July 19, 2007

AAI guide Joey Elton called today around 2pm from Illimani High Camp. He said:

"We had a beautiful, chilly morning and slept in until about 8 am. Our amazing Bolivian staff cooked up a wonderful egg and fried hashbrown breakfast, which we promptly chowed down. We then packed our packs and set out for High Camp. The ascent to High Camp consisted of a 3000-foot climb up a steep, rocky ridge that ends just before the glacier. We felt very lucky to have most of Juan's family helping out and carrying loads for us. An interesting point - most of these people were women, which I haven't noticed in this role in other countries, and they hiked with 60-pound loads wearing sandals, skirts, and top hats - classic female attire among the Aymara. They were amazingly strong! With their heavy loads and sandaled feet, they still arrived at high camp well ahead of us!

"We're currently at about 18,000 feet at High Camp. We can see all around for miles, and the sunset is looking like it's going to be spectacular. Tomorrow morning, we'll leave for the summit of Illimani at about 3am. The conditions look good - there is a little bit of weather moving in, but it doesn't look like it's going to be a problem. Hopefully we'll call tomorrow once we're back at Base Camp!"