"Distances separate us, mountains unite us."

RAMON GOMEZ CASTILLO
ECUADOR CLIMBER

ACAMANI
5,666 m/18,589 ft
AUGUST 10, 1961, KEI KURACHI, HIROSHI NAKAJIMA,
AND TAMOTSU NAKAMURA (JAPAN)
Acamani marks the southern end of the Cprdillera Apolobamba and is sacred to the Kallawayas, the traveling medicine men of the area.
While beautiful from afar. Acamani  gets increasingly complicated the clser you get with the exception of the North Ridge, which is beautiful, straightforward, and by far the best line on the mountain.
Access and Approach
Hire a jeep for the trip from La Paz through Charazani to Curva. Just before you reach Curva, before the shallow lake, a road heads left up to a col, crosses it , and then continues to Canisaya, a beautiful stone and thatch village. A jeep costs US$350,and the journey takes 9 hours.
Buses to Charazani from La Paz leave from the corner of Calle Reyes Cardona and Avenida Kollasuyo above Cementerio daily at 6:00 A.M. (uss4.40, 10 hours). From Charazani, no regular public transportation is available to Curva or Canisaya, although the bus from La Paz to Charazani will sometimes continues to Curva if enough passengers want to go there. Walking takes 1 day from Charazani to Canisaya.
From the square in Canisaya, make your way to the river, cross it, and follow the path rising diagonally up to the left. Cross the pass, and contour along until you join the bottom of the next valley. Head up the valley through a series of fields (pampas) until you rise up and out of the last pampa. Set up base camp near the lake.

NORTH RIDGE ROUTE
Grade II (5.4)/AD (III), 50º, 300 m/1,000 ft 3 hours
AUGUST 9-10, 1961, KEI KURACHI, HIROSHI NAKAJIMA
AND TAMOTSU NAKAMURA (JAPAN)
This route is the most obvious and beautiful one on the mountain.
Work your way across the glacier, avoiding the large crevasses, to reach the base of the short wall up to the ridge. Follow the ridge to the summit. The rock pitch is in reasonably good conditions, but a piton and rappel speed up the descent.
Descent: Same

WEST FACE ROUTE
Grade III/AD+, 45-75º, 400 m/1,300 ft, 4 hours
JULY 27, 1996, YOSSI BRAIN, JASON CURRIE, AND MARK RYLE (U.K.), SOLO
This route is poor compared to the North Ridge, but it is a way to reach the south ridge.  Pick a way through the glacier, avoiding the numerous large crevasses. Depending on the exact line, this can involve steep ice. When you reach the large snow ledge, follow it toward the right tj the base of a number of gullies. Follow one of the ice gullies up to very loose rock and on to the col between the two rock buttresses and the upper part of the south ridge. Turn left, and continue to the summit.
Descent: North Ridge Route

ILLAMPU
6.368 m/20,892 ft
JUNE 7, 1928, ERWIN HEIN (AUSTRIA), ALFRED HORESCHOWSKY,
HUGO HÔRTNAGEL AND HANS PFANN (GERMANY)
Big high camp, and complicated, Illampu boasts the hardest normal route of any of the 6,000 m/ 20,000 ft peaks in Bolivia. This makes any climb on the mountain serious—there is no easy way off—and the hardest routes yet climbed in Bolivia have been done on the mountain.
Approach and Access
See Pico Schulze above.

SOUTHWEST RIDGE ROUTE
Grade III-/AD, 65º, 800 m/2,600 ft, 6-9 hours
JUNE 7, 1928, ERWIN HEIN (AUSTRIA), ALFRED HORESCHOWSKY,
HUGO HÔRTAGEL AND HANS PFANN (GERMANY)
From high camp, head straight up the 300 m/ 1,000 ft Northwest Headwall (60º) to reach the saddle between Illampu and Huayna Illampu in 2-3 hours. The headwall is icy later in the season and can have a huge bergschrund. It is steeper to the left of the rock band.
From the saddle, go left and follow the broad and often exposed Southwest Ridge at 30-40º. The 80 m/ 260 ft section on the final part of the summit ridge is very exposed and steep (65º). Follow the ridge to attain the summit in 3-5 hours from the saddle.
Descent: Same, Snow conditions deteriorate in the afternoon as the sun shines on the headwall, so it is important to start back early.
Approach via Laguna Glaciar
For the approach, see Pico Schulze above.
These routes are steep and serious. The exact line depends on the state of the seracs that threaten large parts of Illampu’s southwest face.

GERMAN ROUTE
Grade III+/D, 60º, 1,000 m/3.300 ft, 7 hours
JULY 27, 1967, HORST CAHA AND WERNER KABL (GERMANY)
Climb up Illampu’s southwest face to join the Southwest Ridge above the Northwest Headwall, and then follow the ridge to the summit. Paul Drummond, writing in the Alpine Journal (1985), described the route as “exposed climbing over hard ice covered in several inches of powdery, unsupporting snow. Our route finding was blind; up one curve, round the next ice bulge and so on.”
Descent: Either down climb, or rappel the same route, or drop down the Northwest Headwall. Although this is easier and quicker, it leaves you on the other side of the mountain.

SOUTH FACE ROUTE
1983
This route is the most direct line possible to reach the southeast ridge shortly before it joins the southwest summit ridge. Follow the ridge to the summit.
Descent: Same as German Route.

 

ANCOHUMA
(JANKOHUMA, JANQ’UMA, HANCOUMA)
6,427 m/21,086 ft
JUNE 11, 1919, RUDOLF DIENST AND ADOLF SCHULZE (GERMANY)
Maps: DAV Cordillera Real Nord (Illampu); IGM Sorata 5846 I
And Warisata 5846 II
Generations of Bolivian and other cartographers have claimed that Ancohuma is the highest mountain in Bolivia and given it heights of up to  7,014 m/ 23,012 ft, which would make it the only mountain in the world over 7,000 / 23,000 ft outside the Himalayas. It is generally  held that Aconcagua in Argentina is the highest mountain outside the Himalayas at 6,960 m/22,834 ft. However, it is true that Ancohuma is the highest peak of the Ancohuma-Illampu massif.
Approach via Laguna Glaciar
See Pico Schulze (above) for directions on how to get to Titisani and then on to Laguna Glaciar.
Normally, porters arrive at Laguna Glaciar the next day for the 3 hour climb to the edge of the glacier at Point 5573.However, if you are acclimatized, it makes sense to continue up to the top of the hill above Laguna Glaciar at 5,200 m/17,000 ft on the same day that you reach the lake.Unless porters have boots, crampons, and glasses, they should not be allowed to carry packs on the glacier.
From the western end of the lake, head right and follow the scree at the edge of the glacier. Bellow Point 5462 on the DAV map, cross a short section of glacier and follow the right-hand side of the glacier next to the rocks toward Point 5573.From here, rope up and picks a way across the heavily crevassed glacier at about 5,800 m/19,000 ft. There are some clear glacial streams and ponds below the big broken step up to the base of the summit and pick a route.

NORTHWEST RIDGE ROUTE
Grade III/AD+ 60º , 650 m/2,100 ft, 6 hours
Climb up the glacier, heading for the left-hand side of the summit lump. Either go straight for the ridge or work a way up the face to join it. The ridge is spectacularly exposed, dropping hundreds of meters below the point where you join it from the west. From this vantage point, you have fantastic views of Illampu. At the top the ridge, join the summit plateau, and keep plodding until you reach the highest point.
Descent: Either rappel straight down the face from the summit or head down to the col southwest of the summit and descend the Southwest. Face to reach the glacier below. Then head down to rejoin your tracks back to high camp.

WEST FACE ROUTE
Grade II/AD, 60º, 650 m/2,100 ft, 6 hours
This route is a straightforward one. From below the summit lump, head straight up the middle, avoiding some very large and obvious crevasses which are often filled in.
Descent: Same as for the Northwest Ridge Route
Approach via Laguna Jacha Leche Khota (Negra)
This approach is the traditional and the longest way in used to climb Ancohuma.
Day 1: Travel from Sorata to Cocoyo takes 5 hours by jeep for US$80.
One in Cocoyo, make arrangement for llamas—which carry loads of only 12 Kgs/26 lbs each—for the next day.
Day 2: Walk from Cocoyo tobas ecamo at Laguna Jacha Leche Khota (Negra) (4,721 m/15,489 ft) takes 6 hours.
Alternatively, if you are walking and/or using mules from Sorata:
Day 1: Travel from Sorata (2,678 m/8,786 ft) to Lakathiya (4,000 m/ 13,120 ft) takes 4 hours.
Day 2 : Travel from Lkathiya to Abar Illampu (4,741 m/15,554 ft) takes 2 hours. The descent toward Ancoma (3,784 m/12,415 ft) takes another 3 hours.
Day 3: Travel from Ancoma to Cocoyo (3,512 m/11,522 ft) via Paso Korahuasi (4,479 m/14,695 ft) takes 5 hours.

SOUTHWEST FACE NORMAL ROUTE
Grade I/PD,45º , 1,000 m/3,300 ft, 7-9 hours
JUNE 11, 1919, RUDOLF DIENST AND ADOLF SCHULZE (GERMANY)
This route is long but not very difficult. Head up the right-hand side of the face to reach the summit plateau, and keep plodding until you reach the highest point.
Descent: Same

CHACHACOMANI
6,074 m/19,928 ft
AUGUST 1, 1947, FRIEDRICH FRITZ AND GUENTHER BUCCHOLTZ (GERMANY), GUSTAVO NOELLER, DOUGLAS MOORE, ISAIAS PAZ, AND GUILLERMO SANJINES (BOLIVIA)
Map: Only O’brien covers this area
Beautiful from afar and difficult to get near to. Chachacomani’s distinctive South Face is very clear from the Altiplano, and it led to the nineteenth-century traveler and explorer Sir Martin Conway’s reference to the mountains as “Chisel Peak”. The best lines are on the South Face, but the “Macho Mountain” (the literal Aymara translation) has been climbed from most directions. To the northwest of the mountains is a large flat glacier that links the mountains to Kelluani.
Warning: Gringos and nonlocal Bolivians have had innumerable problems (ranging from assault to routine hassling and road blacks) with the peasants to the west of this area who have had a bad reputation since pre –Inca times and seen determined to maintain it.
Access
No public transportation is available to the Chachacomani area.
Option 1: Hire a jeep from La Paz and travel via Peñas to the Hichukhota valley. Continue up the road to the top of the Hichukhota valley, passing impressively high above Laguna Khara Khota. At the top of the valley, where the old road continues up to the right to Mina Fabulosa, follow the new road up to the left, go over the pass  (4,980 m/16,360 ft), and get dropped off at the bottom of the zigzags, about 15 minutes by jeep below the Paso Mullu Apacheta area. Total journey time is 3 ½ hours and costs US$200.
Approach
Walk from the road, and contour to the left around the boggy area to reach the bottom of the boulder moraine in ½ hour. Head up the left-hand side of the moraine to reach a boulder moraine ridge in an-other ½ hour. Follow the ridge to a lake (4,940 m/16.200ft), and then either head up the rock and scree on the left –hand side of the glacier or walk up the glacier itself to reach the col (5,140 m/16,860 ft) in under 2 hours. Drop down into the valley on the other side. The first camping area with clear running water is 45 minutes below the col. About 2 hours below the col, you arrive above Laguna Leche Khota.
Option 2: A longer but easier option not involving a glacier crossing: instead of getting out of the jeep opposite Jhanko Laya, continue down the new road for 10 minutes to reach the cluster of farm buildings called Lloco Lloconi. Cross the river, follow the path up and over the pass, drop down and then turn left and head up to Laguna Leche Khota. It is possible to hire llamas in Lloco Lloconi, but not many people do so. The local people do not have much experience working with tourists. If you  want to hire llamas, be prepared to camp at Lloco Lloconi and then set off the next day.
For either option, form Laguna Leche Khota head up the boulder moraine between Chachacomani and the Tres Marias Group  to arrive at possible campsites in 1 hour.From head left to the col, which is reached in 2 hours and has views of Lake Titicaca. From the col, move up to arrive below the South Face, staying  to the left-hand side of the broken glacier to avoid the worst the crevasses.

SOUTH FACE NORML ROUTES
Grade II/AD, 55º , 800 m/2,600 ft
A big bergschrund crosses most of the face, especially later in the season. Pick a line close to the center of the face while avoiding the seracs above to reach the summit ridge. Follow the ridge toward the right to the summit.
Descent: Same

SOUTHEAST RIDGE ROUTE
Grade II/AD, 50º, 800 m/2,600 ft
This route is more direct and steeper than the South Face Route. It goes straight to the summit, starting at the right-hand side of the face.
Descent: South Face Normal Routes.

SOUTHEAST BUTTRESS ROUTE
Grade III+(5,7)/D(V), 70º , 800 m/2,600 ft
AUGUST 1, 1989, GEOF BARTRAM, JOHN CULBERSON, LARRY HALL AND MATT KOEHLER (U.S)
This is the hardest route so far recorded on Chachacomani. Mixed climbing brings you to the Southeast Ridge line before continuing to the summit.
Descent: South Face Normal Routes.

map

 CONDORIRI GROUP

This Beautiful group has thirteen peaks all over 5,000 m / 16,400 ft.
Each peak is accessible within 1 day’s journey from base camp, which is idyllically situated on the shores of Laguna Chiar  Khota (“Black lake”) with views of the striking Cabeza de Condor and its two wings. Hans Ertl desceibed his camp at Condoriri in 1953 as “truly fairylike”, Easy access from La Paz, pure snow face and ridge routes plus missed routes, ranging from easy to extreme, make Condoriri a delightful climbing playground.
Maps
Walter Gúzaman Córdova Condoriri-Negruni—but most of the Condoriri Group mountain names are wrong. Four IGM sheets are needed to cover the samearea as the Gúzman map: Milluni 5945 II, Peñas 5945 III, Zongo 5945 I, and Lago Khara Khota 5945 IV.
Acces and Approach
No public transportation is available to the Condodriri Group area.
Hire a jeep for the trip from La Paz to Tuni via Patamanta, wich takes 2 hours and costs US$ 78. Mules (US$ 6 each) and llamas (US$ 3 each) are available from Tuni village and from a place shortly before you get t the village know as Plaza de Mulas for the 3- hour walk- in to base camp at 4.600 m / 15, 100 ft on the far side of Laguna Chiar Khota. Tpilets a tap with clean water , and camp guards are provided by people from the local community. There is a charge of US$ 2 per tent per night.
The Condoriri Goup peaks are described from left to right as you see them from base camp. The technically uninteresting peaks of Austria, Tarija, Diente, and Mirador are not included—nor is the impressive pile of loose choss called Aguja Negra.

ALA IZQUIERDA
(ala norte, condoriri west peak)
5.532 m /18.149 ft
JUNE 19, 1963, NICHOLAS COETZE AND MALCOLM GRIFFIN (SOUTH AFRICA
Ala Izquierda’s distinctive snow wall faces almost due south, so it is always in shadow and the snow does not consolidate, remaining as powder late into the season. Routes on the face get steadily steper the higher you go, and the rock at either end of the South Face is of very poor quality whether you go up or down it.
It is possible to set up a high camp to shorten the approach to Ala Izquierda routes. See Cbeza de Condor Approach section below

WEST RIDGE ROUTE
Grade III- AD+, 60º., 600 m/1,950 ft
JUNE 14, 1970, JOHN HUDSON, ROMAN LABA (U.S).
AND ELSPETH AND ROGER WHEWELL (U.K)
Make away around the western end of Ala Izquierda until you find a climbable way up tu the West Ridge. Follow the ridge the west summit, and continue along it to the higher summit.
Descent: Same or see South Face Route.

SOUTH FACE ROUTE
Grade III/D-, 60º, 600 m/1,950 ft, 3 hours from high camp
SEPTEMBER 14, 1979, ALAN MESILI, FREDERIC PIMIENTA, AND ANSELME BAUD (FRANCE)
This route is straightforward. Either climb up to the left (slightly shorter) or ti the right of the central seracs to reach the ridge. Turn right, and follow the ridge to reach the highest point.
Descent: The descent from this route is a nightmare. If down climbing does not appeal to you, there are two options: Scramble and rappel two or three rope lengths down the extremely loose rock of the east ridge and face to the col between Ala Izquierda and Cabeza de Condor. From here, pick a way through the crevasses to join the Normal Route to and from Cabeza de Condor. Alternatively, go back along the Ala Izquierda summit ridge to the left-hand end, and downclimb or rappel 500 m/ 1,650 ft to reach the foot of the face.

EAST RIDGE ROUTE
Grade II/ AD, 55º, 300 M /1,000 ft
JUNE 19, 1963, NICHOLAS COETZE AND MALCOLM GRIFFIN (SOUTH AFRCA)
From the col between Ala Izquierda and Cabeza de Condor, follow the mixed loose snow and rock ridge to the summit. (See Cabeza de Condor below for the route to the col)
Descent: Same or see South Face Route.

CABEZA DE CONDOR
(CONDORIRI, GRNA CONDORIRI)
5,648 m /18,530 ft
APRIL 1940, WILFRID KÜHM (GERMANY), SOLO
Cabeza de Condor, or the “Bolivian Matterhorn” as Hans Ertl called it, is one of the most striking mountains in the Cordillera Real. Seen from base camp, the Southeast Face appears to be almost overhanging, while from the pass to the north of Pico Austria the Cabeza is a great rock and ice spike. This peak is generally climbed via the Bormal Route or the Directisima, but it has also been climbed from the other sides, which have steep routes.
Approach
A high camp is located 3 hours from base camp If you want to shorten the climbs of Cabeza de Condor and Ala Izquierda. From base camp, head northwest along paths toward the Cabeza , move up a small scree slope , and then follow a scree ridge toward the left to reach the bottom of the “scree slope from hell” in 1 hour. The slope is followed to the bitter end; wich is sometimes made up of tricky ice, loose rock, and mud.
The ascent takes an hour or so depending on your scree-ascending abilities. Up to the left are a series of rock ledges, which provide comfortable west-facing—late sunshine—platforms for camping.
The degree of unpleasantness involved in using the scree slope from hell has provoked more ways of the snow gullies heading up to the glacier; (2) walk up the path to the pass to the northeast of Pico Austria, and then drop down to the glacier and head up on the right-hand side of the glacier; and (3) access via the valley of the Rio Laurauani and Laguna Juri Khota.

SOUTHWEST RIDGE NORMAL ROUTE
Grade III/AD+55º,400 m/1,300 ft, 4 hours from high camp
APRIL 1940, WILFRID KÜHM (GERMANY), SOLO
This routefollows a classic alpine ridge line as is one of the best routes in Bolivia. From the top of the scree slope from hell, move up the glacier toward the Cabeza. Either follow the Southwest Ridge from the start or go along the base of the Cabeza until you reach a hidden snow gully 1 ½  hours from high camp. The gully is broad at the bottom but increasingly narrow toward the top where it joins the ridge and it can be full of water ice and loose rock. From the top of the gully, turn right and follow the ridge to the summit. The ridge to the summit. The ridge is exposed on both sides and is made up of a series of steep sections linked by narrow and airy snow ridges, with one rock step that is trickier on the way down.
Descent: same

DIRECTISIMA SOUTHEAST FACE ROUTE
Grade IV/D+,65º, 350 m /1,150 ft, 2 hours
SEPTEMBER 18, 1973, JOSÉ FERRARI, ANGELO GELMI (ITALY), AND ALAIN MESILI (FRANCE)
From the base of the Cabeza, pick the most direct snowy line that goes up the center of the face, topping out to the left (south) of the summit.
Later in the season there are often rock bands across the face (5,7/V), and the bergschrund opens up. If the bergschrund is too big to cross, it is usually possible to traverse into the route from the hidden couloirs.
Descent: Normal route.

ALA DERECHA
(ALA SUR, CONDORIRI SUR)
5,482 m/17,985 ft
JULY 1964 (YUGOSLAVIA)
Ala Derecha presents four imposing gullies which provide Scottish-style mixed climbing at high altitudes. From right to left the gullies are know as the following: Gully 1/Mesili Route, Gully 2, Gully 3, and Gully 4/ Colibri Route. Colibri is the hardest and most-often climbed route. Gully 1/Mesili Route, obvious from the walk- in, now has a vertical rock start to a sloping snow ledge.
Approach
From base camp, head northeast up valley, and then make your way toward the left to the glacier below Ala Derecha. Follow this glacier to the bottom of the routes.

GULLY 1/ MESILI ROUTE
Grade IV+/TD,70º, 500 m/1,650 ft
SEPTEMBER 21, 1976, ALAIN MESILI (FRANCE)
This route follows a southwest-facing gully that is narrow and steep, with icefalls early in the season and rockfall danger later on. When Mesili first climbed the route, access was easy via a snow ramp to the start of the route. The snow slope is now very steep rock.
Descent: From the top of the routes, continue left along a series of small rock peaks to reach the glaciated summit. Descent to join the Normal Route down from Cabeza de Condor.

GULLY 2
This route is believed to have been climbed, but I have no information on it.

GULLY 3
Grade III+/D, 60º, 400 m/1,300 ft
This route is the easiest of the four gullies, but it is still challenging.
The route is mainly névé, but there are some ice sections.
Descent: See Gully 1

GULLY 4/ COLLIBRI ROUTE
Grade V/TD,90º, 400 m/1,300 ft, 6 hours
SEPTEMBER 10, 1989, YVES ASTIER, YVAN ESTIENNE, AND PATRICK GABARROU (FRANCE)
The farthest left of the four gullies provides an excellent ice/mixed clim—when in good condition—that is  steep, hard, and narrow. The climbing starts at 50º, steepens to 80º by the fifth pitch, and then hits 90º at about half way. At this point, go right and the angle slackens off to 60º and then 55º before reaching the ridge at5,430 m/17,815 ft.
Follow the ridge toward the left to the summit.
Descent: See Gully 1

ASTIER- GABARROU ROUTE
Grade V/TD, 80º, 400 m/1,300 ft
SEPTEMBER 12, 1989, YVES ASTIER AND PATRICK GABARROU (FRANCE)
The route starts at the base of Gully 4 but immediately heads left at 60º before reaching the central steep section of about 20 m/ 60 ft at 80º. The angle then relents to 55º, and the route continues up to reach the ridge. During some years there are vertical ice pitches and mixed sections.
Descent: See Gully 1

HUALLOMEN
(WYOMING)
5,463 m/17,923 ft
1964 (YUGOSLAVIA) FROM THE “BACK”, WHICH IS NOW THE DESCENT ROUTE
This peak is a pretty evil-looking lump of rock with a number of steep ice lines going up the southwest face, although only one has been climbed so far. This route is the hardest one yet done in the Condoriri area.
Approach
From the base camp, head up valley around the higher sedimented lake, and then head left through moraine scree to join the glacier at is tongue. Follow the glacier up and around to the right to get to the bottom of the face.

MESILI ROUTE
Grade V+(5.9)/ED1 +(VI), 85º , 400 m/1.300 ft, 8 hours
SEPTEMBER 15, 1976, ALAIN MESILI (FRANCE), SOLO
The sun never shines on this route, which is best done early in the season when there is more ice to climb and more snow to reach the bottom of the climb. Because of glacial retreat, the route is considerably harder than when Mesili did it. The right- hand snow. (When Mesili climbed the route, there were no gullies, just a broad snowfield leading up to the start of the route proper.)
From where the town lower gullies meet, head up and then go steeply  left (85º) to join a rising traverse that joins the ridge just bellow the summit. This section ends with 20 m /65 ft of loose rock (5.5/IV), which brings you to the summit.
Descent: From the summit, head back east along the summit ridge, and then descend off the back via rock ledges (5.3/II) down to the snow-covered southeast face. Descend the face to the main glacier below, and then go across to join the Pequeño Alpamayo Route down the glacier.

BRITISH ROUTE
Grade V/TD+, 90 , m/1,150 ft, 8 hours
JULY 31, 1997, STEVE RICHARDSON AND ANGUS RIDGE (UK)
Follow the Norma Route for Pequeño  Alpamayo until you are below the  southeast face of Huallomen. Head straight for the corner that drops down to the right of the summit. Cross the bergschrund and move up the slow slope that steepens from 60º to 65º to 70º. After 150 m/500 ft, reach a narrow rock band at 80º. Climb the rock and then another 80 m/260 ft of snow at 60º to 65º to arrive at the base of the obvious couloirs. Climb the couloirwith sections of 75º and 90º to reach the base of a narrower goulotte.
British finish: Climb the goulotte directly to the cornice, which is passed on the left. If this is overhung by a snow  and ice cornice, follow  the Italian variant: go left up  through mixed ground and a chimmey (IV+) to reach the summit ridge.
Descent: Go off the back, and then descend to the col between Huallomen and Tarija. Join the Normal Route descending from Pequeño Alpamayo.

map

PEQUEÑO ALPAMAYO
(ALPAMAYO CHICO, FABULOSA)
5,370 m17,618 ft
AUGUST 24, 1962, IRENE AND KEITH WHITELOCK (SOUTH AFRICA)
This peak is impressive, beautiful, and justifiably popular. From base camp, you can see only the top part of the summit, but the view of the mountain from Tarija is awesome. The pyramid of snow and rock looks much harder to climb than it is. The  descent presents more problems than the ascent—either from crampons balling-up or from having to downclimb short ice sections.
Approach
From base camp, head up valley past the higher sedimented lake, and then go up to the right through boulder moraine to reach a moraine ridge made up of finer material. Head up the ridge, but turn off to the left before reaching the large boulder. Follow the path as it traverses before dropping to the glacier in 1 ½ hours from camp. Cross the flat part of the glacier to the other side and then head up on the left-hand side of the glacier to reach the top. Go right and up to reach the minor summit of Tarija after 2 hours on the glacier. Descend 50 m/165 ft of loose rock (5.3/II) from the summit of Tarija to rejoin the snow below.

WEST-SOUTHWEST RIDGE NORMAL ROUTE
Grade III -/AD, 45-55º, 250 m/800 ft, 4 hours from base camp
AUGUST 24, 1962, IRENE AND KEITH WHITELOCK (SOUTH AFRICA)
Traverse the snow ridge to reach the Pequeño Alpamayo ridge, and then follow it to the summit in 1 hour. Keep a sensible distance away from the edge—much of it is in fact a cornice. During some seasons the Normal Route Follows a rising traverse to the left from the base of the ridge. This is less steep than the ridge route but not as aesthetically pleasing.
Descent: Same

DIRECTISIMA SOUTHEAST FACE ROUTE
Grade III/D-,55º, 250 m/800 ft, 4 hours from base camp
1990 (US)
Hen the West- Southwest Ridge starts to rise, traverse across the bottom of the face until below the summit.  Climb the uniforms slope straight to the summit, which is a loose snow nightmare early in the season and can be a névé dream later on.
Descent: Normal Route

PIRÁMIDE BLANCA
5,230 M/17,159 FT
1964 (YUGOSLAVIA)
The origins of the name for this mountain have been lost in the current age of glacial retreat, which has left the peak three-quarters rock and black rather tan whiter. The Southwest Face routes are relatively short but interesting.
Approach
The approach is the same as for Pequeño Alpamayo (see above) until you reach the glacier. From the glacier, head up toward whatever part of the Southwest Face interests you, or head for the easy slopes leading up the Normal Route to the left of the rock part of Pirámide Blanca.
NORMAL ROUTE
Grade I/PD, 40º, 300 m/ 1,000 ft 3 hours
Follow the glacier up to the left of the rock section of Pirámide Blanca, but stay below Diente and watch out for crevasses. Bear right and continue up until the snow eventually runs out and a shorts rock scramble (5.3/ II) brings you to the summit.
Descent: Same

SOUTHWEST FACE/WEST RIDGE ROUTE
Grade II/AD, 60º 200 m /650 ft, 4 hours
Climb rock slabs to the right of the mountain to reach the col in between Pirámide Blanca and Ilusioncita, and then follow the snow ridge toward the left to the rock summit. The exact line depends on snow conditions; take care if there is a cornice above.
Descent: Normal Route

SOUTHWEST FACE DIRECT ROUTE
Grade III/D-, 80, 200 m/650 ft, 4 hours
AUGUST 1988, GEOFFREY BARTRAM, DAVID PELTIER, AND NEVIN WHITELAW (US)
This route follows the most direct line on the mountain. If the ice curtain has formed, head up the snow and rock triangle to reach the base of the 4 m/13 ft ice section. If the ice section has not formed, pass this section to the left or right, and then head straight up the face to reach the ridge to the right (east) of the summit.
Descent: Normal Route

IlUSIONCITA
5,510 m/ 16,896 ft
SEPTEMBER 1, 1962, A. GONZALES, ALFREDO MARTINEZ (BOLIVIA) AND KEITH WHITELOCK (SOUTH AFRICA)
Literally known as ”Little Ilusión” in comparison to its larger south-ern neighbor, Ilusión, Ilusioncita offers one shorts route that provides the opportunity for a lot of practice on how to weave a way through a broken glacier.
Approach
The approach is the same as for Pequeño Alpamayo (see above) until you reach the turn off from the moraine ridge. Instead of turning off to the left, carry on up and then work a way toward the right to the left hand side of the glacier.

BOLIVIVAN SOUTH AFRICAN ROUTE
Grade II/AD-, 40º, 350 m/1,150 ft,4 hours
Head up the glacier that descends from Ilucioncita and Ilusión to the left- hand side of the col between the two mountains. From the col, head up left through a short rock section (5,3/II) to join the snow ridge, and follow it to the summit.
Descent: Same

ILUSIÓN
5,330 m/17,487 ft
SEPTEMBER 6, 1962, A. GONZALES, ALFREDO MARTINEZ (BOLIVIA) IRENE AND KEITH WHITELOCK (SOUTH AFRICA)
Reasonably difficult routefinding on the Normal Route and short steep rock sections on the Direct Route make Ilusión a short but enjoyable challenge.
Approach
The approach is the same as for Ilusioncita (see above)

NORMAL ROUTE
Grade II (5.5)/AD (III), 40º (70º), 400 m/1,300 ft, 4 hours
Head up the broken glacier between Ilusión and Ilusioncita to the right-hand side of the col between the two mountains. Head up to the right, and scramble up the steep rock to reach the scree-covered slopes above.
Move across toward the right to join the higher glacier sooner rather than later, and work a way up to the summit.
Descent: Same

DIRECT ROUTE
Grade III (5.5)/ AD+ (III), 50º (70º), 400 m/1,300 ft, 4 hours
This route is steeper than the Normal Route and has more rock climbing, but it is a aesthetically more pleasing than the easier route. From the bottom of the moraine ridge on the way to Pequeño Alpamayo, head off toward the right across scree to reach the cleaner and steeper rock.
Climb through the rock section, taking the most direct line possible to reach the glacier above. Staying to the left of the seracs above, move up the glacier to reach the summit ridge, and follow it to the scree-covered flat summit.
Descent: Normal Route

map

 

HUAYNA POTOSÍ

(CACA ACA)
6,088 m/19,974 ft
MAY 1919, RUDOLF DIENST AND ADOLF SCHULZE (GERMANY)
Maps: IGM Milluni 5945 II, Walter Guzman Córdova Huayna Potosí
Although describing Huayna Potosi as “the easiest ‘6000er’ in the world” ignores its high-altitude challenge, there can be few mountains of this size that are more easily accessible: a jeep trip takes less than 2 hours to reach the base of the mountain from central La Paz. See from the Altiplano, the mountain is an imposing ice pyramid. The view changes from Zongo Pass, where it is possible to see the whole East Face, and the mountain becomes far more elongated and complicated.
Note: Remember to take your passport with you for the pointless but police-manned checkpoint at Milluni.
Access to the East Face
The new approach is from the pass, marked by a cross, before reaching in the Zongo dam. Camping is possible; ask the inhabitants of the white house up left from the road.
The old approach is from the wall of the Zongo dam. The hut next to the dam is not continually staffed but can be biked by ringing Refugio Huayna Potosi (La Paz 2-323584). It costs US$10 per night to stay; meals are extra.  There is no legal, moral, or practical purpose to registering with the refuge. The notice misleadingly suggest that if you register at the refuge and then fail to return, someone will go to look for you. This is not the case.
A telephone at the pass is available for emergency use only. It is the property of the electricity-generation company Cobee. Speak to the dam guardian if you need to use it.
A jeep from La Paz to Zongo Pass costs US$75, and the trip takes less than 2 hours. Trucks and minibuses leave at regularly irregular intervals from Plaza Ballivian in El Alto (the area of La Paz around the airport).
It is possible to hire a minibus from Plaza Ballivian for about US$10; arrive and haggle with drivers of empty minibuses.
To return from Huayna Potosi, arrange for a jeep to arrive at Zongo Pass at about 4:00 P.M. or be prepared to hang around waiting for passing vehicles with space.
Porters can be arranged to carry kit to Campamento Argentino at US$10 per porter, but hire only porters who have crampons and glacier glasses. If you want porters, contact the inhabitants of the white house at the pass or one of the specialist agencies in La Paz.
Approach
The new approach: from the pass, head up through rock and moraine to reach the obvious moraine ridge. Follow the ridge up, reaching its end in 1 hour from the pass. Drop down to the right before climbing a scree slope. At the top of the first scree slope, bear left to reach a level area of scree before continuing up and toward the left across more scree, and then up again to reach the edge of the glacier in under 1 hour. Cairns mark the route to the glacier.
The old approach: cross the dam wall, follow the aqueduct for 15 minutes, cross the aqueduct, and follow the well-defined path as it heads up to the base of the obvious moraine ridge. The route is then the same as the new approach.
The glacier gets less steep as you go. Stay to the left of the rock spur, and continue up to a low ridge. Cross the ridge, and follow the normally well-defined path as it rises gently up and to the ridge. The path then turns to the left and becomes steep immediately before your arrival at Campamento Argentino (5.450 m/17,880 ft) after less than 2 hours on the glacier.
Take care at the Campamento Argentino high camp, especially during the later part of the season when major crevasses open up to the left of the normal path.  Camp and stay to the right of the path.
Do not camp below the serac-threatened wall to the right of the south summit. Some very large serac collapses have occurred there.

NORMAL ROUTE
Grade II/AD-,50º, 600 m/1,950 ft, 4-6 hours
From Campamento Argentino, head up the glacier toward the East Face. Earlier in the season. Continue up for 400 m/1,300 ft, and then turn right to join the ridge above. Later in the season, a bergschrund often opens up, and it is necessary to turn right 150 m /500 ft beyond the camp and head up to the ridge. Turns left, and then join the exposed La Pala, or Polish, rodge with 200 m/650 ft of 40º to 50 º terrains.
Cross a series of slopes and crevasses, and then traverse to arrive below the summit face after 3 hours.
There are two alternatives to the summit from this point: (1) go straight up the face for 250 m/ 800 ft at 40º to 50º; or (2) continue following the path toward the right until it reaches the ridge, and then go left and follow the airy ridge to the summit.
Both alternatives normally take 1 to 2 hours. The face route is easier to protect and is a better choice in windy conditions and toward the end at the season when snow and ice cover on the ridge can become thin.
The ridge route gives impressive views down the 1,000 m/3,300 ft west Face and is not as steep as the more direct route.
Descent: you can descend via the face or the ridge. Campamento Argentino can be reached in 2 hours from the summit, and it takes another 2 hours down to the road.

VIA DE LOS FRANCESES
Grade III/AD+, 55º, 300 m/1,000 ft, 3-4 hours from Campamento Argentino
AUGUST 12, 1974, THIERRY CARDON AND ALAIN MESILI (FRANCE)
From Campamento Argentino, head up toward the East Face. Before the Normal Route bears right, go left and work a route across the glacier toward the obvious line of the via de los Franceses, watching out for some very large crevasses on the way. In good conditions it is possible to reach the bergschrund in under 2 hours.

The route angles at 50º, and it is steeper at the top. Route time depends on conditions: climbing unconsolidated snow earlier in the season can take up 4 hours, for example; however, after the snow has turned to ice, the route can be climbed considerably quicker, for example, in 38 minutes.
Descent: From the top, it is possible to traverse toward the right to the south summit, which is exhilarating an exposed (III/AD+), or drop down the col between the north and south summits. It is also possible to traverse up to the north, principal, summit above the west Face, which is very exposed (III+/D-), but  be extremely careful later in the season after the snow has turned to ice. Alternatively, you can drop down toward the left to join the Normal Route below the summit face.

BORDAS-MUÑOZ ROUTE
Grade III/AD+, 75º, 300 m/ 1,000 ft 8 hours
JULY 19, 1990, ELISA GONZALES, JULIAN HEVIA, ENRIQUE REY,
AND JUAN CARLOS VAZQUEZ (SPAIN)
From Campamento Argentino, head straight for the East Face, aiming for the right-hand side of the rock outcrop. Follow a snow ramp up, and then traverse across the face before climbing up to the south summit ridge and continuing to the summit. The options from the summit are the same as those described for Via de los Franceses above.
Descent: Normal Route

SOUTHWEST RIDGE ROUTE
Grade II/AD, 50º, 800 m/2,600 ft, 10 hours
AUGUST 3-6, 1963, PAUL BARKER (US) AND FRED HENDEL (AUSTRIA)
This superb but long route follows the exposed Southwest Ridge crossing three small summits to reach the south summit, It is possible to start the route at is geographically logical start in the Milluni Valley (which is what Barker and Hendel did), but his makes fir a very long route.
Alternatively, camp at Campamento Argentino, and head left across the glacier to reach the ridge, or camp below the ridge. The route can sometimes have long sections of soft snow, and there are cornices and crevasses to negotiate.
Descent: Normal Route
Access for the West Face
The 1,000 m / 3,300 ft West Face of Huayna Potosí is the biggest face in Bolivia.  Most ot ita route presents a stamina test rather than a technical challenge. The face averages 55º, although most routes have steep pitches up to 70º. Unless you and your partner are confident and going strongly, it is worth carrying bivouac gear on West Face routes because of the high incidence of unplanned bivouac, often on the face itself or during the descent.
Climbing times vary depending on snow conditions, fitness, and the route selected; for example, routes have been climbed in 4 to 18 hours.
After the snow turns to ice, normally during June, West Face routes take longer, and there is a greater threat of serac falls.
No public transportation is available to the West Face area. Hire a jeep for the trip from La Paz, turning off the road to the Zongo Pass at Milluni and then following the road toward Tuni. When the jeep reaches the highest point after climbing out of the Milluni valley, get out. Travel by jeep takes 2 hours from La Paz and costs US$75.
Approach
The joy of the walk-in to the West Face is that it is downhill to the glacier from the road and then a gentle 2 hour stroll up the glacier.
Routefinding is not a problem: from the bivouac site, pick a line and go.
Descent for all West Face routes: Normal Route via the East Face. An alternative, descend by Jason Currie and Mark Ryle (U.K.) in 1996, is to follow the Southwest Ridge down from the south summit until it becomes relatively easy to drop down to the flat glacier at the bottom of the West Face. The advantage of the Currie-Ryle descent is that you end up returning to your bivouac gear at the bottom of the West Face instead of having to walk around the mountain from the Zongo Pass or carrying all your kit up the route with you. However, the ridge is not always in good condition.

LABA-HUDSON ROUTE (VIA AMERICA)
Grade IV (5.5)/D+ (IV+), 80º, 1,000 m /3,300 ft, 12 hours
JULY 4-5, 1969, JOHN HUDSON AND ROMAN LABA (U.S)
This route was the first one climbed on the West Face from the bivouac site; take the easiest line up to the mixed west (left) ridge line. Follow the ridge line to its junction with the Northwest Ridge and then onto the summit.

YUGOSLAV ROUTE
Grade IV/D+,70º, 1,000 m/3,300 ft, 12 hours
JUNE 14, 1983, BLAZ JEREB AND MIRKO POGACAR (SLOVENIA)
This is an elegant and direct route up the face. Climb up the left- hand side of the large hanging glacier (50º). Where the American Route turns right to cross the hanging glacier, continue straight up through two ice pitches, and stay to the right of the rock wall for as long a possible. The rock wall is climbed via an icefall (70º) coming down from the summit ridge. The route finishes up on iced or verglassed rock (60º) to reach the summit ridge. Turn right on the ridge, and continue to the summit.

FRENCH ROUTE
Grade IV/D, 70º, 1,000 m/3.300 ft
APRIL 1978, JEAN AND MICHEL AFFANASIEF (FRANCE)
Climb up to the right of the hanging glacier, and then follow the snow gully to the left of the rock outcrop until a line to the summit becomes clear. The route reaches the summit ridge slightly to the ridge of the summit.

VIA DEL TRIANGULO
Grade IV (5.5)/D- (IV), 70º, 800 m/2,600 ft
SEPTEMBER 18, 1971, HANS HAZTLER (AUSTRIA) AND ALAIN MESILI (FRANCE)
Climb up the snowfields directly below the south summit. Then work a way up the mixed gully above, which curves around to the left, to reach the south summit. The route becomes steeper and harder the higher you get.

ARGENTINIAN-SPANISH ROUTE
Grade IV/D+, 80º , 1,000 m/3,300 ft
1990, CAROLINA AND HORACIO GODÓ, MARCELO PAGANI (ARGENTINA)
AND ALVARO ENRIQUEZ (SPAIN)
Follow the snow as far to the right and up as it will go before heading up a sometimes mixed section to join the Southwest Ridge, and then take the ridge to the south Summit. The traverse can be continued above the West Face to reach the main, north summit.

NORTH-SOUTH TRAVERSE
Grade III/AD+70º, 1,000 m 3,300 ft, 3 days
JUNE 24-27, 1993, SIMON ABRAHAMS, JIM HALL, AND MATTHEWS (U.K)
To climb this route, start on the north ridge, move across to the west flank, and continue across to the northwest ridge to meet the snow line.
Follow the northwest ridge with mixed climbing over rock (5.5/IV) and ice (55º) to the Normal Route, 200 m /650 ft below the summit. From the summit, continue south to the south summit (70º snow/ ice), and then descend the ridge until an easy descent to Campamento Argentino becomes clear. Descend to the camp, and follow the Normal Route back to Zongo Pass.

map

This section stretches from La Cumbre, the main pass crossing the Bolivian Andes, to the Rio La Paz or Rio Abajo that cuts through the Andes dividing it into the Cordillera Real and Quimsa Cruz. At this point the Andes are made up of a series of small ranges and then  the large lumps of Mururata and Illimani, the end marker of the range.

HATI KHOLLU
5.421 M/17,785 ft
Map: IGM CHOJLLA 6044 IV
The Hampaturi Group is clearly visible from the Sopocachi area of La Paz, and it contains the closest glaciers to the city. However, it is rarely visited by climbers, and the area is sparsely populated despite being so close. Hati Khollu is the highest peak in the small range, and from is summit you have great views of Mururata and Illimani. The climb provides a pleasant way to acclimatize.
Access
From the center of La Paz, take a bus to the suburb of Alto Pampahasi. About 100m/ 330 ft before the end of the asphalt there is a side street on the left, from where buses go to Palcoma (marked “Estancia Karpani” on the IGM map).The trip take 45 minutes and cross US$1. Alternatively, haggle with a driver of an empty minibus to hire the whole bus for about US$7.
A jeep trip from La Paz to Palcoma takes 1 hour and costs US$30.
Approach
From Palcoma at 3,850 m / 12, 630 ft, cross the river and head up the valley that comes down from the east. Go up the valley, staying on the right-hand side. At the point where the rarely used vehicle track ends, cross the stream, and follow llama paths up and to the left. Cross another stream, and follow the obvious contour path up and to the left below the pointed rock peak. Stay on the left-hand side of the stream until you reach Laguna Jachcha Khasiri at 4,690 m/ 15,387 ft. Camp at the far end of the lake, 4 hour from Palcoma.

SOUTHWEST FACE/SOUTHEAST RIDGE ROUTE
Grade III- (5.3)/AD (III), 60º, 400 m/1,300 FT, 3 HOURS
May 15, 1995, YOSSI BRAIN (U.K) AND JASON DAVIS (U.S)
From the lake, head up the valley to join the flat part of the glacier.
Cross the glacier, and then take the steepest and most direct line up to the ridge. Follow the ridge to just below the summit where a gully made up of easy-angled loose rock leads to the summit.
Descent: Same to the ridge and then follow the ridge down until easier angled slopes lead back down to the right to the flat glacier.

ILLIMANI
6,439 M/21,125 FT
SEPTEMBER 9, 1898, SIR MARTIN CONWAY (U.K.), JEAN ANTOINE MAQUIGNAZ,
AND LUIGI PELISER (SWISS-ITALIAN) FROM THE SOUTHEAST
Maps: DAV CORDILLERA REAL-SÜD (ILLIMANI), IGM PALCA 6044 III AND COHONI 6043 IV,
AND WALTER GÚZMAN CÓRDOVA ILLIMANI
Illimani is the highest and southernmost peak in the Cordillera Real and dominates views from the capital city of La Paz. Hans Ertl, writing in Mountain World (1953), described Illimani as “one of the most beautiful and impressive groups of peaks in South America”. It is not so much a mountain as a massif—the glaciations measures 8 Km/5 m from one end to the other. From La Paz, the mountain appears to have three summits: the highest, Pico Sur, is to the right, but two other major summits are hidden from view, as well as a number of others. The west side is heavily glaciated, while the rarely climbed south and east sides’ present imposing ice gullies.
Access and Approach via Estancia Una and Pinaya
Day 1: Although Illimani appears to be just at the end of a number of streets in La Paz, the journey by jeep to Estancia Una or Pinaya takes more than 2 hours and costs US$160. Both Estancia Una and Pinaya have a good supply of mules and porters waiting to be hired.
A bus often goes to Quilihuaya , a village located a couple  of hours ‘walk from Estancia Una. It leaves at 5:00 A.M. from near the Comedor Popular on Calle Max Paredes in the Rodriguez marker area of La Paz.
The buses sometimes continue up to the aqueduct below Estancia Una, which cuts the walk to the village to 30 minutes. Mules from Una cost US$8 for the 3- hour walk to first camp at Puente Roto (4,400 m / 14,440 ft).
From Una, follow the road up valley to Pinaya. The road is drivable to Pinaya, thereby saving the first hour’s walk out of Una. From the school in Pinaya at the end of the road it is only 1 ½ hour’s walk to Puente Roto.
Mules cost US$6.
From Pinaya, follow paths through the houses and farms toward the long west face of Illimani and then cross a series of steppes to arrive at a large flat area crossed by streams below an unused mining road. This is an excellent campsite with views of the central and south summits of Illimani, of Huayna Potosí, and also the lights of La Paz.
Access and Approach via Cohoni
Day 1 (alternative): Buses are available at the corner of Calle General Luis Lara and Calle Boqueron, San Pedro district, for the trip from La Paz to Cohoni on Monday through Saturday at 1:00 P.M.  And 3:00 P.M. The journey takes 4 hours and costs US$2. The return journey to La Paz Leaves Cohoni on Monday through Saturday at 2:00 A.M.
From Cohoni square (3,530 m / 11,580 ft), follow the road down and out as it heads back toward La Paz. Five minutes down the road a broad, roughly paved path leads up to a view of most of the west side of Illimani. Continue on up the path, staying to the right of the Rio Huacanasca and eventually joining it. Carry on until you arrive at Puente Roto (4,400m/ 14, 440 ft).
Day 2: From Puente Roto, follow the miming road for 15 minutes, and then head up to the eft, aiming for a scree slope that leads to the rock ridge coming down from below Pico Sur Head up and join the ridge,and follow it to reach the  high camp of Nido de Condores (literally, “the condor’s nest”) for Pico Sur in to 4 to 6 hours. The camp (5.450 m / 17,880 ft) is normally a flat rocky platform next to a glacier, but after a bad wet season it can be snow-covered. There is often no running water, and it is necessary to melt snow. Porters can be arranged from Puente Roto to Nido de Condores and for the descent (US$10 per porter). Pico Norte routes start from a different high camp (below).

PICO SUR
6,439 m/21,125 ft
From La Paz, Pico Sur is the right hand of the three obvious peaks, and is the highest peak on the mountain. Rather conveniently. Pico Sur’s normal route is the easiest route on the mountain, and it gets you to its highest point.

NORMAL ROUTE
Grade II/PD, 50º, 1,000 m/3,300 ft, 5-7 hours
MARCH 22-23, 1940, ROLF BOETGER, FRIEDRICH FRITZ, AND WILFRID KÜHM (GERMANY)
From the Nido de Condores camp, follow the ridge which rises steeply. Be careful—six Chileans fell to their deaths descending this section in 1989. Some very large crevasses are found on the route, but these are normally clear, and it is just a matter of working a way around them. The steepest section of the route (50º) is 20 m /65 ft long and is snow during the early part of the season and often ice later on. Aim for the notch to the north (left) of the summit; go through the notch, and head toward the right. Unfortunately, the summit in front of you is not the true summit. Climb the false summit, and follow the long, airy ridge to reach the highest point at the far (southern) end.
The climb is very cold because the sun rises on the opposite side of the mountain. As a result, the west face does not receive any sun before 9:00 A.M. unfortunately, because of the length of the climb, it is necessary to start from Nido de Condores around 4:00 A.M. to be safely and quicliy down before the snow softens in the sun.
Descent: The same, but a lost faster. The descent takes 2 to 3 hours from the summit to Nido de Condores and another 2 to 3 hours to Puente Roto.

PICO NORTE
6,403 m/21,007 ft
MAY 6, 1950, HANS ERTL AND GERT SCHRÖDER (GERMANY)
From La Paz, Pico Norte is the left-hand of the three obvious peaks. Some of the most impressive climbing on Illimani is found on Pico Note, and Ertl and Schöder’s route—the first on the peak—was the hardest route climbed in Bolivia to that date.

GERMAN ROUTE (SOUTH RIDGE)
Grade III/D-, 70º, 1,000 m 3,300 ft, 12 hours
MAY 6, 1950, HANS ERTL AND GERT SCHRÖDER (GERMANY)
From the Nido de Condores high camp at 5.450 m /17,880 ft (see Pico Sur above), follow the Normal Route until you reach the flat section at approx.5,800 m /19,000 ft. Instead of continuing up the normal route, drop left 200 m/650 ft to reach the glacial basin below. Cross the basin to arrive at the lowest point of Pico Norte’s south ridge to the left (north) of the small subsidiary peak on the ridge between Pico’s Norte and Central. Climb straight up to join the ridge (60-70º depending on snow conditions), turn left and continue along the beautifully exposed ridge—the drop to the right down the east face is 1,000 m 3,300 ft. About 200 m /650 ft below the summit there is often  a crevasse and a 50 m/ 165 ft ice cliff, traverse right off the ridge, cross the crevasse to reach the slope, and then climb this direct (60º) to rejoin the ridge and follow It to the summit.
Descent: Same or follow the west ridge of Pico Norte down until you reach its lowest point. Drop down left to reach the glacial basin below. Cross the basin and rejoin your footsteps coming down from the flat section on the Pico Sur normal route.

VIA DEL INDIO
Grade III/D-, 50º, 300 m/1,000 ft
To reach the bottom of the route, follow the description for the German Route above. After crossing the glacial basin, arrive directly below the face coming down directly from Pico Norte. The route heads straight up the face to join Pico Norte’s south ridge. Either descend the south ridge or continue up it (see German Route description above).
Descent: See German Route above.

 VIA KHOYA KHOYU
Grade III/D-, 60º 350 m/150 ft
JULY25-27, 1972, ALAIN MESILI (FRANCE) AND ERNESTO SANCHEZ (BOLIVIA)
Aesthetically, this is one of the most beautiful routes on the mountain. From Puente Roto, follow the mining road as if you were going up to Nido de Condores, but turn off to the left after crossing the stream.
Work a way up through scree and rock to reach the glacier that comes down between Picos Central and Norte.
From a bivouac below the face, climb immediately to the left of the rocks through 60º ice to reach the face. Stay on the right-hand edge of the face to reach Pico Norte’s west ridge and follow it to Pico Norte.
Descent: Retrace your steps until you are at the base of Pico Norte’s west ridge again, then descend right to arrive at the glacial basin near the start of the route.

LEFT-HAND ALTERNATIVE ROUTE
Grade III/D-, 60º, 350 m/1,150 ft
This is the route preferred by climbers starting from Puente Roto who are not eager to bivouac below the face.From Puente Roto, head up through scree and then rock to join the glacier below the distinctive pyramidal face. Climb the face via the left-hand side to join the ridge above. From this point the route is the same as for the Via Khoya Khoyu.
Descent: See Via Khoya Khoyu above.

ILLIMANI TRAVERSES
The three main peaks of Illimani (Norte, Central, and Sur) have been linked in a traverse a number of times. The five-peak traverse has been done twice. For either traverse, complete acclimatization is essential, as are supreme fitness and the ability to spend a minimum of three nights at or above 6,000 m/20,000 ft. The grades given are technical; it is impossible to take into account the effects of successive days of climbing with full rucksacks and sleeping at high altitude.

THREE-PEAK TRAVERSE
Grade III/D-, 70º, 2,000 m/6,500 ft, 8 Km/5 ml, 4-6 days
AUGUST 1957, WERNER KARL, HANS RICHTER, AND HANS WIMMER (GERMANY)
From Puente Roto, climb Pico Norte by the Via Khoya Khoyu or the Left-Hand Alternative Route (see above). Descend Pico Norte’s south ridge, A good bivouac site is on the eastern side of the ridge at its lowest point before the minor peak. Climb Pico Central’s north ridge. Descend to a possible camp in the col between the Picos Central and Sur. Climb Pico Sur and then descend the normal route to Nido de Condores and then carry on down back to Puente Roto.

FIVE-PEAK TRAVERSE
Grade III/D-, 70º, 2,000 m/6,500 ft, 16 Km/10 mi, 5+days
SOUTH.NORTH AUGUST 19-23, 1979, ANTON AND RIA PUTZ (GERMANY)
NORTH-SOUTH AUGUST 25-29, 1998, YOSSI BRAIN, PETER GROSSET (U.K.), ALESSANDRO BIANCHI, AND MARCELLO SANGUINETI (ITALY)
This is the longest and most impressive mountaineering expedition in Bolivia. The route is described from north to south because if you hire a jeep to get in, you save 1,000 m/3,300 ft of ascent.
Hire a jeep from La Paz. Follow the road toward Tres Rios but take the right-hand turning at Point 4460 on the DAV map, which is shortly before the high point of the road, Paso Pacuani. Follow the road and, immediately after crossing the Rio Umabamba, turn up left and follow the road as far as possible toward Mina Aguila. The road is washed out at approx. 4,450 m/ 14,600 ft.
Follow the valley up, past Mina Aguila, to its end. Turn right and cross the boulder scree to reach the edge of the glacier at approx. 5,400 m/ 17,700 ft and camp.
Join the glacier and head up to join Illimani’s north ridge. Follow the ridge up and over the as-marked Pico de Indio (Point 6109) and continue until you reach a bivouac site immediately after the overhanging ice structure of Point 6175.
Continue following the ridge. Climb Pico Norte, then descend Pico Norte’s south ridge to reach a good bivouac site on the eastern (left-hand) side of the ridge immediately before the minor peak.
Climb Pico Central by its north ridge. Drop down to the broad basin between Picos Central and Sur to camp.
Climb Pico Sur and then descend the broad basin to reach the as- marked Pico Layca Khollu (Point 6159). From the last peak, drop down to the glacier below and follow this down until its end. Depending on conditions, descend snow or rock gullies to reach the scree slopes below. Follow these down to an abandoned mining camp at approx. 4,400 m/14,400 ft.
From the mining camp, follow paths down to and then along the aqueduct, then through cultivated fields, aiming to join the road near Atahuallani at Point 3693. Follow the road to Cohoni from where there is a daily bus services to La Paz at 2:00 A.M.

SAJAMA
6.549 m/21,486 ft
OCTOBER 4, 1939, WILFRID KHÜM (AUSTRIA) AND JOSE PREM (AUSTRIA)
(Prem and Piero Ghiglione (Italy) got to within 100-150 m/300-500 ft
Of the summit on August 26, 1939)

Bolivia’s highest mountain is 25 Km/16 miles from the border with Chile. The normal routes are long and easy, but there are plenty of opportunities for new hard routes, especially early in the season, following ice lines on the rocky west face. It is essential to be acclimatized before attempting Sajama.
Thanks to the new road, Sajama can now be climbed in a long weekend from La Paz – a very different situation from the first attempt in 1927 when it took Josef Prem , an Austrian engineer living in Bolivia, 6 days to reach the mountain from Oruro, 5 of the days riding a mule “over the dreary, dead Altiplano, under a cold sun and swept by an icy gale ,” as he wrote in the Americans Alpine Journal (1943-45).
High winds are a common problem on Sajama, and all high camps are exposed. During the second (undisputed) successful ascent of Sajama in 1946, Thomas Polhemus (U.S) got separated from his companions on the summit plateau in the high winds that whipped up fresh snow and reduced visibility to 45m /150f ft. He was never seen again and aerial and land searches failed to find any trace of him.
Approach from the West
Day 1: Head north out of Sajama village along the old road to Curahuara de Carangas. After 30 minutes, branch off to the right and gently up. Cross a dry stream, and when you can see the mountain, head toward it. Cross a wet stream, and then follow it to the right and up to a broad valley where base camp is located. (Base camp is closer to 4,600 m/ 15,100 ft than the 4,700 m/ 15,400 ft painted on a rock) A small, clear bubbling spring provides clean water. Mules to base camp cost US$ 8 and the trip takes 3 hours from the village.
Day 2: From camp, head across the valley and then follow the path up the slope above. The clear path goes around the hillside to the right and then contours across the base of the mountains before rising to cross a ridge. After the ridge, it is steeper, end the path zigzags up. Earlier in the season the path goes through a snowfield, but later on this is a scree slope. Continue up to high camp at 5,450 m/17,900 ft on the narrow flat spot behind the obvious rock tower to arrive in less than 4 hours from base camp. Porters from base camp to high camp cost US$10 each.

NORTHWEST RIDGE ROUTE
Grade II/AD,50º, 1,000 m/3,300 ft 6 hours
AUGUST 26, 1939, PIERO GHIGLIONE (ITALY) AND JOSEF PREM (AUSTRIA)
Head up, sticking more or less to the ridge line and avoiding the o an hour,  obvious difficulties. After an hour, do not go up the first snow gullies (unless you enjoy mixed climbing on bad rock) but rather continue across  until you reach the bottom of  a broad snow gully that leads straight up to a ridge, avoiding all difficulties. The ridge leads to the broad base of the snow dome, although later in the season you must go through a nieve penitentes field—the spikes can be 1 m/3 ft  high or more. The long, easy angled and seemingly safe snow slope contain crevasses—some of them quite big. Continue plodding until you reach the highest point on the broad summit plateau.
Descent: Same
Approach from the South:
Day 1: From Sajama village, follow the road back toward Lagunas, take the left fork, turn left at a small group of houses, and follow the straight track until you arrive at a waterless flat area among keñua trees.
Day 2: From the camp, follow paths north up valley toward Sajama’s Southwest Ridge. Scree slopes rise to the right toward some red rocks below the glacier. Follow the path up the scree to reach the bottom of a 250 m/ 800 ft snow slope. Climb the slope to gain a spectacular and airy rock ridge at 5,500 m / 18, 000 ft. There is space for about six tents at this high camp, which is 6 hours from base camp.

SOUTHWEST RIDGE ROUTE
Grade AD/III, 55º, 1,100 m / 3,600 ft, 7 hours
From high camp, head up the ice wall. This climb can involve steep ice (60º), but it is normally possible to find a relatively easy way through to reach the snow slopes above. Follow the slopes at a steady 40º to reach the summit plateau. Watch out for crevasses in the seemingly safer snow slopes.
Descent: Same

YOSSI BRAIN

"BOLIVIA, A CLIMBING GUIDE"