n La Paz I decided to fulfill my dream of reaching a 6000 m mountain peak and signed in to a very popular tour of climbing the Huayna Potosi (6088 m). It is not a technical climb, but it requires a good reparation and acclimatization. After being some time at least 2500 m above the sealevel I was ready to try it.
In the first day we were transported by a car to the base camp (4700m) and spent a day there by practising the use of crampons, ax and the other gear on a glacier. We also did some iceclimbing on the icewall. That was fun, but hard for the hands. The next morning we had to climb to a high camp (5200 m) carrying all the gear in a backpack. It took us only two hours and the afternoon was free for enjoying the amazing scenery and sleeping. After the dinner at 6 p.m it was time to sleep again. Surprisingly almost everybody could sleep that early, because it was dark and quiet.
The wake up call came at midnight. It was time to get ready for the long climb to a peak. I put all the clothes on that I had, but realised soon that it was too much and had to took the first jacket off. The atmosphere was mellow and the climb didn't feel too difficult. Of course we walked slowly, because the lack of air. The full moon was illuminating the beautiful landscape as we ascended. Every guide took care of two climbers. I was hanging on the same rope with one Swedish girl. She had to stop every now and then to get some extra air, but I was feeling fine most of the time.
At 6.00 a.m after five hours of climbing we reached 6000 meters. The last climb to the actual peak was scary and difficult. The path was very narrow and there was a deep fall (steep wall) on both sides. I don`t remember being so afraid never in my life. I thought to myself: Why are we doing this? For fun? To test our limits? Nevertheless we reached the top slowly, but surely. Then we had half an hour to enjoy the sunrise and the amazing views which really were worth the effort. No pain no gain :) Of course we had to ascend the same way very carefully and avoid falling down. After that we could descend quite fast eventhough I was already very tired and my legs hurt, because of the long climb. It got also hot due to a strong sun. After two hours we got back to a high camp and had a light breakfast and some rest for one hour. After that we still had to carry our gear to a basecamp. At noon I was very tired after being awake for 12 hours and walking for 9 hours. We had to finnish the long day with an urban trek on the highway to La Paz, because our driver couldn't drive the minivan to a center due to blockeades and demonstrations. Ten people of sixteen could make it to the top that night. I can be thankful for my achievement to coca leaves, altitude pills and good acclimatization.
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