Cost Summary:

• Most guides are in the range of: B$900 + total including transport

• Permit to use the refugio: B$20 per person

• Price to hike in the area: B$20 per person

Gear:

• Good hiking boots

• Poles or microspikes might be useful depending on time of year

• Sleeping bag

• Jetboil and tea/food

• Water

• Warm layers. At night it is freezing

• A tent in case you don’t get a spot in the refugio

If you find yourself in the La Paz area looking for a shorter hike/backpack near town, what better choice than Pico Austria! Pico Austria is a mountain in the Condoriri range about 2 hours from La Paz.

A guide is highly recommended for this trek. We went with one who also worked at our hostel, and I think of the 5 or so groups we saw in Condoriri, 4 had a guide. The reason for having a guide is having someone who knows the area, helps carry/prepare food, and someone who is knowledgable when it comes to altitude sickness as the trail starts at 4,400 m. Pico Austria can be done as a day hike, but we opted to set up camp at one of the refugios (shelters) at the base.

Day 1: We were picked up by our driver after doing a tour of El Alto’s market above La Paz around 1:30 PM. The drive to Condoriri is about 2 hours and has some smooth roads, but mostly a lot of bumpy roads - especially the last hour on gravel roads. Once we arrived around 3:30/4 PM, we opted to hike about an hour to the main Condoriri base camp/refugio area. That way, when we would go up to Pico Austria the next day, we could leave our heavy packs at the refugio and only take small daypacks up to the top. At an altitude that high, every pound makes a difference! We were lucky to get one of the rooms in the refugio with a few mattresses and a small table for meals. It wasn’t much, but being inside helped so much with keeping us warm. The refugio also had an area for camping outside and 2 basic, outdoor toilet stalls (forget about showering in the cold!).

We explored the lake area around the refugio a little before it got dark, and then went back inside for tea and dinner to warm us up. I brought my tripod to take night photos once the moon set, but unfortunately at that time, the Milky Way had also disappeared. The stars were beautiful nonetheless.

The next morning we were up early at 7 to try and get hiking by 8 because we arranged with our driver to meet us at the trailhead around 1/1:30 PM. When we went outside the refugio, everyone was awestruck - there was a fresh dusting of snow from the night before and at sunrise it was BEAUTIFUL!

The way up was much harder than I expected because of the altitude. Take it slow if you aren’t used to hiking at such a high altitude and listen to your body. In the end, we didn’t make it to the top as I was really uncomfortable in my worn down trail shoes on the steep, slippery inclines. We made it to one of the major vistas, but I was already slipping a lot, so I chose to turn around.

Because on the way up we had taken the steeper, switchback route, on the way down we took the longer route that wrapped around the lake. We stopped many times for pictures and snacks and made it back down a little before noon. The hike should take around 3 hours total for most people, and if we had stayed on the switchback trail, we would’ve been back much sooner.

The way back down was much easier, and we were so excited to get back to the car out of the cold! I’d highly recommend this hike or one of the others in the Condoriri area, and if I could do it again, I would’ve stayed 2 nights to do one of the other hikes.