Our first view of Illimani from our hotel room in La Paz
Our first few days we spent acclimating. Tiwanaku was a major center for a pre-Incan, pre-Aymaran culture.
Very few artifacts like this remain, but this one was really cool.
The Puerta del Sol at TIwanaku.
Carvings in the main excavation at Tiwanaku
The stone walls were amazing
Looking into La Paz, from El Alto
Another acclimatization day was spent going to Chacaltaya. This was our first view of Huana Potosi, one of the peaks we hoped to climb
The east face of Huayna Potosi. Our route goes up the snowfield in the center, and up the ridgeline on the right
The remains of the Chacaltaya ski area...a recent casualty of global warming
The old Chacaltaya ski lodge
Illimani (another of the peaks on our list) from Chacaltaya
Us on the summit of Chacaltaya (5300m), as high as we have ever been! Huayna Potosi in the background
Hiking in the Andes
Valley of the Moon, a cool little park on the outskirts of La Paz. Looks like a mini-Bryce
Heading out for our first climbs. Packing up the mules for the trip to Condoriri
Now the west face of Huayna Potosi. This is definitely one of the most aesthetic peaks I have ever seen
About the only wildlife we saw on the Altiplano...
Hiking in to Condoriri
Getting closer...
The Condor, another planned ascent
Cool villages throughout the hike. All the houses were made of stone, as were the fences and walls
More wildlife. The llamas and alpacas are everywhere
The Condoriri Group
Celia, our cook, heading for base camp
Aguja negra, another peak in the Condoriri Group, from our basecamp
Most of the climbing took place in the middle of the night, but here Beckie makes her way to the summit of our first peak, Alpamayo Pequeno
Us on the summit of Alpamayo Pequeno (17,618 feet)