Chachani Tour - climbing to 6,057 meters (March 13-14, 2022)

Often the best things in life happen by chance. On the way back from Colca Canyon, the idea for the Chachani Tour came up in a casual conversation. Not even 12 hours later, I was sitting in the reception of our hotel at 06:30 ready for pickup. Kathi was supposed to rest on Sunday/Monday, and I was faced with one of the biggest adventures of our trip.

Together with Mike, an Irishman, and two German guys (Max & Bene), we set off in a fully packed jeep towards Chachani and the surrounding national park. Our guide Ivan, owner of the expedition company Quechua Explorer (https://quechua-explorer.com/en/), is returning from Chachani with another group and is waiting for us at the pickup point at 5,050 meters above sea level. The road to this point is adventurous. At first, it's an easy drive of about 1.5 hours on mountain roads out of Arequipa (2,400 meters above sea level) towards the north. However, then it takes about another 1.5 hours on a gravel/rocky road to climb even higher to the meeting point. The air gets thinner, the stones get bigger, and 4x4 drive is highly demanded. However, the difficulties of the journey are compensated by the breathtaking panorama, offering us a natural paradise.

Once we arrive at the meeting point, we have a lunch break and wait together for Ivan and the other group. After about an hour, a colorful group of Dutch, French, and German people arrive at the car, and Ivan takes charge of us after a short snack. For today, we still have a 2-hour hike to the base camp at 5,200 meters. We take it very easy, with the focus clearly on acclimatizing to the altitude and enjoying the natural paradise here in the national park.

Arriving at the base camp, we move into the tents that were already set up by the previous group. A larger tent serves us as a shared meeting and dining room, equipped with a gas stove, a table, and chairs. We discuss the further schedule: rest, dinner, go to sleep at 19:00, wake up at 01:00 in the morning (which is Monday, March 14), and start at 02:00. Everything is well planned and very precisely instructed by Ivan. Ivan himself is Peruvian and actually a trained business manager. However, his passion for mountaineering soon became his profession, and since then he has led countless tours. He has been to Chachani over 100 times (!) and to Aconcagua (the highest mountain in South America) over 25 times. We feel in good hands, and after a portion of noodles and tea, we try to get some sleep around 19:00.

5,200 meters above sea level, and I don't get along well. Wrapped in a silk and an expedition sleeping bag, I try to fall asleep to the sounds of Coldplay and Sam Smith, but tonight it remains just an attempt. Although I doze off lightly from time to time, neither I nor Mike, my tent buddy, can really fall into a deep sleep. I keep looking at my pulse watch, my heart rate is high, my stomach is slightly queasy, but at least I'm not nauseous. In the neighboring tent, we hear one of our fellow climbers throw up several times this evening. The altitude is not your friend, headaches and nausea are just the milder symptoms.

The alarm goes off at 01:00, actually unnecessary since I'm already awake. I drag myself dressed and packed into the main tent. Ivan joins us, well-rested with 6 hours of sleep, and prepares tea for us. Breakfast is not doable for me, although the other guys try to have some bananas, cheese, and bread. However, nobody really feels like eating. "Drink, Drink" - Ivan urges us to have a second cup of tea, so that we start well warmed up while it's significantly below 0 degrees outside and pitch dark. We are dressed in layers, I even have 3 layers on the bottom and 5 layers on top at the start - the motto is always to be able to take off layers. Activate headlamps and out into the adventure, it's going to be a long day...

Step by step, we trudge through the darkness. With increasing altitude, the effort also increases. 5,600 meters, so only 400 meters of altitude difference, and I look somewhat discouraged at my pulse watch. The heart rate is way too high, my legs are already heavy, and somehow we've been hiking for ages and made too little progress. I'm feeling down and ask Ivan if I can stay there, just turn around. It's not fun at all, and I have a point where I'm stuck in my mind. Ivan pushes me, tells me to focus - either we all continue or we all turn back... I bite together, try to only think about the next step, and after a while, after a break for putting on crampons, it slowly gets better. We have reduced the pace and walk cautiously, meter by meter. It gets windier, we walk over ice and snow with good grip and reach about 5,800 meters. It's slowly getting light after almost 4 hours of walking, but we still have about 2 more hours ahead of us. The breaks become more frequent, we put on crampons again, and continue over very steep snowfields.

6000 meters achieved, put down the backpacks, have another drink, and gather the last strength for the final 60 meters of altitude. By now, there's a freezing wind blowing, and unfortunately, it's foggy and heavily overcast. At 08:00, after a little over 6 hours, over 5 km of distance covered, and nearly 1,000 meters of altitude climbed, we finally reach the summit of Chachani. Unfortunately, no clear view, just a freezing wind. We take a few photos, Ivan reminds us not to stay on top for more than 15 minutes. Not staying at these miserable conditions at high altitude for too long. For a brief moment, a band of clouds clears, and the neighboring mountain, Volcano Misti, appears in front of us, what a sight! We are exhausted but elated by the moment, we persevered.

Time to descend! Mike, my tent buddy, is unfortunately completely exhausted by now and struggles with every step. I myself have gained new energy through the summit success, and I step behind Ivan almost light-footed on the way back to base camp. We take a very direct route downhill and keep a good pace. Ivan lets us go ahead and stays with Mike, the two German guys practically fly down to the base camp, and after nearly 3 hours, I also reach the camp. We don't have much time, we are already late. We start rolling up sleeping bags and mats, dismantling tents, and packing everything together. Mike arrives with a significant delay, can hardly walk anymore, and doesn't say a word. I'm also exhausted at this point, and the thought of walking another 1.5 hours with a full backpack to the car is hardly motivating.

Bite the bullet again, shoulder the backpacks to accomplish the almost 3 km to the car. Bene and Max dash ahead, I walk more slowly together with Mike towards the starting point of yesterday, where everything began. The images of the past few hours run through my mind, it's a mix of fatigue, pride in having overcome myself, and pain coming from different parts of my body. The sun is scorching down by now, and finally, at around 13:45, we reach the car. Load everything, get in the car, and return to Arequipa on the same route as yesterday. I quickly sink into the first sleep in over 30 hours. Gratitude and humility overcome me, it was a personal struggle and an extraordinary experience.

Would I do such an adventure again? Yes, immediately, even though I noticeably wasn't in top shape and it was a long fight uphill. It shows what the human body is capable of and how important mentality and willpower are for such undertakings. However, more sleep and training beforehand certainly wouldn't hurt for the next time. With that said, Adios Chachani, it was a pleasure!

The Two (Day)ly Highlights:

Insight: The often mentioned influence of altitude on the body is truly exceptional when experienced firsthand. At 5,000 meters, the oxygen content in the air is reduced by half, due to the decreasing air pressure. At 6,000 meters, extreme altitude is reached, where rapid performance decline can occur. More about it: High-altitude mountaineering: How the body reacts to thin air

Moment of happiness:

Of course, reaching the summit at 08:10 on Monday together with comrades and having conquered the first 6,000-meter peak.