CLIMB ECUADOR Newsletter -- Bolivia 2004
CLIMB ECUADOR recently ran a very successful climbing trip to Bolivia.
May 23 -- June 8 (17 days), with climbs of Chacaltaya (17,530 feet), Tarija (17,272
feet) (with an optional climb of Pequeño Alpamayo (17,618 feet)), Huayna Potosi
(19,974 feet) and Illimani (21,125 feet). This is Bolivia Itinerary #1 as it appears on
our website, www.climbecuador.com.
The weather was near perfect the entire trip.
We saw our first drop of rain the last night of the trip, after our Farewell Dinner!!
The views, as usual, were stunning. We enjoyed summit success on every mountain
except Illimani, and shattered all previous Climb Ecuador records by having 9 out of
10 people reach the top of Huayna Potosi. Illimani did not cooperate with us this
year -- the entire upper portion of the mountain was solid ice, "like glass" said the
guides -- so for safety concerns, we turned around at roughly 20,000 feet.
Our group numbered 10 total -- 9 clients plus myself. Group members
included Rick Burnett, 46, from Maryland; Bob Cole, 47, from Colorado; David Dapp
("Doctor Ice"), 35, from New Hampshire; Suzanne Pletcher, 50, from California;
Eddie Roberts, 44, from Maryland; Lynn Sathrum, 40, from Florida; Werner
Schueller, 36, from Texas; Tom Wilcox, 50, from Michigan; Tom Yennerell, 50, from
Vermont. Of these 9, 4 were former clients -- Dave, Werner, Bob and Tom.
Interestingly enough, all four had participated in the same expedition -- our Ecuador
expedition in November 2000. So the trip had a "reunion" feel to it right from the
start. Minus the tailgate parties. The details of our trip can be found below.
First, I'd like to take a timeout to list UPCOMING TRIPS for the rest of 2004
and for Summer 2005 (including Bolivia and Huascarán), with destination,
mountains, dates, prices and a short description:
UPCOMING TRIPS (2004/2005):
ECUADOR (Rucu Pichincha, Iliniza Norte, Cotopaxi, Chimborazo):
October 17 -- November 1, 2004 (16 days)
November 7 -- 22, 2004 (16 days)
Our "Halloween Climb" and our "Drop a Few Before Thanksgiving Climb,"
respectively. The trip price for both trips has been discounted 10% to $1800
(normally $2000). Both trips are confirmed to go, with very small groups. Just
think how much turkey and stuffing you can eat on Thanksgiving after sweating your
way to the tops of 4 high Ecuadorean peaks!!
ECUADOR (Rucu, Iliniza Norte, Cotopaxi, Chimborazo):
December 27 -- January
11, 2005 (16 days/$2000).
This is our popular "New Year's Climb." Last year's New Year's climb was
memorable to say the least. The weather and the snow conditions last year were
excellent. Hopefully this will be the same for this year. Start 2005 off on a "high"
note. Sip champagne at 16,000 feet!!
ACONCAGUA (Normal Route; with porters):
January 11 -- February 2, 2005.
Extended Acclimatization Program (EAP) (23 days/$2700).
Regular Program 21days/$2500).
(Prices do not include climbing permit.)
CLIMB ECUADOR's inaugural Aconcagua Expedition.
Be a part of history!!! We have locked in solid, experienced local help, along with the usual
Climb Ecuador perks for what should be an exciting expedition up the highest
mountain in North and South America. The EAP is 2 days longer than the "Regular"
program. On the EAP, we will climb a mountain near the Plaza de Mulas base camp
to help with acclimatization. Climbers on both programs will meet at Plaza de Mulas
and ascend to the summit together.
ECUADOR (Pasachoa, Rucu Pichincha, Imbabura, Rumiñahui)
(Sponsored by the Adirondack Mountain Club)(ADK):
February 2 -- 12, 2005 (11 days/$1925).
This trip will be led by Mary Kelly, an active ADK member and former Climb
Ecuador client. Climb Ecuador will be the "outfitter." I will accompany the trip and
assist Mary.
To join this trip, you will need to first join the Adirondack Mountain
Club ($40/year). All four mountains are "dry" extinct volcanoes. No glaciers.
Nothing over 16,000 feet. No technical gear needed. Just good old fashioned
leather. Hikes are all strenuous. This trip is perfect for Ecuador "first timers" and
veterans alike.
Visit www.adk.org for further details. Then click on "Recreation."
Then "Adventure Travel." Then "Outings." Then "2005 Outings."
Contact Mary Kelly (mfkelly@covad.net) or me for more information.
BOLIVIA (Chacaltaya, Tarija, Huayna Potosi, Illimani):
May 22 -- June 7, 2005 (17 days/$2500).
Our "bread and butter" Bolivia trip. Trip price includes 8 nights (single
occupancy) at the 5- star Hotel Europa in La Paz. Details from our recent 2004
Bolivia trip can be found below in this newsletter. Exact same itinerary. Why fix it if
it aint broke.
PERU (Ishinca, Urus and HUASCARAN):
June 9 -- June 29, 2005 (21 days/$2800).
A repeat of our very successful Huascarán expedition in 2003 when we
enjoyed 100% summit success rate. Includes 3 fully supported climbs -- Ishinca,
Urus and Huascarán. Huascarán, at 22,205 feet, is Peru's highest mountain and the
third highest mountain in South America. The first-class, 8-day Huascarán
expedition ascends 12,000 vertical feet from the hot valley below (popularly referred
to as the "Callejón de Huaylas") to the frozen summit, passing through a number of
distinct temperate zones. Great guides, "mountains" of food, fully "portered," and
the spectacular scenery of the Cordillera Blanca are all part of this package. Plus a
full moon over Huascarán guaranteed!!! Check your calendars.
** FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY TRIPS, VISIT "www.climbecuador.com"
OR CONTACT ROGER KOVARY AT rkovary@aol.com or (212) 362-4721.
Onto the newsletter.
BOLIVIA (May 23 -- June 8, 2004)
DAY 1: Day 1 of this itinerary is a travel day, as flights from the states to La Paz are
overnight affairs. Most people, including Rick, Eddie, Bob, Tom, Dave, Werner and
I, arrived in La Paz at least one day early to get situated and to help with
acclimatization in the world's highest capital city. Arriving early had other benefits
as well -- we got in an extra night of wining and dining at the "Vienna Restaurant"
which many say has the best food in La Paz. (The Vienna happens to be 100 meters
from the hotel.) The "wining," with an ample supply of wine provided by Climb
Ecuador, later turns into "whining" during the early morning climbs into the frigid
heights of the mountains later in the trip.
DAY 2: CITY TOUR. After our buffet breakfast (included) at the Hotel Europa, we
all met in the expansive lobby of the hotel for the first time at 9 AM for the first
"official" group activity -- the city tour. We boarded a bus, with a bilingual Bolivian
tour guide, and explored the sights, sounds and smells of La Paz. After the tour, we
all gathered for lunch at a popular local restaurant. We had the rest of the day free.
DAY 3: LAKE TITICACA. Today we followed in the footsteps of Jacques Cousteau
as we traveled to Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable body of water in the world, and
boarded a motor boat for the islands of Kalahuta and Suriqui. We hiked around the
island of Kalahuta, then visited Suriqui where the art of making totora reed boats
(Kon Tiki, etc.) lives on. We later enjoyed a lunch of fresh trout and tall, icy
"Paceñas" (brand of beer brewed in La Paz) before boarding the bus back to La Paz.
DAY 4: CHACALTAYA. For our first acclimatization hike, we drove out of La Paz
to climb Chacaltaya, a 17,530 foot mountain in the "foothills" of the Cordillera Real.
Chacaltaya has the distinction of having the world's highest ski resort. Vail, it is not,
but there is a lodge and a rope tow, and supposedly many people come here to ski
during the ski season. Now things were pretty high and dry -- perfect for our first
hike of the trip. We reached the summit in about 90 minutes and enjoyed views of
Huayna Potosi, La Paz, Lake Titicaca and the altiplano. We then trekked down the
other side of the mountain for about 3 hours to arrive at the road where our vans
were waiting for us. Here's where we saw for the first time who could, and could
not, throw a frisbee. But everyone who tried, had their moments. We arrived back
at the Hotel Europa at around 5 PM where some of us took advantage of the hotel's
massage parlor, steam room, jacuzzi and swimming pool.
DAYS 5, 6 and 7: TARIJA/PEQUEÑO ALPAMAYO. We began this 3-day
expedition by driving out of La Paz, along the altiplano, to the village of Tuni in the
foothills of the Cordillera Real. Here we loaded our gear onto mules and started the
3-hour trek to Condoriri Base Camp. The views along the way to camp are some of
the most beautiful in Bolivia with the mountain, Condoriri (also known as "The
Bolivian Matterhorn") being the central attraction. Base camp is situated right
under Condoriri next to a glacier lake.
On Day 2 we started at around 4 AM for the slog up the glacier leading to
the summit of Tarija. A couple of early "casualties" -- Tom Wilcox forgot his
crampons back at the hotel so he climbed a non-glaciated peak -- Pico Austria --
instead, with one of our guides. And Werner must have eaten something
questionable because he had no energy at all (very "un-Werner-like") and turned
back early. The rest of us made the summit of Tarija at around the same time. Rick
had a wake-up call when he fell in a crevasse near the summit but was quickly
extricated by Agustin, his guide, and ropemate, Eddie. With clear blue skies and
plenty of sun, the views from the top were exceptional.
Pequeño Alpamayo is right next to Tarija, and is "optional" for anyone with
the energy and desire to climb it. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to reach the top of
Pequeño Alpamayo from Tarija. Suzanne, Lynn and I were the only takers so the 3
of us set out together, with guides, Elio and Julio, while the others descended
towards base camp. We all made the summit of Pequeño Alpamayo without any
problem, took some pictures, soaked in the views, the sunshine and the rarefied air,
and headed down. That night we ate heartily and turned in under star-filled skies.
The next day we trekked back out to Tuni, hooked up with our vans and drove back
to La Paz.
DAY 8: TIHUANACO. Day tour of the 7th century Indian ruins at Tihuanaco, and
at night the always popular dinner and show at a local "Peña." We usually go to the
Peña "Huari" where food is good and the musicians and dancers are considered
some of the best in La Paz. We couldn't carouse too late after the show because we
had to get ready for Huayna Potosi tomorrow.
DAY 9, 10 and 11: HUAYNA POTOSI. Dubbed the "easiest 6000 meter peak in
the world," (it is 6088 meters or 19,974 feet high) we have always enjoyed success
on our Huayna Potosi expeditions. This trip was no different. Day one, we drove to
what is called "Base Camp." Day two, we climbed (with a small army of porters
carrying our gear) to High Camp, also known as "Campo Argentino." High Camp is
on a wide, flat shelf on Huayna's main glacier. This was our first night sleeping on a
glacier. Basically what this means is that once the sun goes down, you RUN for
your sleeping bag. The alarm rang the next morning at 2 AM. After a breakfast of
coffee/tea and hot oatmeal we all set out on that cold and starry night for the
summit. Tom Yennerell unfortunately ate something he quickly regretted and could
not leave his tent. Dave (Dr. Ice), being a firm believer in traveling light, decided to
leave his breakfast in the snow -- perhaps a detail I should have left out? But ever
the trooper, he rebounded in fine fashion and started up.
Nine out of ten people (minus Tom) reached the summit of Huayna
Potosi. A notable achievement in its own right but even more notable was that
Eddie, who had NO prior glacier travel or high altitude experience, made it as well.
It wasn't pretty but he did it. Again, with cloudless, sunny skies, we could see for
miles in all directions -- the entire Cordillera Real, La Paz, Lake Titicaca, the vast
altiplano, the far-off peaks of Sajama (Bolivia's highest) and Parinacota, the relatively
close peak of Illimani -- all was laid out before us. A smorgasbord for the eyes! The
descent was straightforward. We first hiked down to High Camp, had some soup,
rested, packed up our gear, then descended to Base Camp where our vans were
waiting for us. We arrived back at the Hotel Europa at around 6 PM.
DAY 12: REST DAY. Everyone's agenda was different for our first fully free day.
DAY 13, 14, 15 and 16: ILLIMANI. Our 4-day Illimani expedition went off flawlessly
except for one minor detail: noone summitted!! But aside from that . . . . . .
Yeah, we had everything in place, perfect weather, great food, plenty of frisbees,
everyone (who left for Illimani) was healthy -- EVERYTHING was set. Only problem
was that the upper portion of the mountain was covered in a sheet of hard ice. I
guess the weather had been a little TOO perfect over the preceding weeks -- clear
skies and blazing sun day after dry day. The sun melts the snow during the day,
then it freezes overnight. Multiply this by however many number of days it was dry
and sunny, and you have one hard, icy mountain.
Base camp, as usual, was beautiful, and relatively empty (one other
tent!!). We arrived late in the afternoon of June 4th. After enjoying the late day sun
and views of Illimani's 3 main summits towering directly overhead, we settled down
to a dinner of fried trout and "choclo" (South American corn on the cob). The next
day we set out in leisurely fashion for High Camp (also called "Nido de Condores" or
"Condor's Nest") situated on a small shelf at 18,000 feet on Illimani's main flank.
The 4-hour hike up to Condor's Nest is scenic and strenuous, but once again, it was
the porters who deserved the Medals of Honor that day for doing all the heavy
lifting. We use mostly the same porters each year. They all live in the town of
Pinaya, where the van dropped us off, and they are some of the nicest, most
generous and humble people on the planet.
Condor's Nest (High Camp) is an exciting place to be. There isn't alot of
room to wander so you need to be ever-watchful of avoiding the "big slide." The
camp is high up on the massive shoulder of Illimani, on the ridge that leads straight
up to the South summit, the highest (21,125 feet). The other two main summits --
Pico Central (Central Peak) and Pico Norte (North Peak) are clearly visible from High
Camp. We relaxed before dinner, taking pictures, organizing our gear, putting on
warm clothes (the sun was setting fast!!) and enjoying our last night before our last
climb. We got up early the next morning (1 AM), had our usual high camp breakfast
-- oatmeal -- and set out for Bolivia's second highest summit. Dave decided to stay
put as he still did not feel like he had the energy he knew he was going to need (too
bad because as it turned out, we could have used "Dr. Ice" further up). And Tom
Yennerell had decided to return to the states early since he was still suffering from
the food poisoning he got on Huayna. Oh, and Eddie decided to skip the Illimani
trip since his legs were still recovering from Huayna. So our summit team
consisted of 6 clients -- Suzanne, Lynn, Bob, Tom W., Werner and Rick -- me, and 5
guides -- Elio, Agustin, Juan, Augustine, and Julio. Practically a ratio of one-to-one.
We gave it the ol college try, but 55 degree ice without ice tools is a daunting
task. We all made it to roughly 20,000 feet. Tom, Lynn and Werner got the
highest. After descending to high camp, we rested, had soup, broke camp, and
descended some more to base camp.
The famous Climb Ecuador "Tuber" party awaited us all at base camp. A
tuber is a fancy name for a potato. It has become a "CE" tradition to end the
Illimani climb with a rip roaring, beer and tuber blast. Tall "Paceña" beers and hot
tubers, provided courtesy of Andres, the man who lives in Pinaya and coordinates
the mules and the porters for our expedition, ruled the evening hours. The beer was
kept cold in a nearby glacier runoff stream and was as cold and refreshing as you can
imagine. This year, we had a surprise treat -- freshly cooked lamb. And all this
BEFORE dinner!! All in all, it was a meal to remember. As usual, frisbees flew in all
directions.
The next morning -- our final morning in the mountains -- I got up early to
teach our cooks, Marcela and Domitila (who by the way did an excellent job cooking
and washing the dishes for us during the entire trip), how to make pancakes. Yes,
time for hot flapjacks with maple syrup. Basically, something was preventing me
from producing anything remotely resembling a pancake but it was fun trying. The
final product looked more like mashed potatoes (I blamed it on the altitude) but was
ever so tasty. After breakfast we trekked back to Pinaya, said our goodbyes with
guides and porters alike, boarded our vans and made the final journey back to La Paz.
What would a Climb Ecuador trip be without a wild, drunken Farewell
Dinner? Right? So once again, plenty of wine, good food, and scintillating
conversation made for a really enjoyable Farewell Dinner. A Farewell Dinner is
always a bittersweet affair since we know that the next day we would all go our
separate ways. So ended yet another CE outing. Until next time.
DAY 17: Home sweet home.
That about wraps up this latest Climb Ecuador newsletter. Thanks for
reading along. Past Newsletters can be found on our website, under
"Newsletters." Have a good rest of the summer. Stay in touch.
Don't forget: Trips to Ecuador in October, November, December/January AND in February.
Make voyages -- attempt them -- there is nothing else.
Roger Kovary
July 21, 2004
CLIMB ECUADOR
147 West 79th Street, #1D
New York, NY 10024
(212) 362-4721
www.climbecuador.com
rkovary@aol.com
