Huayna Potosi and Sajama

Huayna Potosi & Sajama

Tour Description

This outstanding mountaineering expedition takes us to the dramatic western and eastern flank of the Cordillera Real in Bolivia.

We begin by climbing Pequeño Alpamayo (5,400m / 17,704 ft), and continue with Huayna Potosi (6,094m / 19,974 ft), an imposing pyramid of rock and ice, whose name in the local Aymara language means ‘Young Peak’.  One of Bolivia’s most popular climbs, we’ll have stunning views of Lake Titicaca, the Altiplano, and the Cordillera Real.

Our final challenge is the impressive Nevado Sajama (6,542m / 21,463 ft), the highest mountain in Bolivia. This extinct stratovolcano is an isolated snow-covered cone which rises out of the vast altiplano plain.

To see a Topographic Map of Huayna Potosi : Click here

                                   To order a topographic Huayna Potosi map: Click here

Itinerary

Day 1 La Paz
Reception at La Paz airport and transfer to our Hotel. We’ll meet the guides and other members of the expedition, make an equipment and gear check, and review our schedule.
Elevation – 3,650m / 11,942 ft / Hotel

Day 2 La Paz - Copacabana
This morning we make the 155 km / 96 mile drive to Copacabana, a journey of about 3 ½ hours. We’ll stop for lunch at the picteuresque town of Huatajata, beside the majestic Lake Titicaca. Arriving at Copacabana, an attractive lakeside city named for the pre-Columbian Andean deity Copakawana, we’ll take a gentle two-hour hike up the Cerro Calvario (Calvary Hill), where we’ll enjoy a beautiful sunset.

Transfer distance – 155 km / 96 miles / Transfer time 3 ½ hours / Trekking Time – 2 hours / Elevation – Min 3,650m / 11,942 ft - Max 3,840m / 12,598 ft / Hotel

Day 3 Copacabana - Island of the Sun (Pilcocania) - Copacabana
Early this morning we’ll travel by boat to the north side of the Island of the Sun, a large island in the middle of Lake Titicaca. Disembarking at Chincana, we’ll hike down the island to Pilcocania where we’ll have lunch. In the evening we return by boat to Copacabana.

Transfer time – 3 hours / Trekking Time – 2 hours / Elevation – 3,840m / 12,598 ft / Hotel

Day 4 Copacabana - Huayna Potosi base camp
From Copacabana the road descends to Plaza de Llamas, where we continue on to Huayna Potosi base camp (4,700m / 15,419 ft), located in the Zongo Valley. Here we’ll make use of a small hut owned by a local family.

Transfer time – XX / Elevation – Min 3,840m / 12,598 ft – Max 4,700m / 15,419 ft / Tent

Day 5 Huayna Potosi base camp – Charquini Peak- Huayna Potosi base camp
Today we make a 6 to 7 hour hike to the summit of Mt Charquini (5,350m / 17,552 ft), an easy and attractive day trip. We’ll have stunning views from the summit over the Zongo Valley.

Trekking Time – 6 - 7 hours / Elevation – Min 4,700m / 15,419 ft – Max 5,350m / 17,552 ft / Tent

Day 6 Huayna Potosi base camp - Huayna Potosi high camp
Today we climb to Huayna Potosi’s high camp (5,100m / 16,732 ft), an ascent of 3 to 4 hours. We follow the shoreline of the Zongo dam, until we reach the trail head, which rises over rubble from the moraine. The trail ascends a steep scree slope until reaching the glacier. We continue to climb until reaching the high camp, known as Camp Argentina. We will prepare for tomorrow’s summit day with a delicious dinner.

Trekking Time – 3 - 4 hours / Elevation – Min 4,700m / 15,419 ft – Max 5,100m / 16,732 ft / Tent

Day 7 Huayna Potosi high camp – Summit – La Paz
Today we make our summit bid of Huayna Potosi (6,094m / 19,993 ft), a trip of between seven and eight hours. We set out at dawn and begin to climb the ridge at the top of which we can see the pyramidal silhouette of the summit. We reach the summit by way of an extremely steep and narrow summit ridge. After admiring the beautiful summit views and recording this achievement with photographs, we’ll return to the Zongo camp where we’ll eat, rest, and then make the return trip to La Paz.

Trekking Time – 7 - 8 hours / Transfer distance – xx km / xx miles / Transfer time – 30 minutes / Elevation – Min 3,650m / 11,942 ft - Max 6,094m / 19,993 ft / Hotel

Day 8 La Paz
Today we’ll have a rest day. In the afternoon we make an optional city tour of Bolivia’s fascinating and historic administrative capital, the world’s highest de facto capital city. Towering over the city is the triple-peaked, snow-covered Volcán Illimani (6,462m / 21,200 ft).
Elevation – Min 3,650m / 11,942 ft / Hotel

Day 9 La Paz - Sajama
This morning we make the five hour drive to the village of Sajama (4,200m / 13,779 ft), in the Sajama National Park, situated on the western edge of Bolivia, on the border with Chile. We’ll cross the high plain of the altiplano and visit en route the historic church Curahura de Carangas, dating from the 16th century and famous for its painted frescos. In Sajama we stay in a small hut with basic services.
Transfer distance – 320 km / 198 miles / Transfer time – 5 hours / Elevation – Min 3,650m / 11,942 ft - Max 4,200m / 13,779 ft / Hut

Day 10 Sajama Village – Sajama base camp
Leaving Sajama village we follow the pretty trail to base camp, a three hour trek beside a stream and low native growth. Mules will carry our luggage and gear. Reaching the base of Volcán Sajama we’ll set up camp.
Trekking Time – 3 hours / Elevation – Min 4,200m / 13,779 ft – Max 4,700m / 15,419 ft / Tent

Day 11 Sajama base camp - Camp 1
Today we climb to Camp 1 (5,400m / 17.716 ft). The ascent is steep and passes ice pinnacles. We will also pass trees known as polylepis tarapacanagrow, which grow to an elevation of 5,200m / 17,060 ft, making Sajama one of the mountains with the highest treeline in the world. Camp 1 is located on a hillside, with platforms carved into the ice.

Trekking Time – 4 hours / Elevation – Min 4,700m / 15,419 ft – Max 5,400m / 17.716 ft / Tent

Day 12, 13 Camp 1 – Sajama summit - Sajama base camp
Keeping one day in reserve in case of poor weather, today we’ll make our summit bid, a fairly demanding 7 to 9 hour trip. The ascent includes crossing a 45-50 degree trench, rock outcroppings, and a glacier. After reaching the summit, the ‘roof of Bolivia’, we’ll admire the views, take photographs, and return to base camp.

Trekking Time – 7 - 9 hours / Elevation – Min 4,700m / 15,419 ft - Max 6,542m / 21,463 ft / Tent

Day 14 Sajama base camp - Sajama village
Returning to Sajama village, we’ll visit a nearby hot springs to soak in relaxing, restorative natural thermal water.

Trekking Time – 3 hours / Elevation – Min 4,200m / 13,779 ft - Max 4,700m / 15,419 ft / Hut

Day 15 Sajama village – La Paz
Today we return to La Paz, and Huayna Potosi & Sajama comes to an end!

Transfer distance – 320 km / 198 miles / Transfer time – 5 hours / Elevation – Min 3,650m / 11,942 ft - Max 4,200m / 13,779 ft / Hotel.

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Tour Details

Service includes

• Professional Bilingual Mountain Guide.
• Ratio Guide Clients 1-4.
• All local organization and supervision by KL Adventure Staff.
• Private transportation including airport pick up.
• La Paz four (4) Hotel nights double occupancy with breakfast.
• Copacabana two (2) Hotel nights double occupancy with breakfast.
• All meals during the expedition.
• High quality expedition common gear; The North Face tents, Mountain Hardware and Marmot tents, isolate mattress, high camp stoves & gaz...
• Lightweight base camp set up: dining tent, tables, etc.
• Permanent access at base camp tent to hot drinks, tea, coffee, biscuits, etc.
• Burritos to carry individual gear up to 20 kg per person to Sajama base camp.
• First aid kit, hyperbaric chamber, oxygen bottles, oximeter.
• Radio communication VHF 2.
• Satellite phone at base camp on a per minute payment basis.

Service does not include

• All personal climbing equipment gear.
• International & domestics flights.
• Any cost involve in a early or late departure.
• Any drinks (soda, beer or wine) in Iquique & Arica.
• Arrival and departure dinner.
• Cancellation, accident and rescue insurance.
• Any cost involve during waiting days in Punta Arenas or anywhere.
• Cash for extra expenses.
• Any other service not mentioned in the list.
• Gratuities are not included.

 Important

• All itineraries are subject to change due to changes in the weather, individual’s acclimatization rates and the guide’s criteria.
• A Private Porter to be share between two expedition members carrying 10kg each, is a service available upon request at an additional cost.
• Any departure dates can be re-scheduled with a minimum of 6 persons.

Physical conditioning for your trip with KL Adventure

Whether your trip involves trekking, mountaineering, or technical climbing, your training program should involve the following:

• Alpine-specific training (via hiking with a pack and specific skills development pertaining to your trip)
• Strength training (via free weights, a weighted backpack, bodyweight exercises, or gym machines)
• Cardiovascular training (via spinal-loading aerobic training)

Alpine specific training - During your training, progressively ramp up your speed, duration (time or mileage), and pack weight of weekly training hikes to give you alpine-specific conditioning that cannot be matched by any other type of training. Hike steep outdoor trails, gradually increasing your pack weight with each outing until you are at your target trip pack weight. A reasonable target for multi-day trips would be to ascend 3,500 feet in a 2-2.5 hour period, or roughly 1,750 vertical feet in an hour, with your target trip pack weight. In early season, you might start out with a 15# pack on hikes that gain up to 1,500’ elevation over 6-8 miles round trip; each hike try increasing the total elevation gain, distance, and/or speed, then begin adding several pounds per trip until you are comfortable with your target trip pack weight. When you can gain 3,500 feet with your target pack weight, start to decrease rest breaks and increase speed.  Include overnight trips in your training regimen to get accustomed to successive days of sustained work with little to no recovery time.

Strength training - Training with free weights, a weighted backpack, bodyweight exercises, or gym machines will help you build overall strength, particularly in the core (lower back and abdominals), upper back, and legs. Developing strength in your upper back and shoulders will help you with such tasks as carrying a pack and using ice axe, ice tools or trekking poles effectively.  The calves, hips, quads, hamstrings and glutes are all involved in ascending and descending alpine routes, and strength endurance is required in all areas of the legs and hips.  Technical climbing will require a solid foundation in upper body strength training as well. Training primarily with free weights will give you the functional, alpine-specific strength that will help you most in the mountains. In early phases of strength conditioning, focus on building a foundation for harder workouts, starting with 2-3 sets of each exercise for 8-10 repetitions. As you continue to train, you will shift focus to building strength through lower repetitions (5-8) to build maximum strength. Finally for the last 4-6 weeks before your trip start increasing the repetitions to build strength endurance and mental and physical stamina; each phase varies the weight used, repetitions completed, number of sets, and rest interval.  Most important in strength training is to be sure you maintain proper form at all times in order to prevent injury or strain.

Cardiovascular training – Activities you can add several times per week to supplement your alpine-specific pack carrying training include spinal-loading exercises such as trail running, walking on an inclined treadmill, doing stair stepping or stepmill training, working on an elliptical machine, or walking up and down hills or stairs with a weighted pack.  In early season, include at least 3-4 sessions of 30-45 minutes of sustained activity at a moderate intensity, and gradually build to 4-5 aerobic sessions of sustained effort for an hour or more as you approach your trip. If you will be at high altitude for portions of your trip, include interval training in your weekly program. To do this, find a steep hill or sets of stairs that will allow you to climb steadily for several minutes. Push as hard as you can while you go up, then recover coming down, and repeat for anywhere from 30-45 minutes.  For hill walks, add weight to your pack on a regular basis until you can carry slightly more than your target pack weight (referred to as over-weight training) the whole time. Participate in as many hikes or climbs that take you above 8,000’ as you possibly can, in order to learn how your body responds to high altitude.

This training information brought to you by KL Adventure conditioning partner, Body Results. For more conditioning information, products and services and special pricing for KLA’s clients go to www.bodyresults.com/kla