A month ago I realised that, to a certain degree, I had succeeded at everything I set myself to in South America, and I decided that I should push myself and see if I can find a limit.
Huayna Potosi is a 6000m mountain near La Paz, and is commonly called the beginners 6000m climb. However that label can be deceiving, it involves ice climbing, not vertical, but steep enough that it’s all new skills.
A few days ago I finally mostly recovered from a bad cold I picked up on my last tour in Bolivia, and it turns out that “mostly” is quite important. Before that cold I’ve been at altitude, even higher than camp 1 for Huayna, and while I wasn’t climbing there, I wasn’t exactly sitting around (see the videos of the dancing and climbing over the coral hill).
The net result of this is after doing the glacier practice the first day near camp 1 I was absolutely exhausted and feeling the first symptoms of AMS. I did not sleep a wink at all that night, instead my AMS score kept climbing with severe headache, etc.
By morning I had to make the hard call to turn around and not even attempt camp 2. Camp 2 wouldn’t have been a personal record for me (still being lower than Gokyo Ri), and the number one thing you don’t do with AMS is go higher.
On one hand I’ve failed in one of my goals, but on the other hand I’ve succeeded in finding a limit. When I attempt a mountain like this again I will ensure I’ve done more training on ice beforehand and ensure I’m in good health.
If you feel like sending me a “I’m sorry you didn’t succeed” message, send me a “great work for trying” instead.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to stick around Bolivia after attempting the mountain, I figured if I succeeded well then I probably would. But tonight in La Paz, much lower than camp 1, I’m still very winded and tired. It’s time to give sea level a visit, so later this week I’m off to Lima.
Pura Vida
