UCL Quimsa-Cruz Expedition 2004

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Overview

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The trip is really split into three parts:1. Preparing for climbing. A week or so in La Paz organising and acclimatising.2. Climbing. Three weeks on our own in the mountains.3. Recovering from climbing. Two weeks travelling around Bolivia, enjoying the simple comforts of beds and showers.We were a six strong climbing outfit funded by our university (University College London) in Bolivia, with the intention of making some first-British-ascents in the Quimsa-Cruz mountain range.The highlights from the preparation stage were definitely the day spent downhill mountain biking (see Going Down’s Never Been Better) and the acclimatisation trip to the Zo...Read More

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Hotel Rosario

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Hotel

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Probably my favourite hotel in the world.We stayed there for about a week before going off into the mountains and then on a couple of occasions after getting back.It's more luxurious than what I would usually choose when travelling, but this wasn't a normal trip. And given that it's in South America, it was not exactly expensive (~US$30 a night).I saw half a dozen or so different rooms during our stay there, and all were of the same high standard (although I'd particularly recommended the large room(s) on the top floor, which offer an impressive view over the city and mountains beyond). The rooms are all cozy, the bathrooms clean, and the showers hot. There's plenty...Read More

Probably my favourite hotel in the world.

We stayed there for about a week before going off into the mountains and then on a couple of occasions after getting back.

It's more luxurious than what I would usually choose when travelling, but this wasn't a normal trip. And given that it's in South America, it was not exactly expensive (~US$30 a night).

I saw half a dozen or so different rooms during our stay there, and all were of the same high standard (although I'd particularly recommended the large room(s) on the top floor, which offer an impressive view over the city and mountains beyond). The rooms are all cozy, the bathrooms clean, and the showers hot. There's plenty of room for storage (and they'll keep bags downstairs if you ask - we left stuff with them for three weeks whilst we went away). The decor's pretty cool too, as it is throughout the whole hotel.

Included in the bargain price is the best breakfast buffet in town at the hotel's restaurant. Andean muesli with yoghurt, all the pancakes you can eat, fresh fruit, cereals and plenty of tea and coffee. Definitely worth getting out of bed for (plenty of non-guests come in to pay for it, and I would recommend you do the same if you don't decide to stay here!). The restaurant does good food in the evenings, as well; it's one of the better restaurants that we visited and a good, easy option if you don't feel like venturing out.

There is a pleasant reception area on the ground floor when you can help yourself to Bolivian popcorn and coca-tea (or whichever of the many tea bags take your fancy), use the Internet, and browse some books.

The staff are all incredibly helpful; they catered to our unique needs on several occasions (e.g. booking taxis, giving local advice, organising our six-man team's ever-changing sleeping arrangements and storing 20-odd huge sacks full of climbing gear and food when we weren't even staying there).

There is an Internet-ready computer down in reception and three more up in the cafe that opens in the evenings (all free).

So, for about $30 a night, you get a great, cozy hotel, friendly staff, an impressive breakfast, and Internet access, all in a good location.

I would strongly recommend this hotel to anyone paying a visit to La Paz.

www.hotelrosario.com Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on November 24, 2005

Hotel Rosario
Av. Illampu 704
La Paz, Bolivia
+591-22451658

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Hotel Rosario del Lago

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Hotel

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We felt somewhat extravagant (and a little bit boastful) about the fact that we were staying in the most expensive hotel in town, but given that it was less than US$30 a night, we didn't think about it for too long.Situated near the waterfront, Copacabana's Hotel Rosario is definitely worth a visit if you're not on a tight budget (there are hostels starting at around US$3 a night if you are).It is a very well-kept place with extra-polite staff. The rooms were very clean during our stay, though not all that big.The restaurant inside is excellent and served up the best fish I think I have ever had the pleasure of eating. It only had to travel about 100m to come fresh ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 24, 2005

Hotel Rosario del Lago
Avenida Costanera esq. Rigoberto Paredes a orillas del Lago Titicaca
Copacabana, Bolivia
591-2 8622141

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Going Down's Never Been Better

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Story/Tip

The World's Most Dangerous Road Photo - La Paz, Bolivia

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Today we are going to cycle down the most dangerous road in the world.We have detailed directions to lead us from our hotel (Hotel Rosario, see review) to the Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking HQ (so-called because our trip we see us taking a continual descent of some 3,000m). Our map says that we’ve arrived, and so does the minibus, the roof rack of which houses 30 identical mountain bikes in a row.Olly, the man in charge, comes to greet us. He has a very loud cycling top covered in bike-related sponsors and is sporting a messy, bleach-blond haircut. To say he fits the bill of an extreme sportsman is an understatement. His image only slightly undermined by cranking up some Davi...Read More

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The Huayna Potosi Summit Photo

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The Huayna Potosi Summit Photo Photo - La Paz, Bolivia

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The alarm sounds at 12. I'm never sure whether it should be 12am or 12pm, but either way, I did know that it was midnight, and I was supposed to be getting out of bed to climb a mountain.Ted was thoughtful enough to get out of bed to help us prepare, even though he knew he was too ill to join us. I'm not particularly fussy about what I eat in the morning, but let me tell you that opening a foil packet and chugging down a lukewarm chocolate pudding at midnight, having just got out of bed, is certainly a strange experience.Come half-twelve, we were outside. Normally, when you start a day's climbing in the mountains, you start from a tent: a little polyester igloo with no roo...Read More

The alarm sounds at 12. I'm never sure whether it should be 12am or 12pm, but either way, I did know that it was midnight, and I was supposed to be getting out of bed to climb a mountain.

Ted was thoughtful enough to get out of bed to help us prepare, even though he knew he was too ill to join us. I'm not particularly fussy about what I eat in the morning, but let me tell you that opening a foil packet and chugging down a lukewarm chocolate pudding at midnight, having just got out of bed, is certainly a strange experience.

Come half-twelve, we were outside. Normally, when you start a day's climbing in the mountains, you start from a tent: a little polyester igloo with no room to maneuvre and, often, sub-zero temperatures. To start out in a hut with space heaters and a kettle for tea was a real bonus. It meant that it took time before the cold seeped through my gloves and froze them rather than them starting out that way.

"This is wicked," Sarah says, and she's right. It's pitch black and absolutely silent. We can see nothing more than what's illuminated by the blue pool of light shining from our head-torches, and we try to follow the path where we can but are more than happy to scramble off-piste when the opportunity arises.

"Sarah," I whisper, "I think we're at Camp 1." It's usual practice to climb this particular mountain in two stages over two or more days. Huayna Potosi is 6,050 metres high and lies just outside La Paz, which is itself at about 3,700 metres, so that helps, but two kilometres of vertical ascent is still a bit much for a single day. However, having just spent a month at between four and six thousand metres anyway, we figured we were well acclimatised enough to tackle it in one day. It looked as though we had reached Camp 1, where most people start the summit attempt on their second day.

As if the cluster of tents wasn't enough of prompt, an 8-foot cairn reaffirms my suspicion. Tip-toeing (in boots) through the camp, the glacier rises in front of us, and it's time to kit up - crampons, axes, and rope.

It's still pitch black, and we seem to be trudging along an endless path of snow hardened by the footprints of all the other people that have followed the same route. I'm starting to get cold, and walking with crampons is starting to become quite a slog. After passing a couple of tents pitched in deep snow, we approach a short section of steep ice.

The stretch of ice provides a welcome break from the monotony of footsteps on the glacier. As I pull over the top, Sarah calls my attention. "Oh my God." With the views around us, I couldn't help but say it out loud. Below us is a thick blanket of clouds with a mountain range skirting along the top, silhouetted by the bright oranges and reds of the sunrise. Behind us, we can see the sprawling city of La Paz, thousand of tiny lights in the distance.

Thank God the sun's coming up - I'm pretty cold now and really can't feel my fingers. Ahead of us, we see some other climbers for the first time. A large number of people that climb Huayna Potosi are tourists paying guides to take them up rather than regular climbers. As such, our guidebook had a description of the route that we had memorised for the trip. Given that it is normally climbed over two days, the total ascent time given in the book is 12 hours. I had been quite concerned about what we were getting ourselves into since we first read about the climb. It's about 7am now, meaning we've been going for six hours or so - only halfway.

Up ahead, there's a long stretch of steep snow sweeping up to a peak. What at first I thought were rocks lining the slope, in fact turn out to be people. We've gone from complete solitude to being just another couple of climbers on a busy mountain. A realisation comes over me: the reason all the climbers are condensed on this stretch of mountain is obvious - it's the summit! If we kept up with guidebook time we should have another 5 or so hours and I was worried we weren't going to be that fast but as it turns out, we were well ahead of of schedule and only about half an hour from the top.

We summitted at 9am. Despite being at 6,000 metres in the early hours of the morning, the last push was hot work. Wearing three layers as I slogged up, I was sweating buckets, cursing myself for not taking some clothes off before we got onto the steep ground. Regardless, the summit was bliss. It was a proper mountaintop: a tiny little snowy ledge with complete 360-degree views, miles above anything else around. It's perhaps the best view I've had on the top of a mountain, and it definitely gave me the best summit photo (see below). Read Less

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