Trekking in the Cordillera Real

Over banana milkshakes in La Paz we decided it was now or never to climb one of the beautiful snowy mountains of the Cordillera Real. We are acclimatised now to staying at around 4000m so we thought it was a good time to go for it. We signed up for a 3-day trek, sleeping in a tent, followed by the ascent of Huayna Potosi mountain. With just Simon, me and our lovely guide, Sixto, we had a wonderful first few days walking through the mountains.

 

I questioned what we had let ourselves in for when shortly after setting off, the cold wind and rain set in and my waterproof trousers started to leak. We arrived at our campsite in the early afternoon - a clearing in a spectacular location - but really couldn't appreciate it as by this point it was hailing and I couldn't feel my fingers. Freezing cold, we wrapped up in two sleeping bags each and I tried to think of warmer times as we huddled in our tent. I dozed off and woke up sweltering as the sun had come out and the tent had turned into a sauna. 

Our campsite was next to this beautiful lagoon which reflected all the colours and shapes of the mountains and was great for skimming.  View down onto our first campsite next to the lagoon.

A mountain glacier next to the lagoon

The next day, we climbed up to our first 5000m pass, passing a few donkeys and lots of llamas. Falcons swooped overhead. Although rare now, it is possible to see condors in this region if a llama dies, then they come to eat it. Sixto explained that they rarely come to this altitude, because they are so heavy and the air is so thin, it is difficult for them to gain height and to take off again.

Our first 5000m pass - surprisingly easy. We were starting to think that Huayna Potosi would be a doddle.

As we descended the other side of the mountain pass, we encountered thousands of these thumb-sized caterpillars. If a llama eats just one of them, it dies. 

Jaunty as we were at this stage about our ability to take on big mountains, we climbed up to another optional 5000m pass rather than walking around the mountain. This one was very steep with a fine slate surface.

These flowers spring up high on the mountains and are a delicious treat for llamas. To get to them, the llamas are prepared to trudge up to incredible heights.

Our second day's camp was at the foot of Huayna Potosi mountain - the snowy mountain in the background on the photo. Having woken in the morning at the previous camp to the tent frozen solid, for an extra 50p each, we took the local farmer up on his offer of erecting our tent inside the hut. In two pairs of thermal leggings, two pairs of thick socks, a thermal vest, a pyjama top, two long sleeved tops, a cashmere jump, an alpaca jumper, scarf, hat and gloves plus two sleeping bags, in a tent inside a hut, I was finally warm! 
Heading to the toilet. A little exposed.
The next day we had another great walk, bounding up to 5100m and descending a slate scree before heading to the base refuge camp for Huayna Potosi.