Impossible is Nothing! Even climbing to 6088 meters!

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”

It was our dream since we arrived in La Paz. It was our dream to climb up to 6088 meters above the sea level, to climb Huayna Potosi. Mentally we were completely prepared and extremely motivated. It was our dream...

On Saturday, July 4th, we met with a doctor to evaluate our physical condition. No problem here; we actually though we would be examined more thoroughly, also the subject of altitude sickness was completely ignored ("if people hear too much about the sickness, they tend to evoke it in their mind" - words of our doctor).

Saturday night was calm. After packing all the warmest clothes we jumped into our beds to fulfill our duty of suggested 8 hours of sleep. Unfortunately Asia woke up at midnight with food poisoning, and her first day, which was nice and easy for all of us, turned out to be a nightmare for her.

The trip to our first shelter (4750m) went smoothly, though sharp air and sunbathed mountain peak in the background gave us shivers...

After a quick lunch we headed to a nearby glacier for "climbing 101" - getting used to new boots, using new equipment - crampons, ice axes, climbing harness, ropes, carabiners, quickdraws...

Day 2: After lunch we put our quite heavy backpacks on and headed to the base camp (5350m). Our 4 hour "trip" started with a regular hike, then we were climbing rocks, and then we reached the snow. We put our climbing boots and crampons on, and with axes in our hands we started the climb.

We reached the camp at 5pm, completely exhausted. Our base camp looked like a house of cards, a metal box with 8 mattresses inside. The peak from this place seems much closer, but still somehow unreachable and magical. As soon as we got there the dinner was served and an hour later we were advised to go to sleep. Very funny - trying to fall asleep at 6pm, at an altitude of over 5km, just few hours before the real challenge. So I popped 2 valiums and passed out... not for long. I woke up at 8pm with a slight headache, and was not able to go back to sleep, tossing and turning until 1am, when our guide announced it was time to get ready...

Day 3: We felt really weak, with pulsing headache (either from altitude or lack of sleep, or both). After we put all the elements of our outfit on (if I remember well each of us had about 7 layers of clothes), we walked outside - it was freezing (-15*C or so)! It was 1:45 am. And we begun to climb. At first it seemed quite easy, not to steep, plus the atmosphere surrounding this event was amazing. Black sky covered with millions of stars, full moon, lights of La Paz far far away, complete silence except for the sound of our heavy breathing and the snow crunching under our crampons, and outline of the mountain coming out of the dark...

After about an hour we were already tired, walking slower and making more often stops. Asia felt much weaker and after talking to our guide, we decided to separate. I joined our friend from Israel and his guide, and Asia was going to return to the base camp. We were slowly moving up, losing breath from time to time, and eating lots of chocolate to get more energy. It was an extreme fight with my mind and the weaknesses of my body. But with every step I kept thinking about my biggest motivation - my dad. It kept me going, because I knew he would be so proud if I made it. The views were amazing, a sea of clouds below, sparkling snow and the sunrise warming up the peaks of surrounding mountains.

The last 100 meters were a nightmare, the most difficult, the steepest, with lots of ice and rocks. I didn't think I was going to reach the top. I head tears running down my cheeks, I couldn't catch my breath, I lost balance a few times. The real fight begun. DAD. STEP. STOP. DAD. STEP. STOP. DAD. STEP. STOP. I almost gave up... but with fantastic help from my guide (I really owe him big time for his patience) I MADE IT!!! It was unbelievable! At 7:30am I saw Asia getting to the top from the other side! In the end she decided to try and I am so happy she did. It was great to share that moment with her.

Unfortunately the time was pressing and after 10 minutes of relaxation we were on our feet again. That was a real nightmare. We were so exhausted and we still had a few hours of walking down ahead of us. I don't think I have ever felt that tired in my life. I couldn't feel my legs, fell down quite a few times, even thought of spending the night at the base camp before heading all the way down, but turned out it was not an option... Somehow we got down. I was so happy and so drained at the same time. Walking down we met a group of familiar faces heading up. We later found out that in their worst moments our friends from New Zealand used our example as a motivation, as one of them put it: "If those bitches made it, we can do it as well..."
On July 7th, we reached the peak of Huayna Potosi. Six thousand and eighty eight meters above the sea level. It was sooooooooooo worth it! Another dream came true!