Condoriri Group

One of the first visitors from the Occident was the British mountaineer Martin Conway, the first to climb mount Illimani. He talked about the great quantity of condors that there were in the zone, which sadly it’s not true anymore. The Condoriri, condor head in Aymara, is a group of 13 equally attractive peaks, where the Nevado de Condoriri is the highest and most imposing mountain in the group. From the arrival in La Paz we can already recognize its summit with its glaciers. Standing out among the surrounding peaks, it spreads like a gigantic condor trying to take off. To the west we find the Pico Austria (Austria peak). A light ascent allows us a magnificent overview of the Cordillera Real, the high plains of the Altiplano and Lake Titicaca. The small Alpamayo is just behind the Pico Ilusión (Illusion peak) and the Tarija. During the ascent to the base camp of the Condoriri, only the eternal ice summit can be seen; one of the most beautiful snow-covered mountains of the Cordillera Real. After a short hike to the base camp located at the beautiful Chiar Khota lagoon, we face a great number of options of summits to climb. We now present three alternatives with different degrees of difficulty.

Access

From La Paz, take the road to Tiwanaku (Copacabana). After some two hours, via Patamanta, we arrive to the small hamlet of Tuni, located just below the artificial lagoon of the same name. There is no public transportation to this place and a taxi will charge about US$ 50 per trip. In Tuni, for a few dollars, we can hire mules and llamas as pack animals to the base camp.

Hike to base camp

From Tuni, at 4400 m, we take a path that goes up a few meters to the lake, then around it to the west and ends in the only valley. Here we cross a stream and we climb a few hundred meters through the eastern slope of the Pico Mirador. The trail is easy to see as it goes up, passing over the first lake in the way to the Chiar Khota lagoon, at 4680 m. We surround the lagoon by the southern side and we set the base camp at the foothills of the Nevado Condoriri. There is a guard who for a tip will take the garbage out. The ascent is worth for the views of the mountain ranges and the lake it offers. A little up the camp there are some latrines with a few stone walls that protect from the wind. Don’t use the lake water to cook! There is a water reservoir for that purpose.

Pico Austria

The Pico Austria can be easily climbed from the high pass, when crossing the two cordilleras from Hichukhota to Laguna Chiar Khota. On the way to the camp we can see its pyramidal form from its best angle, as it is joined in the west by the descent from the mounts that make up the Condoriri group. Climbing this mountain, for which you’ll need crampons and ascent equipment for its upper part, is not only a good way to acclimatize to altitudes (at 5360 m), but it also offers a marvelous view.

Ascent

We leave camp and we ascend through a moraine, formed by sliding material from glaciers, towards the Condoriri, and we surround the lagoon by the northern part. A little higher up, the road bifurcates; to the east we go up to the pass, easily recognized between the Condoriri and the Pico Austria. We get to the high pass at 5160m after a seemingly easy 2 ½ hike. From this place there is a great panoramic view of the surroundings. From the south grows the slope to the summit. This sector is often covered with snow. Depending on the weather conditions, it is necessary to use crampons, ropes and harnesses. We continue our ascent for another hour until the summit, at 5 360 m. For the descent we must count about two more hours.

Pequeño Alpamayo

One of the most beautiful climbs; it is part of the spine of the Cordillera Real, with spectacular views from its summit, which has an amazing form that justifies by itself the hike and the ascent. To the Yungas plains, it abruptly falls to deep valleys, in contrast with the more constant level of the Altiplano. This tour is quite more demanding. It develops over glaciers full of treasonous crevices. The slopes are often iced and with steep gradients. For this tour it is important to have the appropriate equipment and knowledge on ice climbing, with the additional difficulty of the aforementioned crevices.

Ascent

From the camp, we can see the glacier that extends to the east of the Condoriri, between the mounts Wyoming and Ilusión, looking like a tongue that descends to the valley. A trail on a soft slope of cold pastures and sedge swamps leads to a milky lake of eternal ice. A little higher up, the roads bifurcates. We take to the right of the glacier through the lateral moraine. After approximately two hours, the path ends in the ice. We now need the crampons, harnesses and ropes to slowly climb the glacier. Be careful, danger of crevices all along the ascent! From the intermediate zone, we continue to climb from the west to the summit, at 5370 m, passing first through the summit of the Tarija, obliged passage to access the Pequeño Alpamayo. To get to this point from the camp takes between 2 and 3 hours. The beautiful form of the top of the Pequeño Alpamayo is just before us. We’ll need about two lengths of rope to go back to the intermediate zone, and from there, across to start the ascent to its summit, at 5460 m, which can be reached in 1 to 2 hours.

Condoriri

Unmistakable for its two massifs with the form of a condor just about to take off, it is beautifully located next to the Chiar Khota lagoon. The demanding tour we present here demands to have thorough knowledge of rock, ice and mixed terrain. Precautions need to be taken concerning safety in the snow zone as well as in the ice zone. If there is little snow, we find esplanades with icy rocks around the summit that make the ascent quite dangerous. The Condoriri group is an objective for most climbers. The tour is difficult to surpass in the beauty of its landscapes, where we also find the Tuni-Condoriri National Park.

Ascent

Starting at the camp there is a path going through a zone delimited by landmarks made of rocks by climbers. At the level of the glacier tongue we find an accumulation of sliding material, or moraine, to the west of a group of cliffs. A hard ascent across them gets us to the superior edge of the cliffs. Up to this point, and due to the difficult terrain, we have to consider about 3 to 4 hours. The ascent continues across the glacier to the eastern part of the Condoriri. We go up the steep slope walking on the crest towards the summit, for 3 to 4 more hours to get to the top. This tour depends heavily on the weather conditions of the moment, so that it could easily last about 12 hours. That’s why it is important to consider the possibility of setting up camp at the base of the glacier. Another ascent route is by the pass next to the Pico Austria and from there to climb up through the glaciers to the summit.