After two months and a half I came back to the 3,600mn high city of La Paz, but this time, it was time for action! I already had made my contacts previously with mountain guides etc. so I could leave straight away for mountain #1: the Huayna Potosí. (6,088m)

This mountain is really famous among travellers to climb, because it is probably the easiest +6,000m mountain on earth. Normally it is done it three days with a first day of acclimatisation at base-camp and you also get some ice-climbing course. (I don't know why, because you don't need it on this mountain..) As this was not really useful, I decided to do it in just two days, because I had already been at reasonable altitude for the past month. The mountain has the reputation to be easy, but eventually it turned out to be pretty tough! The last bit we had to walk with crampons over a dangerous ridge of stones, but eventually my Australian partner and I made it first to the top and could enjoy the sunrise in silence. It was a MAGIC moment, once again!

The climb up did not go without any problems. First of all we had a big discussion with the guide about the hour we should leave for the top. All groups leave around 1-1.30am, but as he saw us walking fast up to high-camp, he wanted to leave around 3am! We both disagreed and eventually left like all the others and walked a normal slow-pace towards the summit.

That same afternoon I had to meet up with a Polish girl who had been waiting for me to climb another mountain. We had a dilemma about which one to climb. There were two candidates: Nevado Illimani or Nevado Sajama. I was already dreaming months about the Nevado Sajama, but the last two expeditions had failed due to too much wind. Nevado Sajama is a volcano located in the Cordillera Occidental near the Chilean border, so the winds from the pacific fly over the first range of the Andes to smash against the face of the lone standing mountain.

We talked a bit to some guides and asked for some opinions. Eventually we decided to go for the Nevado Sajama, but first I wanted to rest for a day to prepare myself for this massive mountain!

Of course it had to start-off the Bolivian way: we waited about two hours because they had forgotten to pack the ice-axes! Finally on the road I got to know better my Polish expedition-partner. And yes, she was a typical Polish! She loved to suffer and endure pain, so she would be my perfect climbing mate for that mountain!

Because we were late in the village of Sajama (4,250m), we had to hike a little faster to base-camp (4,600m). The first close-up view of the mountain gave me a little shiver, but he was the one to beat! After a good night in our tents, we left on day two for high-camp (5,600m). The climb was quite hard as we had to climb a steep face of loose rocks.

Once in high-camp, the resting could start. We would leave for the summit around 1am the next day. We met another expedition of two Spanish guys who were going to attempt the summit at the same time.

And then it came.. Around 7pm all hell broke loose at high-camp. After a whole day of blue sky, suddenly clouds started gathering around the mountain and winds of 80 to 100km/h came on crashing on our tents. The outer tent got ripped apart during this massive storm! We put massive stones around it to keep our tent on the ground, but it was the worst hell I've ever been in! It was almost impossible to sleep, so at 1 am the guide came to our tent to announce that we won't attempt to summit in this weather.

Sad and mad at the mountain I turned around and listened to the storm breaking the poles of our tent. Eventually around 2am it sounded a little bit less, so I decided to dress up and get the guide out of his tent to attempt summit! I put on a thermal shirt, a long-sleeve T-shirt, an alpaca jumper, a fleece, a down jacket and a shell! 6 layers around me to keep me warm during the ascent! Temperatures were around -15 degrees Celsius and with a wind of more than 80km/h this gives a sensation of -60!!!

The guide woke up and declared me suicidal and crazy, but I insisted on trying. I did not come out here to fail without trying. I promised him we would not take any risks. He also geared up and there we went, almost walking on hands an feet to not be blown over. We decided to go to the other side of the ridge to be protected from the winds, but at that moment we saw the Spanish expedition turning back. They were freezing and exhausted. On the north face of the mountain it went a little easier. The hardest part there was the rock-climbing with crampons on. Especially for me it was kind of weird. My guide who is a typical 1m55 Bolivian with a weight of probably no more than 60kg had to secure my life if I fell down. I did not see that happen, so I went extra precocious.

We could not forever stay on the wind-less face, so eventually we crawled over the ridge and came on the stormy north-west face! There we had to start to ice-climb a 60m 80 degree ice-wall. Again, very precocious we went for it, but the winds were almost blowing me off the wall. At this time I admitted that it was suicide and that I am not stronger than nature. The guide was yelling something down at me I could not understand, but I knew it was something in Spanish like: 'Let's get out of here before we die!'

We first had to finish the climb of this wall before we could go down, so for 10 more minutes we climbed in the worst hell and feeling of cold I've ever been. On top of it I wanted him to take a picture of me with the camera of the Polish girl, but only by taking it out of my bag without a glove, all my fingertips of my right hand froze in about 30 seconds! I had to endure the hardest pain ever during the next 10 minutes to get back some life in them. (Yes, I had to cry out of pain for those who want to know)

Eventually the picture turned out like crap before the camera froze too. I'll try to upload it, so you see what life is like at 6,200m.

As you can imagine, we did not summit, but I don't care. I tried and saw it was impossible. It was the best experience of this whole trip! I learned so much in these four days and it was the first time I had such a close encounter with the forces of nature.

The third day we had to go back down to base-camp, but something in me wanted to try again, so I talked to the Spanish guys and they were also going for a second attempt that night. My guide had to bring the Polish girl down, so I stayed behind with the two Spanish and a new expedition of a German guy and his guide.

Sadly, around 4pm a guide came up to high-camp to warm us for a new and even harder storm that night. Disappointed I dismantled the tent and went down to base-camp where I joined my team. I'll definitaly be back in a better season of the year for another attempt!

Be safe amigo's and see you soon!!

G. temporary retired from mountaineering!

Ps: my fingers are totally ok!