Oh my guides! Huayna Potosi by the normal route : Trip Reports : SummitPost

Page Type:	Trip Report
Lat/Lon:	16.26406°S / 68.15414°W
GPX File:	Download GPX » View Route on Map
Date Climbed/Hiked:	Oct 12, 2016
Activities:	Mountaineering
Season:	Spring

Page Type:

Trip Report

Lat/Lon:

16.26406°S / 68.15414°W

GPX File:

Download GPX » View Route on Map

Date Climbed/Hiked:

Oct 12, 2016

Activities:

Mountaineering

Season:

Spring

Introduction

So disappointed I was when, as I landed in Panama on my way to Bolivia, my friend, climbing partner and the Spanish-speaking of us two told me he has lost his passport in Peru and could not join me for the mountain. Since I was not confident of climbing solo and had very short time in La Paz to find another partner, hiring a guide seemed to be the only solution. But still, climbing with a guide is better than not climbing at all, or so I thought.

Guide, gear, preparation

Huayna Potosi is not the easiest 6000 meter peak in the region. Since my friend was stuck in Peru, I crossed the border to do Chachani (6057m). I was surprised to have made it since it was only my fifth day at altitude coming from sea level, and I found it similar to Huayna Potosi on my eighth day at altitude. So Chachani was easier. Also, I know someone who has done Acotango, on the Bolivia-Chile border, as a non technical day hike to 6052 meters on a 3-day trip from La Paz.

Not wanting the refuge was hard

Coming back from Chachani on day 6 of my trip, my flight to La Paz was late, so I only had an afternoon to arrange everything for a departure on day 8, summit on day 9, and catch my flight out of La Paz on day 10. My demands were clear: 2 days, transport, private guide, no equipment and camping in Campo Argentino. The latter was to gain snow camping experience and do more traveling in daylight. Going through the various agencies on Sagarnaga, I got quoted prices from 880 Bs to 1200 Bs. I went with the cheapest. Campo Argentino was hard to get, but we agreed that we would get there on the first day, then the guide would go back to the refuge for the night. Half a day was tight, but sufficient for the logistics. Finding a mini-USB cable for my GPS and a screw to fix a broken tent pole was the hardest part of the day…

This client was rented a bicycle helmet.

Hungry crevasse awaiting climber

Boots: I was unable to find out from the agencies whether I “needed” plastic boots for warmth or for actually front-pointing, so I did rent a pair (30 Bs). Retrospectively, side-stepping was enough and there was no ice climbing, so the winter hiking boots and strap-on crampons I brought would have done the job.

Ice ax, crampons: I had my own, but looking at others around me, expect to rent dull crampons and an ice ax that is too long or too short. And bicycle helmets...

Ice screws, snow pickets: I brought mine, but not all guides (and therefore rope teams) had them. For sure no one was expecting to use them.

Crevasse rescue gear: crevasses may not be huge of Huayna Potosi but some are big enough to swallow a person, but the Bolivian philosophy seemed to be not to care. My guide told me no one fell into crevasses since he started guiding 8 years ago, but that’s like when they claim they have a 90% summit rate…

The guides did not bring crevasse rescue gear and told me to leave mine at the refuge. Rope teams walked on glacier with walking poles with no arresting power should anyone fall in. Team members walked only 2-3 meters apart so that a crevasse would swallow the whole team. Why rope up then?

Two maps

Topo map of Huayna Potosi area

Satellite map

Approach

Annotated map

Cemetery on the road to Zongo

I was brought to the base camp further down the road when coming from La Paz, had lunch, had to wait for my guide to sort out gear for other customers, and left with my guide and said other customers. Wasn't I supposed to have a private guide?

After 30 minutes, we stopped at a nondescript place where the path split. The guide told me that he would go do a mountaineering intro with the other customers and I could either sit and wait for 2 hours (in the rain and fog…) or go to the first refuge by myself and wait for him there to go to Campo Argentino. I took the second option since he assured me that the path was easy to follow. Indeed, even in the fog it would be hard to get lost, but finding the exact way to rock hop was not always obvious. So much for the private guide… (Retrospectively, I could have tried to go with him and get a free refresh on mountaineering techniques.)

Tent site. The only flat spot is also saddle acting as a wind funnel.

Is this mountaineering?

It took me 2.5 hours for the 2.8 km from base camp to the first refuge. Guided groups should take less time since they do not carry tents and snow and ice hardware and they do not have to route find. An hour before sunset, as my guide was still not showing up and I figured we would not have time to get to Campo Argentino, I found three improvised tent sites on a small col slightly further from the refuge and pitched my tent. My guide showed up 30 minutes later and though he was still willing to go to Campo Argentino, I was not keen on traveling on a glacier with my full pack in the dark, so we ate at the refuge and I went to sleep in my tent.

The 20 Bs fee to enter the mountain was supposed to be included in the package I bought, but since the guide was not with me to testify, I had to pay it again.

Farewell 20 Bs

Ascent

Some avalanche debris

A short but violent snowstorm passed during the evening, dropping 5 cm of snow at high camp in 2 hours and 15 cm at the summit (they were predicting 50 cm...). The wind was predicted at 50 km/h with gusts of at least 70 km/h by my feeling, so I was glad I brought a 4-season tent. But the 1 Bs screw I bought in La Paz to fix a tent pole got bent.

Lower glacier

Every team at the lower two refuges had the same plan of waking up at midnight and being on the road at 1 am, with an estimated time of arrival at the summit at 7 am. Wind and snow stopped as we left.

It took 20 minutes of hiking and scrambling to get the third refuge and the entry point to the glacier. There, I realized I forgot my crampons in the first refuge, so we lost 30 minutes as my guide went back down to get them for me, which was very nice of him. During these 30 minutes, I witnessed other guides put gaiters and crampons on customers who had no idea how to put them on, give them an ice ax without a word on how to hold it or how to self-arrest, and tie them into their rope. It made me glad I had a private guide, but at the same time, this is a PD normal route, not the North face of the Eiger.

Bergschrund crossing

The walk up to Campo Argentino and the base of the bergschrund was fairly straightforward. Some teams used hiking poles, ignoring the possibility of a crevasse fall. We started last from the base of the glacier and were first to the bergschrund. There we waited 15 minutes to take a member from another other rope team from the same agency since three of their customers wanted to give up. I agreed out of sympathy for that fourth climber even if I paid for a private guide service…

Upper glacier

Everyone crossed the bergschrund at the same spot. From the pictures I took and my GPS track, I would say it was 45° snow on 25 meters, but it seemed steeper during the climb. As we went up, we heard and saw a small avalanche less than 500 meters from us. It did not reach Campo Argentino, where I wanted to camp, but was not so far neither. After the bergschrund it was again an easy walk up around crevasses.

Final wall

When faced to the final wall, our guide decided head straight up instead of to the climber’s right as on the map I had. At one point the guide and my newly found partner tried to haul me up with the rope. I frowned on them, meaning I want to climb the mountain by myself, but I don’t think they saw anything.

Final arete

My guide never explained why we took that route, but we stopped short of the summit since the final arête was "too dangerous". Perhaps he knew it since there was a snowstorm the evening before and the usual route would not have got us as high? I did not ask, but I would have done the last part if I was the leader. It did not look so bad. My watch read 6022m (calibrated at 5130 from the second refuge, which I believe is too low), my GPS read 6080m, and my map was within one contour line (20m) from the summit.

It took us 5 hours 45 minutes in total in very good weather and dry snow conditions for the 3.2 km ascent, which would have been 5 hours if it was not the two unplanned breaks from forgetting crampons and adding a team member, and we were the first party on top.

On the way down, I guess that I met about two thirds of the people I saw from the base of the glacier. I do not know if they will all make it to the summit, but I would guess that the success rate was between 50 and 70% for the day.

Descent

We took the same route for the descent. Twice we had to down-climb, once on the final wall and once at the bergschrund. I did not feel the need for placing protection as long as the team members protect each other, but it was funny seeing the guide start building an anchor only after my teammate and I have started down-climbing the bergschrund. That would not have passed a North American mountaineering exam…

It took 2 hours 45 minutes down to the refuge with taking many pictures.

Packing at the high camp was delayed as my tent was frozen in the ground. I descended with another guide and the teammate we picked up. I could not follow them since my pack was way heavier, so I lost sight of them. I found my way by myself to the base camp from which I started, only to learn that they headed to the other one where the transport was. So I had to walk to that other base camp. Again, so much for the private guide I was supposed to have…

Walking down to base camp took 1.5 hours. Most people will take less since they will have lighter packs.

Aftermath

Complaining in the office back in La Paz about not having had a private guide and therefore not getting to Campo Argentino and getting lost on the way down did not yield any refund, which was expected in a country like Bolivia. At least he took back the gas canister that I bought and did not use. The agency I used was Adolfo Andino. I would not recommend them since I did not get the service that was promised.

Total 12.1km, plus 1.3km on road between the two base camps at the end. +1348/-29 meters. 8.25 hours up, 4.25 hours down.

Soloing would be safer than being attached to 3 people on one snow bridge

Hard to say no once you are there and see it from everywhere

I came to Bolivia for the mountains. Would I have done it if I knew this was the way things would have worked out, going with a not-so-private guide instead of my friend and missing the adventure part of mountaineering? If I have already flown half the globe with 20 kg of mountaineering gear for 2 people, it is an easy yes. But if I knew it before I booked my plane ticket…

In retrospect, soloing would probably have been safer than being tied to some rope teams.

It is not about stopping short of the summit. It is not about having been unnecessarily pulled up at one point by teammates. It is not about not having camped on the glacier. It is not about getting ripped off by the guiding agency. I even did two 6000 summits in my trip while I only planned for one. And the guide was nice, at least when he was there. However, going with a guide, it was missing some sense of adventure.

My friend with whom I was supposed to climb with told me later on in Lima : “next time, find a more responsible friend who does not lose his passport when he travels”.

Comments

Australopitecus - Feb 11, 2018 5:59 pm - Hasn't voted

that happend when you choose a cheap company in South America

try a certified guide next time (there are about 30 UIAGM/IFMGA certified guides in Bolivia from AGMTB, and like hundred of not certified guides), at least where I work we try to make it a full experience when we take clients to the mountain, Im sorry about your "guided experience".... saludos desde Chile.

to post!

Oh my guides! Huayna Potosi by the normal route