Uturuncu (YOTC 2/100, PJAMM 54/100)
"I want to get high, so high" -Cypress Hill
“I think that’s Uturuncu!” I said as a large double-peak appeared over the horizon during our 17 hour drive south (over two days) from La Paz towards Quetena Chico. Noel said he didn’t think so, that there was another large peak we would see first. But I knew it was Uturuncu, a mountain I had been obsessing about from the moment I planned to ride up it. I had seen the photos, and more recently, a widely-panned Werner Herzog movie that, while erroneously placing Uturuncu in proximity to the Uyuni salt flats (a location we stopped at along the way), contained some very good shots of the intimidating volcano.
After convincing Noel that it really was The One, I started to fret about what appeared to be large snowfields around the saddle. But eventually I remembered that there was a lot of white rock near the top, and that the distribution of white was nonsensical and too dusky, and that the *actual* snow was stark white, very limited, and near the peaks.
I generally do pretty well with altitude, but the top of Uturuncu was 3,200 feet higher than my previous record in Nepal, and I did get a bit of a headache back then. I knew that by the time I attempted the climb, I would have spent 3 of the previous 4 nights sleeping at 12,000 feet or more (the night at the base of the Death Road was spent at 4,000 feet, whereas the night in Quetena Chico before the climb was spent at 13,600 feet), so I hoped that would be enough acclimatization to avoid altitude sickness.
I have generally enjoyed high altitude experiences, and I somewhat jokingly wonder if my brain gets too much oxygen near sea level. In the end, Uturuncu was well above my altitude sweet-spot, so it’s fortunate I was only up there for a limited time.
I want to be very careful about how I describe the challenges of traveling to Quetena Chico and climbing Uturuncu, because while there were difficulties and frustrations, the situation is understandable and the trip is more than worthwhile. The river on the edge of town was dry, and a local woman told Noel that it doesn’t rain there as much as it used to. The sulfur mine that utilized the road up the mountain was closed in the 1990’s.
Thus, tourism is an important source of revenue for Quetena Chico and the road up Uturuncu is maintained by locals for that purpose. I was happy to pay for the privilege but the rules and the associated fees were not very clear, even to my Bolivian guide. In the end, I can tell you that I paid a small fee to get into the national park, another small fee to enter the town itself, and roughly $80 USD for a guide up the mountain. I can also tell you from experience that if you don’t pay for a guide, you will encounter a locked gate on the road up to the volcano, and your other guide Noel might have to drive back to town to find a local guide while you continue riding on your own, laden with supplies.
Finally, Noel was told that in the future only locals would be allowed to drive up the road, so it may ultimately be the case that you will pay for a guide to drive you up. Hopefully bicycles will still be allowed within this scheme. At any rate, it’s an incredible place to visit and I would encourage you to go despite the challenges.
Certainly there is nowhere else in the world quite like this. This article makes a credible argument that Uturuncu has the highest drivable road in the world. Surprisingly recent discoveries show that we are all under the volcano’s influence. From Wikipedia:
Starting in 1992, satellite observations have indicated a large area of regional uplift centered on Uturuncu, which has been interpreted as an indication of large-scale magma intrusion under the volcano. This might be a prelude to large-scale volcanic activity, including "supervolcanic" activity and caldera formation.
This means that, similar to the Yellowstone caldera, an eruption could have global ramifications. Considering Uturuncu’s destructive power, I hope I was a good ambassador despite the multiple crashes and delirious soliloquies you will see in the following video:
Links:
Some Notes:
-Once again, I would like to credit Noel for guiding me through this experience and helping me complete one of the toughest climbs on the list. You should go to Bolivia and he will guide you through any adventure of your choosing. Let me know and I will give you his contact info.
-I have acquired a GPS remote and microphones for my DJI Osmo Action 4, so video and especially audio quality should improve on subsequent videos.
-I’m off to some mystery locations tomorrow and it’s going to be a hectic February with a ton of climbs. I’m not sure when I will have time to post about Chile, Peru, and Colombia, but with the Uturuncu video you have certainly seen the best footage I have so far.
Absolutely amazing Alex. Breath taking in more ways than one! Wow.
You are a terrific story teller, Alex. Thanks for taking us along for the ride with your cheery and harrowing documentation. For my taste, too close to the edge at one point, as you pedaled up that steep hill of sand, gravel and rocks.