La Paz and Huanya Potosi Mountain Trek

Days 11-14
July 16-18
La Paz and Huanya Potosi Mountain Trek

The day after we arrived to La Paz we woke up early - very early - and met our guide for the 3-day Huanya Potosi trek.

Image from http://www.boliviaclimbinginfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/North-side-of-Huayna-Potosi-Routes-1024x527.jpg

Our guide looked over our gear and gave us some tall, heavy boots for trekking. There are few photos for this blogpost because (a) it was very cold (b) we were being taught how to climb a glacier. We had to learn how to look out for potential crevices, breaks in the ice, and how to properly use crampons.

The mountain and where glacial ice used to be

Our guide is freezing, but having fun 

Google satellite image of the Zongo valley glacier's retreat on Huanya Potosi Mountain. Source of image: https://glacierchange.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/zongo-laguna.jpg 

All that being said, our guide explained just how much ice the glacier has lost. He didn't know the exact figures, but he has been guiding treks for close to ten years and has watched the smaller glaciers simply disappear. According to reports, "Since 1991 the [Zongo] glacier [on Huanaya Potosi] has lost more than 5 m of thickness and has retreated significantly," (Retrieved from: https://glacierchange.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/zongo-glacier-retreat/).

The water flowing into the Zongo Hydroelectric Power Plant near La Paz is running out (Retrieved from: http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/the-cia-boliviana-de-energia-eleca-sa-zongo-hydroelectric-plant-picture-id97020333) 

Water levels in the reservoir at the Zongo Hydroelectric Plant are extremely low - this is La Paz's drinking water supply (Retrieved from: http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/water-levels-remain-low-at-the-milluni-zongo-reservoir-which-is-fed-picture-id97020540) 

This is a troubling sign for many of the large Andean cities (Bogota, Quito, Lima, and La Paz) that depend on runoff from glaciers for their drinking water. In Bolivia, La Paz's sister city, El Alto, is the country's fastest growing city. It's population is estimated to be nearly a million (850,00) and all it's residents depend on the glaciers of nearby mountains like Huanya Potosi for their drinking water. If these glaciers are lost, there will be no water. Already, tens of thousands of residents lack access to drinking water or any kind of sanitation system (Retrieved from: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21977447/ns/us_news-environment/t/glaciers-shrink-andes-cities-run-out-water/).  And if you think that's it for problems, unfortunately there are many more. The rivers that run through and El Alto are drying up and essentially act as the sewage system for residents without running water. And, Bolivia has proposed several hydroelectric dam projects. Captain obvious would like to point out that you need water to have a hydroelectric dam and that the water is running out.

Small countries like Bolivia generate a mere fraction (less than one percent) of the world's global carbon. China and the US are the primary contributors. Yet, it's the poorest nations that have to pay the ultimate price. We need our elected officials to take action. Fast.

Best,
PC