Summit plans for July

I’ve mentioned it several time on twitter, the sierra trading post hub and other places that I’m planning to hit a few summits this summer in Bolivia. I even have a few leads for companies that may be interested in contributing gear to the trip. I’ve been trying to prepare all the gear I need and to get in better shape to make the summits. I tried to hit the above peak (Illimani) in 2010, but without success. I didn’t do enough prep to be ready.

Here’s the two trips I’m pretty much guaranteed to hit: Huayna Potosí and Illimani. Here’s a bit more info on the trips and what gear recommended by the guides to bring.

Huayna Potosí is a 2-3 day trip to a summit of 6088 meters (or 19973 feet) and is meant to prep me for Illimani.
Day 1: Transport to the start where a short hike is done from the Basecamp (a stone building called the refugio). There’s a 1 hour hike to the glacier and then 3 hours of Ice climbing practice before heading back to camp for the night. 4900 m (16 000 feet).

Day 2: There’s a 3 hour trek up to the high camp (5200 m or 17 000 feet) where another refugio is. Then it’s an early night to be ready for the summit attempt.

Day 3: An early start (1 am) for the summit attempt. They suggest 6 hours to get to the summit. After that we return to basecamp and then back to La Paz in the afternoon.

Illimani is a 3 to 4 day trip, but with more hiking to get to the base and high camps. The finish altitude is 6438 m (21 122 feet).

Day 1: Starting at 3800 meters a 1-3 hike is made to the base camp at an altitude of  4400 meters.

Day 2: A long day with a hike of 5 hours going up to an altitude of 5500 meters.

Day 3: Another early morning (1 am) for a summit arrival of sunrise. Then it’s all the way back down (or possibly an extra day if you want to take it slow).

What’s needed

The guides are prepared to provide some of the gear and at this point I don’t know how much I want to invest in gear beyond what is needed. Obviously I would like to get all the gear, but I’ll probably pick up a couple items that the guides are prepared to provide as I’m unsure of the quality. To make plans, a little while back I spoke with the guide company I plan to go with for my trips (www.travel-tracks.com) Here’s what they suggested:

Gear I need to bring:

• Backpack (at least 55 liters)
• Daypack (for the summit attempt)
• Trekking shoes (for the approach)
• base layer
• Fleece layer
• Insulation layer
• Insulated hat
• Inner gloves
• Headlamp (extra batteries)
• Sleeping bag
• Sunglasses
• Snacks
• Sorojchi pills
• Coca leaves to chew
• Entrance fee: 10 bolivians (equivalent of $1.25)
• Water
• *for illimani a down jacket is recommended

I’m pretty much set with the gear needed, I just need baselayer pants for the trip.