Great Peaks of Bolivia

Climbers should have successfully completed our 6-Day Training course or have equivalent skills and experience. They must have basic knowledge of progression on snow and ice, self arrest, crevasse rescue and glacier travel. Snow and ice slopes to be dealt with are moderate (up to 45-55 degrees for 800 feet on Pequeño Alpamayo and up to 40-50 degrees on Huayna Potosi). Before attempting Pequeño Alpamayo we will review glacier skills on the Pirámide Blanca glacier. For the Illimani Extension, climbers additionally must feel comfortable walking along airy rocky and snowy ridges. The requirements are also based on our desire to have similarly skilled team members.

Climbers must be in very good to excellent physical condition. Summit day can be 10-12 hours long on Huayna Potosi (starting from Campo Argentino camp to the summit and then all the way down to base camp), 12-14 hours long on Illimani (starting from Nido de Condores camp to the summit and then all the way down to base camp).

Along with the required crampon skills, review cardio training on the training page of our web site. Our itinerary provides a fair amount of time to acclimatize before attempting Pequeño Alpamayo, Huayna Potosi and Illimani . We strongly recommend following the advice of our guides to acclimatize properly. Try to improve your cramponing skills to comfortably climb hard-snow slopes of up to 40-55 degrees.

Your expedition leader will be one of our International Mountain Guides. They will have along as many assistant guides as necessary to ensure a low climber to guide ratio.

Bolivia has one climbing season: May through September. During May and June the snow conditions are better. June has the best and most stable weather. Some routes can become icy after June making climbing harder and more demanding.

Generally, our maximum for this climb is 12 climbers plus guides.

Yes, you will be sharing a tent (two climbers per tent) along the expedition. Besides, there will be a couple big tents at base camp for dining and cooking.

During the approach to base camps and on summit day climbers carry approximately 20 pounds. Climbers must be prepared to carry 40-50 pounds moving from base camps up to high camps on Huayna Potosi and Illimani .

Please review the gear list.

Those requesting rental gear must submit an expedition rental form with payment by fax or mail. All rental gear will be mailed to the climber prior to the climb. Climbers are expected to clean all rental gear and return it to us by mail following the expedition.

We recommend that you get a pair of anti-balling plates for your crampons. These useful devices made of a special type of rubber prevent crampons from balling up in soft snow conditions. There are different types depending on the model of crampons and brand. Please, make sure you get the right ones for the crampons you have.

While all items are required there may be times when some of the items on the gear list may not be used (such as warm weather or changing conditions). The gear lists are created by the guides to assist in having climbers be prepared to summit in any conditions.

While it is impossible for us to list all brands for certain gear, we do offer a wide variety of equipment in our Gear Shop, that has been hand-picked by our staff of mountaineering experts. Please feel free to call our offices with any gear questions or substitutes. Plastic boots are required for this climb.

There will be bottled water available while staying in our hotel in La Paz and for the one-day-long approaches to the different base camps on this expedition. All water will be boiled while the group is in the mountains. Doing so for several minutes will kill anything that can live at the altitude the camps are located.

Meals in the mountains consist of a diet rich in carbohydrates because our bodies do not process fat and protein efficiently at higher elevations and to compensate the increase in caloric need that high altitude climbing involves. We try to make meals and breakfast varied and as normal as possible. The selection of meals is wide in the restaurants of hotels and haciendas we will stay on this trip.

You may bring power bars, Gu, Power Gel, cereal bars or similar high energy foods, powder Gatorade is also recommended to fight dehydration.
All meals will be provided on this expedition.

Yes, currently a yellow fever vaccination is required for entry. (CDC webiste on Boliva please see above website for up to date travel health info and recommendations).

Most routes from the States to La Paz are via Miami . Most climbers arrive on the American Airlines flight. LACSA also known as TACA is another option. It flies to La Paz with a connection in Lima-Peru. Climbers that arrive early or depart late will incur in an additional airport pick up fee.

Fares are generally less expensive when booked early. You may use our Travel Agent (Charles Mulvehill 1-800-727-2157) or book flights yourself. Please note that flights booked online are often difficult to change. Please send us a copy of your flight schedule as early as possible as this allows us to book pick ups and hotels.

You will have to pay an international exit tax from La Paz airport of $20.00 U.S. Dollars or its equivalent in Bolivianos (the Bolivian currency).

Your guide or an Alpine Ascents representative will meet you at the airport. Look for a large Alpine Ascents sign.

We are happy to make arrangements such as personalized tours, extra hotels rooms, airport pick ups and arrange for private rooms. Please indicate that you would like a private room on your application and we will contact you with information on single room supplement costs (for hotels only).

Yes currently you do need a visa to enter the country, please contact the office or the Bolivian Consulate with questions.

In La Paz telephones are readily available. Our guides will carry cellular phones in the mountains. The quality of the reception varies from mountain to mountain.

Check the reading list on the Ecuador page of the web site.

You can always call our offices and we will have our Bolivia lead guide contact you. 30 days prior to departure, we will mail a list of the other team members to you.

$500 should easily cover any extra expenses and tips. Most climbers prefer to bring about $1000 and have credit cards.

$150 total is the suggested tips for all Ecuadorian guides and you may have some perfunctory tips at hotels and at time of transport. Tipping is not required but a common practice. Climbers may also opt to tip the Lead guide ( $100+ is an average tip)

You may call our offices with a credit card or mail/fax an application with a check or credit card number.

Each climber should submit an application and flight information.

We accept MasterCard, Visa, American Express, personal checks and Alpine Ascents gift certificates. To reserve a space the deposit is $700.00 and balances are due 120 days prior to departure. Unpaid balances can result in forfeiture of trip.

See our schedule and prices page.

Communication is sometimes difficult in the Bolivian mountains. However our guides and local staff will make the necessary efforts to obtain the necessary transportation and reservations to get you home as quickly as possible if for any reason you need to depart early.