i'm not the story teller of the group, as that position obviously belongs to Scott, but i will try to give the account of climbing Huayna Potosi in the most detail that i can.
Set-Up
- Our group consisted of 11 people. the four of us, a guy from portugal who was with his girlfriend from England, 2 girls from Switzerland, 1 girl from Austria, and 2 guys from Canada. The most imporant thing you need to recognize is the couple.
- Huayna Potosi is a 6,088 meter mountain, or about 20,000 feet. The tallest mountain in the states, excluding Alaska, is in California and is just over 14,000 feet.
- Scott, Drew, Brent, and I have never climbed a mountain needing technical equipment.
Saturday Morning- We met the guides, and the other 7 climbers, in La Paz where we got some of the gear that we would need such as ice pics, boots, crampons (spikes for boots), harnesses, rain gear, etc. We then left for Huayna.
Saturday Afternoon- We went into some of the glaciers at the base of the mountain to practice climbing on ice walls. It went well, as all four of us could do it without much problem. It was about this time that we found out that 2 of the other people in our group of 11 were very interesting. The two people that i am speaking of is the couple (the guy from Portugal and the girl from England). The girl could not get more than 4 feet up the ice wall without crying, and the guy was smoking cigarettes on the half hour. Last we checked, complete oxygen consumption at 6,000 meters is necessary for Sanity.
Saturday Night- We returned from our practice in the glaciers, and hung out in the Refugio with the other people, most of whom were fun.
Sunday Morning- Got up, had breakfast, and packed our stuff. At about 11:30 we headed up to High Camp with our guides. At about 12:00, clouds rolled in, and started pelting us with this hard snow type of material. i would say it was hail, but i really think it was just snow that hurt. The group quickly split into two groups on the hike; those that were ready to climb, and those that smoked and were scared of heights. The High Camp is at an altitude of about 5,200 meters.
Sunday Afternoon- We had lunch, and then were supposed to go to bed at about 6pm because we were getting up at 12 am to start our climb, at night, when the snow and ice is more frozen. The problem turned out to be going to sleep. For one, we had to fit 10 of us into a Yurt, that was probably meant for maybe 5. We were packed.
Sunday Night- At about 9pm, None of us had fallen to sleep yet, but were starting to get tired. Then all of a sudden Brent and I hear A.J, the smoker with the girlfriend who's scared of heights, say he feels like he's going to pass out. Next his girlfriend starts to panick because he is no longer moving. Brent calmly at this point tells her to relax as he tells her he'll check his pulse (more of an antagonizing move than a calming move). From there, i could not tell you what happens, other than that AJ goes crazy. He says he can't breathe well, and keeps on making strange noises, that don't make any sense. Scott went and got the guides out of the tent, and they suggest that he be taken back down in altitude. A.J., however, refuses, as he is saying crazy stuff how that will be worse for him because his body hasn't acclimatized to the temperature, and how he can't move his legs due to something he calls frolic acid, and how he shouldn't drink water because it causes swelling in the brain at this altitude, and how his back is having spazims. I suggest it's because of de-hydration, and that he can move his legs, while Brent tells him he has one of two options; drink water, or go down in Altitude. Of course he is not coherent enough to understand anything. His Problem: He's insane. And he smokes while climbing a mountain. And he doesn't believe in drinking water.
Monday Morning: Brent and i never actually fell asleep, so we got up at 12:00 and starting putting on all of our gear which takes at least a half hour. This was the day of all the ice climbing and snow, so we had to put on a lot. The guides and everyone else got up at about 12:30. Obviously, A.J., and his girlfriend, did not get up to climb, as an extra guide had come up to high camp to help them down. one of the Canadians, Oliver, decided also not to climb at this point. We left High Camp at about 1:30am in 3 different groups. Brent and I were with a guide. Drew and Scott were with a guide. And then the other Canadian, and the girl from Austria, and a swiss girl were in another group with a guide. It was a full moon so we didn't need our head lamps very much. At about 2:30, we found out that the Austrian had dropped out. At about 3:00, we climbed our first big ice wall. At about 4:00 my headache worsened. At about 4:45, we came up on the final ascent to the summit..... IT WAS MASSIVE. It was about a 200 meter ice wall, i'de say about 60 degrees, or more. 45 minutes later, we hit the summit, having reached it in only 4 hours from the high camp, tying the record for the guide agency by any tourists.
The Summit: It was breathtaking. It basically went up to a point, and then dropped off the other side onto the East Face of the mountain. Scott thought it rounded off, and went up extremely fast, almost going over the other side, which would have been an easy death for him and everyone attatched to him.
We have pictures, and will try to attatch them a little later. Of the 11 people with us, only 6 summited the mountain. The four of us, a Canadian, and a swiss girl. Thanks for your prayers, we all arrived back safely.
-4 Guys @ 20,000
