Cordillera Occidental – The Volcano

After the Illimani near disaster, I started heavily rethinking my idea to attempt a summit of Sajama, the highest peak in Bolivia. Well, truth be told, I had started rethinking it the week before on Huayna Potosí when all the guides were talking about how miserable the conditions were. Not because of snow, but because … Continue reading Cordillera Occidental – The Volcano →

Cordillera Real – The Failed Expedition

Having come just shy of 20,000 ft the previous weekend, I planned to surpass that magic number the following weekend with Illimani, the mystical guardian of La Paz, at 21,122 feet. Base camp is a mere 50 miles outside La Paz, but due to the road conditions, it takes about 3.5 hours to get there. … Continue reading Cordillera Real – The Failed Expedition →

Cordillera Real – The Second Chance

At 19,974 feet, Huayna Potosí (19,974 feet) was a chance to avenge my Cotopaxi (19,347 feet) failure in Ecuador in December 2021. I put a lot of pressure on myself last year to summit that volcano, but I shouldn't have. It was 3,000 feet higher than I'd ever gone before, plus I'd never done serious … Continue reading Cordillera Real – The Second Chance →

Cordillera Real – The Warm Up Peaks

If you've been following this blog this summer, you know that all the summits I bagged, all the hiking I did, and all gym time and running was aimed at one goal - Bolivian summits. And so, a mere one day after I switched from sea level in Washington DC to a city that sits … Continue reading Cordillera Real – The Warm Up Peaks →