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Well James and I have had a fantastic week since our last blog! We started off by visiting a tourist agency called "Alberth Bolivia" and somehow ended up booking a guide to take us up Huayna Potosi, a 6,088m mountain (although it is supposed to be the easiest 6,000m peak in the world!) in just 3 days time! We also booked a tour for the next day up Chacaltaya, a 5,395m which is a very easy mountain to climb as you are driven up to 5,200m leaving only 200m to climb. Despite leaving very late due to a broken down minibus James and I found the 200m climb surprisingly easy (which at that altitude is something of an achievement) although it probably had something to do with the fact that we had been at over 4,000m altitude for about 2 weeks now. James' dad had climbed the same mountain 38 years ago but apprently found it very hard!!

High Altitude Mountaineering

James and Anne Walkington
2006-08-08 16:53:24

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impacting on the ice we arrived at the bottom of the first of the 75 degree ice slopes. Before we started to climb we had a quick drink and some chocolate, although I could barely eat one square, which almost made me sick- the altitude was certainly starting to have a bad effect on me! After Teodore had climbed to the top to secure a belay point James and I climbed up (still tied together) I was having to stop after almost every step to catch my breath but eventually managed to make the 50m to the top. As soon as we were at the top it was time to move off again but my torch batteries had gone for the second time and I had run out of spares. Luckily Teodore had a spare torch to lend me. The going seemed to get a lot tougher from here on. Never the less I kept plodding on even though I was having to stop more and more frequently and for longer and longer periods of time. My legs were burning with lactic acid from lack of oxygen and before long it didn´t matter how long I stopped, my breathing still didn´t return to normal. At this point my torch battery went again and I fell off the path a couple of times, somehow James and Teodore were both on their first set of batteries and my third set had gone! Teodore kindly gave me his torch. We ploughed on still further until it seemed that I was resting more than I was walking. James was still in top form.

At this point it became clear to everyone that there was no way I would be able to complete the final hurdle on the mountain - a 200m 75 degree slope to the summit. This would require plenty of energy at sea level, let alone at 6,000m! It was impossible for James to go on without me as I
would have had frost bite by the time he had returned and probably have died (it was so cold that the water in my bottle had turned to a slush puppy!). So with heavy hearts we turned around at 5,900m.

The walk down was much easier as gravity was on our side! As we got to the small steep slope and abseiled down it started to come light and the mountain was gradually turned a beautiful shade of pink. After a few long hours of endless snow plodding we arrived back at rock camp. After much moping around we packed up our things and returned to Base Camp (the journey down was a real killer!) and finally back to La Paz where it was time to say good bye to Teodore (who we left with a generous tip!).

Today is our wedding anniversary but we are just chilling out as I ache too much to do more! We are going out for dinner tonight - not to an Italian restaurant, which will make a change as that is all we have eaten since James got food poisoning! It is also time for my annual review by James - I need The old glacier in the lower left corner was where we practiced. Advanced Base Camp is at the top of the rocks.
to pass this one as I failed last year.

I think this will probably be the end of my mountaineering career - although I hear Kilimanjaro is quite easy!!!