All Images: Courtesy of Cody Cirillo
You might not think of Bolivia when freeride skiing or mountaineering come up, but with summits that reach 6,000 meters (19,600 feet), the country boasts peaks that rival those of any other land. After spending four weeks there recently, Cody Cirillo can attest to the grandeur of the landscape and the magnificence of these mountains.
Along with Mathew Tufts, Fer Ferrandez and Isaiah Branch-Boyle, Cirillo and team tackled three incredible routes on Huayna Potosi, a 6,088-meter peak whose name roughly translates to Young Mountain. While the Andes Mountains are ancient, we'd say the name fits this mountain well. It might be old, but its ruggedness and jagged ridgelines give it a youthful (and daunting) look.
"We never planned on skiing Huayna Potosi, but some external factors pushed us in its direction, and we're glad they did," Cirillo told FREESKIER. A keen adventurer, he's completed dozens of staggering ski missions around the world, from Iceland to Mongolia, the French Alps to the American Southwest. He had never explored the skiing found in this pocket of South America.
The three expeditions up Huayna Potosi took careful planning and ample knowledge from local sources and guides. The lines included the Northwest Ridge, the West Face and Pico Sur. Dive into the ascending routes, snow conditions and more with words and images from Cirillo below.
Northwest Ridge
"We took the long way around the mountain—followed an aqueduct to the north side and camped below the line. An exciting ascent alongside Mathew Tufts and Isaiah Branch-Boyle, full of mixed climbing and a beautiful, exposed ridgeline. Likely first climbed in Aug 1972 by H. Ertl and G. Shroeder.
We skied what’s believed to be a new descent, starting from the summit at 6,088m. A 900m line, with 60+ degree snow/ice steps (AD+), and requiring a couple of 15m abseils back to the bottom glacier." - Cirillo
Two views of the NW Ridge descent by Cirillo, Tufts and Branch-Boyle
West Face via American Route and French Route
"Following a late-May storm, we climbed the 900m face bottom-up, linking a combination of the “American Route” (Harthorne, Harvard, Janney, Thompson - 1970) and “French Route” (J. & M. Affanasief - 1978) ascents through the complex behemoth of bergschrunds, seracs, and cliffs.
We reached the skiable high point of about 90m below the summit (~6,000m), where ice runnels formed. We transitioned and skied the sustained 55-degree upper pitches in truly horrendous crust and ice; the snow softened a bit halfway down the face, but remained difficult and variable throughout.
There’s a lot of debate around first descents, skiable high points, and top-down vs. ground-up style. If the goal is to ski, do summits matter? Is there a difference between climbing to a skiable high point vs. rappelling down toward it? Hopefully, one day someone gets the exceptional, unicorn conditions needed to ski it straight from the top—it’d be epic. For now, we’re grateful to be down safe and for the shared experience with the mountain and each other in this alpine amphitheater." - Cirillo
Cirillo and crew's ferocious descent of the West Face
Cirillo and crew's ferocious descent of the West Face
Pic Sur Summit via French Direct and Bordas - Muñoz
"Our first climb and turns above 6,000m started on the globally classic (and, perhaps, globally notorious for bad snow conditions) “French Direct”—the stunning 50+ degree panel of Huayna Potosi’s Pico Sur.
We were able to ski straight off the summit of Pico Sur above the French Direct, an extraordinary gift from the Cordillera to start our trip. The face’s snow was punchy and variable (as expected via the booter up), but joyfully skiable nonetheless.
Fer Ferrandez opened up a potentially new descent to skier’s left, linking an exposed traverse off the summit into the infrequently climbed “Bordas - Muñoz” (González, Hevia, Rey, Vázquez, 1990)." - Cirillo
Two lines from the French Direct route
Two lines from the French Direct route
