Bolivia Climbing 2003
In June 2003, John Otter, Rena, and I traveled to Bolivia. After hiring a local guide from Azimut Travel in La Paz, we traveled to the Apolobamba to the town of Charazani. We spent 8 days trekking to Pelechuco, which included a climb of Cuchillo at 5,655 meters. Rena returned to La Paz to go to Spanish school while Antonio, John, and I headed north to attempt to climb Chaupi Orco, the highest peak in Northern Bolivia, at an altitude of 6,044meters.
We spent 8 days on this attempt. Although we failed to climb Chaupi Orco, we did climb Angelicum at 5,839 meters, which is just to the west of Chaupi Orco. We spent 3 days trekking to the Chaupi Orco base camp, including a layover day due to snow. It took 3 more days to climb Angelicum and return to basecamp. Finally, we trekked back to Pelechuco in 2 days using a different route over a pass which I named Miner's Pass because it passed through an active gold mine.
Read MoreWe spent 8 days on this attempt. Although we failed to climb Chaupi Orco, we did climb Angelicum at 5,839 meters, which is just to the west of Chaupi Orco. We spent 3 days trekking to the Chaupi Orco base camp, including a layover day due to snow. It took 3 more days to climb Angelicum and return to basecamp. Finally, we trekked back to Pelechuco in 2 days using a different route over a pass which I named Miner's Pass because it passed through an active gold mine.
