206 CultureShock! Bolivia
Andrew Valder, second from left—the Apolo Terranaut.Everest is taller but here you feel on top of the world.
Depending on the time of year, you can see all the way down
to the Amazon basin. This was perhaps the best thing I’d
done in my life.”
Mountaineering can be expensive. According to Peter, an
expedition to the Himalayas costs around US$ 20,000 just
to enter the mountain range, but in Bolivia there are neither
restrictions nor climbing fees.
These fi nancial advantages mean a lack of controls that
can lead to accidents. In 1995, there were three deaths in
climbing accidents in Bolivia.
What Peter calls expensive is based on Bolivian standards.
He was able to rent his gear for US$ 20 per day with the guide
costing US$ 50 a day. There is also the cost of plastic boots.
“Normal boots would freeze,” Peter explained.
Peter spent over a year and a half in Bolivia, eventually
becoming an editor of Bolivian Times. We interviewed him
as he was preparing to leave for England. His climbing of
Illimani was the highlight of his stay. Had his visiting English
girlfriend decided to live in Bolivia, Peter would have gladly
remained. For Peter, Illimani will always be the other woman
in his life that he had to leave behind.
Before trying Illimani, visitors might wish to climb the
equally impressive Huayna Potosí, at 6,088 m (19,973 ft).