Huayna Potosi Hike

My 300th post celebrates the highest peak I plan to do my entire life : Huayna Potosi. 

Budget: USD120

•  USD120. 2d1n package with Jiwaki. It includes everything (gear, transport, guide, meals, water), as I stayed in La Paz and just walked to their shop. It is USD145 for the 3d2n package, and I chose 2d1n and hiked Austria Peak instead for my extra day.  

Hike Date / Difficulty (Elevation: 6,088m / 19,974ft)

• Hike Date : August 10-11, 2024
• Difficulty: 5 out of 5 mainly because of the altitude
• Route below is around 10.3kilometers, with an elevation change of 1400m/ ▽1400m 
• around 13h - 2hrs on day 1, 11hrs on day 2. 
• the people I met did 45mins on day 1, and 9 hours on day 2

When to Go
Throughout the year. I went in winter. 

Special Notes

• Weather forecast
• Trailheads. 
• "Basecamp". I don't even know its name, but at 4,700m, 3d2n trips spend their first night here for acclimation. I honestly do not know how you can book it without going through the agencies. 
• Mountain huts. 
• Paid. via tour agencies. 
• Free. None.
• Camping. None.
• Independent vs Tour. I did not see a single independent hiker. The huts + food are operated by tour agencies, so I have no idea how to book the huts otherwise. I also did not see any camping spot in my trip. 
• Tour agency : I went with Jiwaki. Plenty of options in La Paz, but in my research Jiwaki is th most reputable. 
• At US$120, this was a great deal, but a hit or miss. My first guide was the most accommodating and I loved the experience. However, my buddy got sick and he had to turn back around an hour or two in, and they transferred me to a new guide. The second guide was the meanest tour related person I've ever met, consistently telling me I am weak and we should go back - simply because I am not hiking at the pace he wants. I prefer to walk and rest (and explained it to him), and passed by people who went 30 minutes before us, but no, I am weak and should not be attempting this hike (eyeroll)
• There's a maximum of two guests per guide. Guests are tied to their guide. 
• Meals are included but not snacks. I personally did not need any snacks. 
  
• Bring toilet paper. 
• You will have to carry your own sleeping back up to high camp. 
• The hike was fairly straightforward - except for a couple of crevasse every now and then. And if you fall.... well, it's just a couple of meters down, with hundreds of ice spikes waiting for you. That said, with how popular this hike is, the trail is very easy to see, and if you just focus a bit, even the crevasse can easily be identified.  

Itinerary
Saturday

• 08:30. Meetup at Jiwaki office. The office opened about 20 minutes late?  Jackets, pants and I think sleeping bags were distributed at this point. 
• 10:30. Arrived at the gear fitting location. We chose our gear - boots and crampons. 
• 12:10. Finally arrived at the basecamp. 
• 13:15. Start of the hike to high camp.
• 15:00. Arrived at high camp after plenty of breaks.
• 17:20. Dinner!

Sunday

• 01:30. Start hike. 
• 07:39. Arrived at summit. I think the fastest in our group arrived an hour before? 
• 10:00ish. Back at high camp. Lunch. 
• 12:19. Back at base camp. Headed back to La Paz. 

The fitting room. 

View in the shuttle on our way out of La Paz. 

Hello Huayna Potosi. 

Base camp.

Accommodations at Base Camp.

Lunch!

Coca leaves to help with altitude sickness. I was supposed to chew them, and I did, then almost threw up. I gave the rest to my guide. 

Mess hall. 

My bag ready to go. 

Going up High Camp. 

Woot woot, Huayna Potosi! (FYI - summit is way behind that peak)

Rocky steps, but very easy to see. 

Not a steep hike.

Trail to the right.

The "short cut"

The ascent to the high camp. 

I did spend a lot of time sitting on the rocks to the side.

View of the surrounding mountains. 

Finally at high camp. 

My bed for the night. 

Move view outside. 

Dinner. 

Dusk at High Camp. 

More pics, coz why not. 

Summit! I did feel like I was on top of the world. Oh, and no pics before the summit coz 1) it was dark and b) my focus was on breathing. 

My water almost frozen. 

Beautiful views. 

Me with a random Taiwanese buddy. 

The view at the summit does NOT have any marker lol. So our guide had a sign. 

Heading back down. 

The group before us. 

View down. Trail is somewhere there. 

Trail to the left. 

Much softer than it looks. 

Chill hike down. 

Looking back, and realizing I was too late to look back, can't see nothing. 

Continuing down. 

Beautiful mountains down. 

A long way down. 

Probably the skechiest section. However, even if you fall, not much of a drop (i.e. not a cliff)

Just don't fall in here. 

One of the crevasses. 

Don't go off trail, big drops everywhere. 

Looks safe on the trail, just be on trail. 

Seriously loved this hike. 

Looking back at this trap riddled hike. 

More of the beautiful hike up this glacier. 

And back to the real world.