Ancohuma and Illampu are the highest peaks in this area, and offer some of the most difficult and rewarding climbing in Bolivia. Illampu is easily the most challenging 6000 meter peak in the country. We climb from the Sorata side, first to beautiful Laguna Glaciar, and then up a series of higher camps. The lower sections of the climb are not difficult. On summit day we have a number of options and our choice of routes will depend on conditions, and interests and abilities of the group.
All routes involve some moderately steep and belayed climbing.
We will need to move our base camp after our ascent of Ancohuma. Though it is possible to move from Ancohuma Base Camp directly to Illampu Base Camp, we feel that descending to Sorata to rest is worth the additional time required. If weather or other factors dictate, we can continue directly to Illampu after Ancohuma. After moving up to a high camp on Illampu we can make our summit attempt. The first challenge is a steep snow and ice face leading to a high col to the north of the peak.