Jungle fun

We had an amazing time in the jungle in Madidi National Park, in the north of Bolivia. Mashaquipe, the etno-ecolodge we visited was perfect: rustic, great food (thanks again Wilson), an excellent local guide (the ever knowledgeable Eber), a very good manager who made sure all was in fine order. We got to see monkeys, papagayos, kolibri and many other birds, wild boar, turtles and even a cayman (a supersized crocodile) in their natural habitat. And we got to walk a lot to do so, which was also pretty perfect.  We took some great pics along the way which we will post later.

Rurrenbanaque, the small gateway town to the jungle or the pampas, is laid back, well equipped for tourism, and friendly.

Right now we are at the La Paz airport awaiting our lengthy flight itinerary home. We have booked a 3 hour Panama City tour - the kind tailored to "in transit" tourists, as a from/to airport, to see the Panama Canal and some of the city, too. Jorge, our guide/driver will await us after we clear customs with one of those little signs with our names on them. The adventure continues - even if we will be seriously sleep deprived.

Illimani

We spent Thursday to Sunday working our way up Illimani, Bolivia´s second highest mountain.

Here is Jan on Thursday, in front of the massive ridge to get from  base camp to Niedo de Condores, the high camp,  1,000m up at the very top of that rock ridge. The summit is another 1,000m higher.

Base camp at about 4,500m had us living above the clouds. 

Our awesome North Face Summit Series tent at high camp - aptly named Condors´ Nest. 

2 am - I love Jan´s camera for its night photography options! - just as Jan got up to  embark on her attempt at summitting 1,000m higher. The night sky was clear and the clouds just seemed to move in  - 20 minutes later, the entire route was in clouds and it turned out, the 2 groups that summitted saw exactly nothing on the way to the top, at the top and on the way back down. But they did feel that amazing sense of accomplishment of a hard effort. 

2:30 am: Jan and Eduardo are ready to  get on to the glacier. I have already decided this is not my time and I am taking pictures instead ;)

Jan contemplates - at basecamp. After 3 hours of hard effort, exhaustion meant  no summit today. She did reach about 5,800m - a significant high point, if you have ever been there you´ll know. Proud.

The whole of Illimani - the main summit is the peak straigth up from that single tree. The rock ridge is easy to identify.

More than merely achieving summits, we love being in - really in - the mountains. The culture, the people we meet, the experiences of this raw mountain power appeals. It is simple. We walk among giants.

Glacier excursion: Huayna Potosi

After yesterday´s super long day out there, we wished for an easier day out. So ice climbing we went. Of course, the car ride in good traffic is an hour, the hike in another hour. So, we ended up getting back to town around 4:00pm anyways.

Eduardo is an extraordinary mountain guide and climber. It is a pleasure to see him in action and to see him excel at mountain crafts. And he loves to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with eager students like us : )

Jan free solos the first pitch with Eduardo by her side. She totally nailed that!

Real glacier, real crevaces, including that one 2 feet to our left.

Jan steps across to get to picth 2 - this time on top rope.

Nice form! Awesome scenery!

Eduardo makes for a very relaxed belayer.

My turn. 

Despite a tiny bit of intimidation - ahem crevace anyone? -  I made it up there, too :)

For good measure Eduardo had me downclimb that first pitch to end the day, on a very loose belay. Just to get into that confident mindset thing. 

All around a fine day, without actual epic moments. Tomorrow we hope to head off to attempt Illimani. If conditions are good, ie not too much soft snow to contend with and good weather and no sickness ... well, the stars might just align for this spring equinox.

Easy climb? Not really. But Jan nails it!

Yesterday we ventured out to a supposedly ¨easy day¨. It turned out to be anything but.

First off, having been recovering in La Paz from colds we both found the approach hike between 4,500 and 4,900m actually quite hard on the breathing. Once that got worked out, we started out on the snow, very soft snow. My less weighty companions barely broke in, I on the other hand found myself struggling with hip deep snow, trying valiantly to get above it all.

My engery was drained in no time, well a couple of hours probably. I got to about 5,100m and was just exhausted. I decided to watch Jan and Eduardo complete the ascent to a summit of about 5,500m. It took them another hour and a bit. They took some summit shots, while I was basking in the sun awaiting their return. When I watched them coming down I realized they were downclimbing the upper slopes. Must have been steep and treacherous.

The objective is on the left, think highest point you see in this pic.

Me working through a not so fluffy bit. Mostly it felt like I was way deep in there.

Jan is ready to take it on. Here is the spot I went down to the beach and Jan and Eduardo went up.

Off to work they go!

Here they are heading uphill.

And higher they go: step by step.

Meanwhile I also kept track of the sun and cloud action.

Admire the valley below. I am about 600m up from the top of this valley.

And 3.5  hours later Jan and Eduardo return from a successful, demanding summit attempt. Congratulations!

Rest day

There is climbing and there is resting.

Here are some impressions of simply living at 4,900m, where our high camp was located, near the end of the last valley in this part of the Cordillera Real range (Humalajanta group).

Remember: clicking on these images will load a larger version for your viewing pleasure.

Grooming is part of resting : ) And what a back drop for it.

Juan, our cook, takes advantage of the mid-morning sun for a rest on a rock near our tent.

Inspired 1

Inspired 2 (Jan named this rock "womb")

Hot sun alternates with cold winds. The mid-day view out the back and down valley from our tent.

The night time view up the valley from outside our tent. Loving Jan´s dSLR!

And moments later the clouds started to move in again, with atmospheric  lightening to boot. 

Opening up a new mountaineering area: Chachacomani

A week in the mountains seems so simple. But nothing ever is simple. In a way just getting here is a big deal.

First, the local community has to agree to the area being used for tourism. Cordillera Real areas like Condoriri and Huyana Potosi crossed that hurdle long ago. The Chachacomani area we spent the last week in was opened only three years ago. That makes us one of the earliest groups to visit there.

Jose is a local man from the Chachacomani community who has encouraged opening this area for climbing, i.e. tourism.  Only since 2010 can climbers access this area. It remains very little visited today.

Second, equipment and food for a week takes lots of help to move into the mountains. To get here takes a 4x4 ride from La Paz to Peñas where the dirt road starts. The dirt road eventually deteriorates considerably into basically an adventure ride for folks used to precipitous views. Finally, three to four hours later, we park at Jose´s house where we meet with porters and pack animals.

Third, the hike in to base camp takes close to three hours. It is not steep at all -- we gained perhaps 100m in elevation. There is a lot of wind though.And the views are typical Cordillera Real, that is, stunning.

Here´s the valley near the start of the hike in. It gets drier higher up.

Thanks to burros for carrying our stuff ...

... and thanks to the llamas and porters, too! 

First view of Chachacomani, one of this area´s 6,000+ metre summits.

Fourth, local community people have to be recruited to act as porters and helpers. This in a place without communications. To talk to someone, you have to show up at their house. Imagine!

The breakfast table. Juan, our cook, made sure we were well fueled.

Our job is really to be acclimatized, stay healthy, eat food and climb.

There are lots of superstitions locals have about the mountains they live amongst. Eduardo told about meeting with practically every person  in the community to talk about mountaineering and allowing climbers to use this area. Jose was instrumental in creating that conversation. Coming from places where mountain tourism and mountain culture is normal, it is valuable to understand better the work needed to establish access in new places where neither really exists. And I am happy to be able to experience a part of the world few have seen up close and personal as we have over this last week.

Climbing Pico Aguila (Chachacomani Zone)

We are back in La Paz. Both with colds (mine almost 2 weeks old and fighting off bronchitis with anti-biotics and Jan with a head cold), we decided to leave the mountains a few days early so we could recover in time for our attempt at Illimani, later this week. We will arrange day climbs with Eduardo nearer to La Paz so we can sleep at Casa Hermanos Manchego in the comfort of our home away from home.

Meanwhile, we summited Pico Aguila (Eagle Mountain) , about 5,500m (18,045 feet), in the Humajalanta area of the Chachacomani zone on September 11. It was a gorgeous day that featured a 5am start, enablilng us to reach  the glacier around 7:30am. We summited at about noon, leaving us plenty of time for the descent. The normal route Eduardo climbed last year no longer exists (changing glaciar conditions and unsafe crevasses having formed). We got to pioneer a new one, that featured an impressive ridge walk at the very top.

First light hits the mountain tops across the valley from Pico Aguila.

Suiting up for glacier travel. Eduardo Mamani Quispe, Bolivian Mountain Guides.

A short break on the glacier. In the background is the broken off former ¨normal route¨. We took the long way around and on top of the summit ridge.

The summit ridge. Nearly there now!

Jan and Inga on top of the very highest rock overseeing the massive  Cordillera  Real.

The view toward the Amazonas side - that is where all the clouds come from. Laguna Leche below.

From the summit, down to the moraine and high and low valleys we hiked through the get here. Way in the back is Lago Titicaca. 

This is Pico Aguila taken in the afternoon light. About 5,500m (18,045 feet). From our high camp we ascended about 700 metres.

Mountain Pose

Inspiration in life comes from many places: people, landscapes, loves, family, experiences, events and unexpected happenings. And sometimes inspiration comes from the serendipidous combination of what moves your soul: yoga and mountains.

Mountain pose at high camp, Chachacomani.

Glaciers are a source of life. Global warming is having a tremendous negative effect on these life sources. The glaciers in the Bolivian Andes are, for one, receding at an alarming rate. Offer up the silent power of the warrior to provide hope.

Finding a connection with nature. Triangles provide solid footing for  moving  further  into  the centre.

Feeling grateful for the strength of my body that allows me to have these experiences in the mountains. 

Namaste.