July 31, 2016

Illimani Base Camp with the summit in the upper left side of the picture (Greg Vernovage)

Andy and the Illimani Team moved from La Paz to Base Camp today.  This is a great drive and a move to one of the most beautiful Base Camps that I have ever visited.

Everyone is feeling great after a solid rest day in La Paz and have made the decision to strike while the iron is hot!  The Team is planning on heading to High Camp in the morning and taking a look at the route to the summit.  If everything looks good, they are going to go for it.

July 28, 2016

Climbing Huayna Potosi (Greg Vernovage)

Just like that!  No wind on top and a great view from the summit.  No real surprises other than the decision making that goes into climbing a big mountain.  “It was icy in places and we had to work around and over a few ‘interesting’ crevasses.”  Andy said, “When in doubt, we put a few more ice screws in to make us feel more comfortable.”

That climb is sweet, we leave High Camp at night and can see the lights of El Alto and by sunrise, the jungle is beneath us to the east.  The Team is back at Base Camp and enjoying their success.  A good dinner tonight and an early bus ride back to La Paz in the morning.  We will get a summit photo from the Team when they get back to La Paz.

All is well in Bolivia!

Greg Vernovage

July 27, 2016

These Bolivian mountains are impressive from all angles.  We start out at nearly 12,000’ at the beginning of the trip and the altitude does not let off the gas pedal at any point of the trip.  It is a great challenge.

For Andy and the Team, the next challenge was trekking from Huayna Potosi BC to High Camp at 14,700’.  It is not a technical climb to HC and the chance to see a Condor is higher on this day.  All is well at High Camp and Andy and the Team are going to have an early dinner and get some rest before climbing up one of the most exposed and beautiful summit ridges that I have seen.

Greg Vernovage