That’s right, I try, as if I did not succeed. It was actually my third time on the mountain, but the last trip was planned only as a reconnaissance trip, with an unplanned and unprepared attempt at the lower southwestern peak. In addition to Carlos and Hugo, my companions on the first attempt, we added Carla, another friend from the Camycam mountaineering club in Lima. I picked up Carlos and Carla at the bus terminal on Friday morning, after their 15-hour drive from Lima. We spent the rest of the day visiting, shopping and eating, while waiting to find out if Hugo would join us in the morning. He had been undecided about the trip, but at around 4:00 in the afternoon we received a call saying that he was getting on the bus.

On Saturday morning we met Hugo at the terminal, had breakfast and then headed to Nevado Solimana. It was a beautiful clear spring day in Arequipa, but as we approached the highlands above Chuquibamba we couldn’t see the mountains because of the clouds. We never saw Ampato, but we caught a stormy glimpse of Coropuna as we drove around it. As the sun set behind Solimana, there were some dramatic sights caused by dark clouds, giving us cause for concern and a prayer for clearer weather for the next few days. We drove to where the road to Huachuy crosses the Soro River and camped there. I had said in my previous report last year that I thought it was about 14,000 feet, but it was actually about 15,000 feet. We got there after dark and had to do a bit of searching but were able to find a couple of suitable campsites. It was snowing lightly, but luckily it didn’t amount to much and it soon stopped.

We got up around 7:00 in the morning, not in a hurry because it was a short day’s hike to our high camp at 17,711, just below the start of the glacier. It was a beautiful clear day, with just a wisp of cloud snagged on the Solimana summit. With the best laid out climbing gear this time, Selftimer snapped our start of the hike photo and we were on our way by 9:30. We followed the little river again up the gentle slope, and I think we saw the same two wild horses as last year. This time we followed the river further and waited until we were at the beginning of the ridge leading to the summit before leaving the river and heading cross country. Even though there was no trail, it was easy to go on the surface full of rocks, of course, lava sand. The weather kept changing all day, by 10:30 the clear sky had turned to clouds, but then it cleared up again later in the afternoon, after a little snow again.

Carla and I arrived at the campsite on the ridge around 3:00 pm and set up our tent before Carlos and Hugo arrived. We were able to see the mountain for a bit, before it was covered in clouds around 5:00. However, they were not the dark storm clouds of the day before, and the sky was clear when nature called shortly after midnight.

It was my first time using a double wall tent, a nice little 2 person Doite (Himalayan?), which kept me toasty warm in an optimistic 20 degree temp. Campmor bag, despite being 20 degrees. (F) outside. My fitful night’s sleep was further interrupted when Carlos announced that it was 4:30 am and time to get up, but it seemed too early and too dark. I decided to check my watch before getting up; It was 1:00 a.m.! Somehow, his watch had been reset during the night. I forgot a 2 liter bottle of water outside the store; It was solid ice in the morning. Fortunately there was still water flowing in the icy stream because we were a few hours below snow level. Both my soda can stove and Hugo’s Doite butane/propane stove worked fine in the morning, even though the fuel can had also been left out overnight.

After a slightly late start, we were at the glacier just before 9:00. It seemed so close to the summit wall on the other side, but despite very minor grinds, it was two hours later that we started climbing the snow pyramid that leads to the toboggan route. However, we could see that there was very little snow so we knew it was going to be a tough climb. Neither Carla nor Hugo felt good about the altitude, so they planned to head back to the high camp while Carlos and I checked out the summit route. Unbelievably, it took us another hour to reach the rock face due to the steep ascent through what was now serious penitents.

After some discussion, we decided to give it a try, although there was no snow right above us, just a thin layer of ice on the rocks. I didn’t have technical crampons, so Carlos went first to check it out. After climbing about six feet, he came to a good resting point and stopped. I asked him if it was possible to continue climbing and he asked me what I thought, the summit or life? It’s not too difficult a decision when you put it that way, so at 12:20, having reached about 19,200ft, we were heading back to our friends, who for some reason were still waiting on the glacier where we had them. left. Even though she had a bad headache, Carla was worried about us and she didn’t want to go back to camp and worry about us making a summit attempt, especially since the route was not visible from camp.

Somehow we took a different route just below the glacier, and had a hard time crossing a short gravel slide, which was very icy. I think it was mainly because we were tired and didn’t go high enough on a ridge, like when we were going up in the morning. We were all hungry too, and looking back, I think Carla’s altitude sickness was worse than we thought. She later said that she had trouble thinking clearly. When we got to camp around 3:00 pm, Carlos and Hugo wanted to pack up fast and get back to the car. Carla said that she was too tired to go back so we stopped to rest and I made lunch for us since neither of us had eaten enough during the day.

By the time we were all packed up and ready to go, we would have had to walk in the dark for at least an hour. Carla said that she was still too tired and that she wanted to spend the night there and come down in the morning. We agreed and we all went to bed early, I think it was around 5:30. I had been feeling great both days, but had a terrible night’s sleep. My nose was a bit stuffy and I woke up feeling like I couldn’t get enough air. After lying there trying to relax and breathe normally for what seemed like hours, I finally looked at my watch, hoping it was at least past midnight. It was 20:30! It had been a long night and now she wished she had gotten back in the car.

Luckily, Carla was feeling better the next morning and we made good time getting back down for the first two hours, but then slowed down a bit. We finally rounded a bend in the river valley and could see the car; seemed fine. However, when we got there, Carlos, who had arrived first, pointed out that one of the tires was flat. He was hoping it was just a puncture or someone had let air out, but there was a two-inch gash in the sidewall. At least we were able to put the spare tire on and drive home, unlike last year when I had to walk back to find a mechanic. As I thought about it, I was really worried, fearing that I wouldn’t dare leave the car parked unattended again, without it getting smashed, but when I had the tire changed, I was assured it had been cut by a rock not a knife.

After spending the night in Cotahuasi, we return to Arequipa the next morning. It was snowing again and there seemed to be a severe storm in Solimana so we arrived at the perfect time to be there. And of course we would talk about our next attempt and what we had learned to hopefully succeed next time. On the one hand, we are going to have to do it in May or June, just after the rainy season, when there is enough snow on the route. We also need to spend at least another day acclimatizing, probably climbing Firura, a nearby 18,000-foot mountain. Despite the fact that Peruvians seem to have fewer problems with altitude sickness than many in the US, and that my friends have scaled higher mountains in Huaraz with the same amount of acclimatization time, there is something about Solimana that is kicking our butt. Let’s hope the third time is a charm, and not a punch!