After we had reached La Paz and had checked out the city going to the highest point there with the cable cars at 4100 meters, we wanted to fly a little higher. We knew that there were many Peaks to climb around and had gotten used to the altitude, so we decided to check out the Chacaltaya Mountain.
It was a Saturday and we woke up quite early to go to the bus station, where we would start. The whole street was blocked on the Saturday market and locals were selling different things there: Fruits, vegetables, clothes, souvenirs, etc.
So our morning started early. Only 40 km from La Paz, the Chacaltaya is nestled between the peaks of the Huayna Potosí and the Illimani and is part of the Bolivian Cordillera Real (Royal Cordillera).
Boarding the minibus, we were taken out of the valley basin from La Paz to El Alto. The many poorer immigrants from the countryside who seek their fortune in the city live here.
The locals say the higher, the poorer. El Alto is now the second largest city in Bolivia, after Santa Cruz and ahead of La Paz. Another superlative: El Alto also has the highest international airport in the world. Driving up there further up, spectacular views of La Paz opened up below us.
Then, we left the tarmac road behind us and turned onto a gravel track, the vegetation became increasingly sparse. A herd of llamas in the Altiplano posed for the photo stop of the day. In the background, we already saw the Huayna Potosí with its height of around 6,100 meters and a shimmering blue mountain lake. Here we took a break to walk around and enjoy the view.
The "cold path" winded its way up the Chacaltaya in serpentines. When we reached the top, a cold wind whistled around our noses as we got out of the car again.
When we arrived at the parking, I was surprised to see a little ski hut. The guide told us that the Chacaltayas glacier was Bolivia's first ski slope. The Bolivian Andean Club, founded in La Paz in the 1930s mainly by Germans and Austrians, built a ski lodge and a simple lift here. The highest ski slope in the world! Important ski championships once took place here, well-heeled Paceños spent their weekends here and tourism also discovered the Chacaltaya. - Typically German 😂, who else would have an idea like that to build a ski club at 5000 meters?
We walked down to the ski lodge and checked it out ourselves. The air was very thin already .. walking only a few meters was taking away our breath and of course, the wind was cold. The view was really breathtaking. On one side we saw all the lakes and on the other side the Potosí vulcano.
The inside was very much like many ski lodges I had seen in Austria and Germany. Wooden, cozy, and with lots of pocals, and pictures of the club members on the walls. Of course, there was also a lot of space for drinks and food... well where it used to be served. They had been closing down that place a long time ago.
The glory days at the highest ski resort in the world are over. "Schnee von gestern" (Snow from yesterday) as we say in German. Ice and snow have melted away and the glacier has disappeared. There has been no skiing since the mid-1990s. So Chacaltaya is a victim and witness of global warming. What remains is the memory of better, snowier times. And of course the unique view of the (still) snow-covered peaks of the Royal Cordillera.
Back outside we walked slowly towards the Chacaltaya Mountain peak, enjoying the view towards the ski lodge. Amazing how they had built it just at the very edge. It looked like it could fall down the 5000 meters any minute. 😱
It was only a few hundred meters from the ski station at 5,200 m to the summit of Chacaltaya, but the climb was extremely hard. At this altitude the air is thin and every step is difficult. We had to walk slowly to not get dizzy.
Although we were already used to the altitude from our stay at Titicaca Lake and La Paz, we felt a touch of “Soroche”. Altitude sickness manifests itself through symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, and shortness of breath. A few people in our group had been partying the night before... they only made it halfway and then needed an oxygen bottle. - I mean, that maybe wasn´t the smartest decision of them just before that trip 😂
We first went to the peak that we could see. It was very tough and took forever to get there, but once we arrived our guide told us: "well done guys, and now we go to the peak of Chacaltaya Mountain" hahhaha... the longest path was still ahead. We could choose between two possible paths to get there... high up or walk around and then go up. We decided to take the walk around and then up. The air was very thin but the weather was great. We had a very good view of the other mountains and especially of Potosí. - Of course, at that altitude, we started to have some snow below our feet.
When we arrived at the platform, the view was stunning. Framed by the highest peaks in Bolivia, the landscape of the Altiplano and the valley basin of La Paz stretched out in front of us.
We enjoyed the view and waited until everyone in the group had arrived. Our guide congratulated us on reaching the top at 5435 meters altitude and told us about the volcano Potosí. The view was magnificent but a little bit foggy around the volcano. How impressive it must be when you look even further and you can even see Lake Titicaca in the distance!
He took one of the rocks lying around looking like a small blackboard and another small rock to write on it and then gave it to us to take a picture in front of the volcano. After a little while the clouds even passed for a moment and we had a clear view towards the volcano! Really cool!
Of course, I also did my obligatory handstand in front of this awesome view. The ground was covered by sharp rocks though, so I did hurt my hand a little bit. The view from the other side was also not bad. I liked the rock there to sit down and let my legs hang down for a little bit. - So i just sat there and watched the clouds passing by, seeking in the fresh thin air and enjoying the moment.
On our way back we choose the snowy steep path. Very cooling for my hurt hand and of course nice winter feeling, playing around with it. We formed some snowballs and threw them around but then remembered real quick that the air was still very thin.. not much power to fool around haha.
I started to get headaches again, so we decided to be reasonable and walk down focused on the path, watching our steps and of course very carefully. - As always downhill was much easier than uphill, and air was getting a little bit easier to breathe step by step. The last part was the most difficult as it was getting very rocky, slippery and steep.
Back at the plateau, we were very tired all of a sudden.. crazy as in distance it hadn´t been that far of a walk.. but of course for the body very hard to do with such thin air. We were happy that everyone made it back healthy... of course the hangover guys had been waiting at the ski lodge most of the time 😂 - but they seemed fine by the time we were back also.
We enjoyed the view a little bit longer, had some drinks and snacks and then jumped into our minivan again.
Of course, the way back down was just as beautiful as our way up. Most of the others fell asleep and just took some rest. I had opened my windows, looked outside, and felt the cold wind in my face. I thought back to what we had just experienced and imagined people (including the crazy German and Austrian) skiing down that very steep hill. That must have been very special but also very exhausting.
We drove back to La Paz in about 2 hours and jumped out of the minivan close to our hostel. The last stop of that day before going home was our favorite pub just in front of it. There we had some food and drinks, exchanged pictures and talked about the day.
Cheers,
Liz
