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Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 5:04 pm
by spiderman
My son and I did a 6x6000m trip last winter in three weeks.
1) Marmolejo: southernmost 6er, easy to rent a car in Santiago and drive to trailhead, 5 days RT, no crevasses on the gentle glacier when we went in December
2) Aconcagua: 5 days. Who says that is impossible?
3) Vicunas: easy day hike from road to Ojos
4) Medusa: long day hike from upper Ojos trailhead
5) Ojos: easy day hike once acclimated. I really do love that peak and thought it was gorgeous
6) San Francisco: day hike from border of Chile and Santiago

It is very easy to do Marmolejo unguided in 9 days RT from the United States. The scenery around their is fantastic and the terrain is not extreme. It is climbed only once a twice a week, so make sure you are either really confident of your survival skills, or have someone with you in case you slip and can't walk.

I would also put Ojos in a category that could be done in 9 days, especially if you preacclimate in Colorado before you head down to Chile. It is only a half-day drive from Copiapo to the lower TH. A non-turbo diesel 4wd vehicle is required to get to the upper TH.

Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 7:38 am
by nomad_games
well, my boss just changed his mind on my vacation time so I may not be able to right now. womp.

Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:42 pm
by timf
nomad_games wrote: Wed Aug 07, 2019 3:25 pm I'm hoping to go above 20k by the end of the year. Would love to do Peru in Sept or Oct. My current personal record is just under 17 on Izta. Tried to do it in 2 days while living at sea level. Made it to the glacier crossing and couldn't move anymore due to piercing pain in my head and really slow/confused thinking. oh and sketchy crampons.

unfortunately I only have about 9 days max in one stretch unless I wait until December.
Too bad your boss pulled the plug on your time off request. So of course everyone is different, I did 2.5 days at 12K, 1 day at 13K, .5 day trek and camp at 15K, then went up the first peak at 17400', 2nd night at 15K, back to La Paz at 12K for another night, then to Sajama village at just below 14k for a night before my near summit on Acotango at just under 20K' and felt great, slow, but I felt great under a Diamox treatment. Some might say 9 days is fast to acclimate, but I could see doing something similar in say Equador with Cayambe, Cotopaxi, and Chimborazo. I would totally go to Equador next, maybe in 2 years for my 50th. I just loved Bolivia because the weather was so stable.

Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:57 pm
by Scott P
timf wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:42 pmToo bad your boss pulled the plug on your time off request. So of course everyone is different, I did 2.5 days at 12K, 1 day at 13K, .5 day trek and camp at 15K, then went up the first peak at 17400', 2nd night at 15K, back to La Paz at 12K for another night, then to Sajama village at just below 14k for a night before my near summit on Acotango at just under 20K' and felt great, slow, but I felt great under a Diamox treatment. Some might say 9 days is fast to acclimate, but I could see doing something similar in say Equador with Cayambe, Cotopaxi, and Chimborazo. I would totally go to Equador next, maybe in 2 years for my 50th. I just loved Bolivia because the weather was so stable.
Jusr cruious. If you felt great, were acclimatized, and the weather was great, why did you miss the summit? :?:

Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 8:51 am
by timf
Scott P wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:57 pm
timf wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:42 pmToo bad your boss pulled the plug on your time off request. So of course everyone is different, I did 2.5 days at 12K, 1 day at 13K, .5 day trek and camp at 15K, then went up the first peak at 17400', 2nd night at 15K, back to La Paz at 12K for another night, then to Sajama village at just below 14k for a night before my near summit on Acotango at just under 20K' and felt great, slow, but I felt great under a Diamox treatment. Some might say 9 days is fast to acclimate, but I could see doing something similar in say Equador with Cayambe, Cotopaxi, and Chimborazo. I would totally go to Equador next, maybe in 2 years for my 50th. I just loved Bolivia because the weather was so stable.
Jusr cruious. If you felt great, were acclimatized, and the weather was great, why did you miss the summit? :?:
Great question. I asked my guide the night before if I needed my axe and he said crampons only and I listened to him. So my axe was in my room in Sajama Village and while he offered to use a rope, both of us only had trekking poles which wouldn't have arrested a fall on those last 2 bumps. If we fell down the Chilean side, it would take and epic effort to get back to the vehicle in Bolivia. So if I had brought my axe, I wouldn't have hesitated to continue and would have made it up that last 450'. Without my axe, I felt a bit uneasy continuing. Next time I just won't ask and just bring it, stupid mistake.

Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 9:14 am
by Scott P
timf wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 8:51 amGreat question. I asked my guide the night before if I needed my axe and he said crampons only and I listened to him. So my axe was in my room in Sajama Village and while he offered to use a rope, both of us only had trekking poles which wouldn't have arrested a fall on those last 2 bumps. If we fell down the Chilean side, it would take and epic effort to get back to the vehicle in Bolivia. So if I had brought my axe, I wouldn't have hesitated to continue and would have made it up that last 450'. Without my axe, I felt a bit uneasy continuing. Next time I just won't ask and just bring it, stupid mistake.
Bummer. Have fun in Ecuador when you get there!

Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2020 8:46 pm
by WSN
There might be some easy choices of 20K if you can manage to be allowed to travel in Tibet. For example, Rongbuk Monastery at 5000 m(16,400 ft), where the north Everest base camp is located, has paved road and provides lodging. There are a few peaks just over 20,000 ft near it. You could hike up one and back to bed in one day.

Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 11:07 pm
by ltlFish99
We attempted Ancohuma in Bolivia at 21,095. We had a wonderful time and made it to 18,700 feet before calling it off. We progressed up the mountain slow enough to feel great as we got higher, but a little to slow to complete the adventure.
My plan is to return to Ecuador for Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. That will be my first time over 20,000 feet and I am really looking forward to it.
I will most likely go to Orizaba prior to that just to get up higher than Colorado.

Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:52 am
by timf
ltlFish99 wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 11:07 pm We attempted Ancohuma in Bolivia at 21,095. We had a wonderful time and made it to 18,700 feet before calling it off. We progressed up the mountain slow enough to feel great as we got higher, but a little to slow to complete the adventure.
My plan is to return to Ecuador for Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. That will be my first time over 20,000 feet and I am really looking forward to it.
I will most likely go to Orizaba prior to that just to get up higher than Colorado.
NICE!!! I would love to go back to Bolivia and finish Acotango and go up neighboring Parinacota as originally planned.
I remember seeing Ancohuma and Illampu from my stay on Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca. Amazing looking peaks!

Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:02 am
by leandra_nikont
ltlFish99 wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 11:07 pm We attempted Ancohuma in Bolivia at 21,095. We had a wonderful time and made it to 18,700 feet before calling it off. We progressed up the mountain slow enough to feel great as we got higher, but a little to slow to complete the adventure.
My plan is to return to Ecuador for Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. That will be my first time over 20,000 feet and I am really looking forward to it.
I will most likely go to Orizaba prior to that just to get up higher than Colorado.
What made you decide on Ancohuma? And what guide service did you use? Looking to head to Bolivia this year (never been!) and am getting excited.

Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2022 1:33 pm
by ltlFish99
leandra_nikont wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:02 am
ltlFish99 wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 11:07 pm We attempted Ancohuma in Bolivia at 21,095. We had a wonderful time and made it to 18,700 feet before calling it off. We progressed up the mountain slow enough to feel great as we got higher, but a little to slow to complete the adventure.
My plan is to return to Ecuador for Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. That will be my first time over 20,000 feet and I am really looking forward to it.
I will most likely go to Orizaba prior to that just to get up higher than Colorado.
What made you decide on Ancohuma? And what guide service did you use? Looking to head to Bolivia this year (never been!) and am getting excited.
I was having breakfast in la paz at a place climbers would frequent and was talking to some others.
They mentioned that Sorata was a wonderful place and provided access to some beautiful mountains.
We did not think we had the skills for illampu, and the primitive maps we had encompassed ancohuma, so that is what we decided on.
We did not use a guide service, but one of our team members was fluent in spanish and had a lot of experience in the mountains.
It was great fun, and I wanted to return in 2020, but then covid hit.
I hope you enjoy your experience there whenever you go.

Re: First Time Over 20K'?

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2022 2:26 pm
by pbakwin
herdbull wrote: Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:43 am hmmm..... well 5 days for Aconcagua is impossible. 10 days is even tough and even at that you might suffer a day or 2 for gaining too much elevation at once.
"Impossible" is a dangerous word. When we climbed Aconcagua in 2005 my friend Buzz flew in from the USA on Monday and we summited on Thursday. But that's Buzz... I myself acclimated in Bolivia for a couple weeks, which was way more fun than climbing Aconcagua.