, who were making the trek as well the following day. High camp was still heatless but with thinner mattresses and a toilet seat set on top of a 5-gallon bucket with another "mountain" building inside.
I was still wearing the same clothes I arrived in the previous day, as the temperature was even colder given the elevation. Bedtime was 6pm because....

Tuesday "morning" we were up at midnight, had some coffee and crackers, and left our shack at about 1:30am to make the trip to the top. Gear and backpacks on, one more layer of clothing, ice axes in hand, we proceeded to hike, climb, and labor for about 5 hours, with some slopes exceeding 80 degrees. At summit, oxygen levels are less than half of what they are at sea level. A number of climbers in our camp never made it to the top due to altitude sickness, fatigue, cold, or some combination thereof. We were the second group to make it to 6,000m, just in time for the sunrise (see pics).

HP was one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had. But I may never climb another mountain again (or at least not at that altitude). After hiking back DOWN the mountain then to base camp, we logged in about 9 hours of trekking, traversing an estimated distance of about 8-10km. Every muscle, bone, and joint hurt to the core.

On our ride back to La Paz, I wore the same clothes that I arrived in 48 hours prior.

SS: This truly was the hardest thing I have ever accomplished - and a surprise it was that I finished! I was ready to turn around 3 hours and 5800 meters into it - about the time I was looking up at a 35-meter, 90-degree ice wall I had to climb. But with some inner strength and encouragement from Johnny we made it to the top.
Temperatures were close to freezing during the day but the sun made it feel warmer and the nights dropped below freezing and near the top of the mountain was about -15°C. What happened to our idea of staying in warm climates??!!

Just for some perspective:
Highest Canadian mountain is 5959m in the Yukon.
Highest American mountain is 6144m in Alaska.
Mount Everest base camp in Nepal is 5374m and base camp in China is 5150m.
We made it to 6088m!!

At high camp there was writing all over the walls of past travelers with quirky sayings, pictures, hand drawn flags, and testimonials of their experience of HP. Only one person spoke the most honest truth in the entire hut - "I have never farted so much in my life".
My Canucks will be proud to know I scribbled the Oilers emblem beside an existing Canadian flag!