Tatiana Sanabria reports for Pagina Siete:

Charms of the Huayna Potosi on a climb

Nestled in the Cordillera Real, one of the prodigious chains of the Andes of Bolivia, Huayna Potosi, imposes its presence with indescribable landscapes that can be admired as it moves through paths of stone and snow leading up to its highest peak, to 6,088 meters above sea level.

Located 25 kilometers from La Paz, this snowy – whose Aymara name means Young Hill –  is one of the most popular mountains in the country, for its accessibility and proximity to the city.

Although promotion reached its highest point in high season, from May to September, the rest of the year is also possible to reach the top, but with some climatic adversity, especially in rainy season.

During the first ascent you must go along a paved road which, according to the guide of mountain Sergio Condori, emerged by a clash of continental tectonic plates, make ten million years, when the sector was submerged in water.

“Here the magma from volcanoes was melt, that is why fossils are found along the way,” he explains.

After traveling this route – where you can see glaciers, lakes and other hills in the distance – begins an ascent by an infinite white blanket that leads to the high camp, at 5,400 meters above sea level.

At that altitude, it is possible to see how the clouds surround the mountains and cover the cliff which lies at our feet. It is when it gets dark, and under that unfathomable darkness, that the impressive Andean landscape stays in your memory.

It soon dawns on the refuge and after an intense snowfall of 10 continuous hours, everything is painted in white, covering even the Rocky trail that attends an average of 700 tourists a month.

The descent, then, is a permanent admiration by the immensity of the white hills bordering the Huayna Potosi and the almost infinite ramp by which we slip as children.

No matter what time of the year this imposing snow-covered is visited, you can always live an adventure to the edge of the vertigo and adrenaline, with scenery that undoubtedly leave breathless those who want to nail the conquest flag on its top.

http://www.paginasiete.bo/gente/2013/12/4/encantos-huayna-potosi-ascenso-7683.html