Expedition Illimani South Peak (Cumbre Sur)

Expedition Illimani. (6480m) 07/2018
Day 1: We get to the town of Pinaya after a 4 hour car ride from La Paz. There we have to head to High Camp "Nido de Condores" which is a 5 hour hike from the base. We take a break and have our first meal on the mountain. Once we get to camp we quicky set up our tents so we can be protected from the very harsh weather at 5750m. We also have to prepare our last meal before our summit push at mid night. The sun set early and we get inside and try to sleep. Our tent wasn't made for this type of conditions so we had a very cold night with zero sleep.

Day 2: We wake up at midnight and start getting ready to head out at about 1am. It is extremely cold that night getting to a low of -27C accounting for wind chill. we start to walk at about 1:30am. It is a very long night with many never ending steep slopes that test your body to the limit. Once we get to sunrise we are just about to see the crest. Timing was perfect since we were going though the hardest part and the sun energy really made a difference. After gointo to the cest thet is one final slope to climb, it is not too long but at that altitude it seems to be infinite. We were very lucky with the conditions at the top. The weather was perfect and we were able to fly the drone and get footage that wasn't seen before.

It is a very challenging peak physically, there is a very long way up and it does get steeper as you go. However, it is not a very technical climb so it is less risky than Tuni Condoriri or Illampu for example.

Guias: Julio Choque y Macario Choque
Clientes: Christian Bohrt, Diego Kyllmann y Jorge Luis Mendez
DJI Spark