Illimani
{{short description|Mountain in Bolivia}}
{{for|the mountain in the Potosí Department, Bolivia|Illimani (Potosí)}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Illimani
| photo = Illimani La Paz.jpg
| photo_caption = Illimani seen from La Paz, Bolivia
| elevation_m = 6432
| elevation_ref = This is sometimes given as 6,462 m, but topographic map sources, including a very accurate map by the German Alpine Club, agree that it is 6,438 m. This figure comes from a differential GPS survey; see the reference to World Mountaineering.
| prominence_m = 2451
| prominence_ref = {{cite web|url=http://www.peaklist.org/WWlists/ultras/bolivia.html|title=Bolivian ultra-prominent peaks|publisher=peaklist.org|access-date=2007-04-13}}
| range = Cordillera Real (Andes)
| listing = Ultra
| country = Bolivia
| state_type = Department
| state = La Paz Department
| map = Bolivia
| map_caption = Bolivia
| label_position = right
| coordinates = {{coord|16|38|00|S|67|47|27|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| first_ascent = 1898 by William Martin Conway, A. Maquignaz, and L. Pellissier
}}
Illimani ({{small|Aymara and }}{{IPA|es|iʎiˈmani|Spanish}}) is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Real (part of the Cordillera Oriental, a subrange of the Andes) of western Bolivia. It lies near the cities of El Alto and La Paz at the eastern edge of the Altiplano. It is the second highest peak in Bolivia, after Nevado Sajama, and the eighteenth highest peak in South America.{{cite web|url=http://www.andes.org.uk/andes-information-files/6000m-peaks.asp|title=The 6000m peaks of the Andes|publisher=andes.org.uk|access-date=2007-04-13}} The snow line lies at about {{Convert|4570|m|ft|-2}} above sea level, and glaciers are found on the northern face at {{Convert|4982|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}}. The mountain has four main peaks; the highest is the south summit, Nevado Illimani, which is a popular ascent for mountain climbers.
Geologically, Illimani is composed primarily of granodiorite, intruded during the Cenozoic era into the sedimentary rock, which forms the bulk of the Cordillera Real.Yossi Brain, Bolivia: a climbing guide, The Mountaineers, 1999, {{ISBN|0-89886-495-X}}. Some sources claim that Illimani is an extinct stratovolcano, but this is not correct. In fact none of the peaks of the Cordillera Real are volcanic; see Tom Simkin and Lee Siebert, Volcanoes of the World, a regional directory... (second edition), Smithsonian Institution/Geoscience Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-945005-12-1}}.
Illimani is quite visible from the cities of El Alto and La Paz, and is their major landmark. The mountain has been the subject of many local songs, most importantly "Illimani", with the following refrain: "¡Illimani, Illimani, centinela tú eres de La Paz! ¡Illimani, Illimani, perla andina eres de Bolivia!" ("Illimani, Illimani, you are the sentinel of La Paz! Illimani, Illimani, you are Bolivia's andean pearl!")
Climbing
File:La Paz y el Illimani, 2017.jpg
Illimani was first attempted in 1877 by the French explorator Charles Wiener, J. de Grumkow, and J. C. Ocampo. They failed to reach the main summit, but did reach a southeastern subsummit, on 19 May 1877, Wiener named it the "Pic de Paris", and left a French flag on top of it.{{cite journal|url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/jsa_0037-9174_1919_num_11_1_3822|title=Charles Wiener|first=Verneau|last=René|date=18 May 2018|journal=Journal de la société des américanistes|volume=11|issue=1}}
In 1898, British climber William Martin Conway and two Italian guides, J.A. Maquignaz and L. Pellissier, made the first recorded ascent of the peak, again from the southeast. (They found a piece of Aymara rope at over {{Convert|6000|m|ft|-3|abbr=on}}, so an earlier ascent cannot be completely discounted{{cite book|author=Lindsay Griffin|chapter=Illimani|title=World Mountaineering|editor=Audrey Salkeld|publisher=Bulfinch Press|year=1998|isbn=0-8212-2502-2|pages=254–257}}).
The current standard route on the mountain climbs the west ridge of the main summit. It was first climbed in 1940, by the Germans R. Boetcher, F. Fritz, and W. Kühn, and is graded French PD+/AD-. This route usually requires four days, the summit being reached in the morning of the third day.
In July 2010 German climber Florian Hill and long-time Bolivian resident Robert Rauch climbed a new route on the 'South Face', completing most of the 1700m of ascent in 21 hours. Deliver Me (WI 6 and M6+) appears to climb the gable-end of the South West Ridge, a very steep wall threatened by large broken seracs.{{Cite web|title = bolivie 2010|url = http://pioletsdor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=167&Itemid=284&lang=en|website = pioletsdor.com|access-date = 2015-11-01|archive-url = https://archive.today/20160126194239/http://www.pioletsdor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=167&Itemid=284&lang=en|archive-date = 2016-01-26|url-status = dead}}
Incidents
In 1973 Pierre Dedieu, French, and Ernesto Sánchez, Bolivia's best climber, perished climbing Illimani in August.
In November an Italian expedition after ascending Illimani undertook the search for their bodies, locating the body of Sánchez, but on the 23rd of that month, during extended search for Dedieu, the Italian leader Carlo Nembrini fell to his death.{{cite web|url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12197419202/South-America-Bolivia-Illampu-and-Illimani|title=South America, Bolivia, Illampu and Illimani|publisher=americanalpineclub.org|access-date=2018-05-24}}
Illimani was the site where Eastern Air Lines Flight 980 crashed on January 1, 1985.{{Cite web |last=Associated Press |first= |date=1985-01-02 |title=American Jetliner With 29 Aboard Missing in Bolivia |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-02-mn-6020-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241215232654/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-02-mn-6020-story.html |archive-date=December 15, 2024 |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}
US Major Kenneth R. Miller, US Colonel Paul Bruce Kappelman, and Bolivian guide Vincente Perez died in a climbing accident on June 7, 2003.{{Cite web|title = Army major from here dies climbing Andes|url = http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/krmillerjr.htm|access-date = 2018-03-03}}
A German climber died on May 2, 2017, due to an avalanche occurring during the evening as he and his guide were climbing.{{Cite web|title = Deutscher Bergsteiger stirbt in den bolivianischen Anden|url = http://www.rp-online.de/panorama/deutschland/bolivien-deutscher-bergsteiger-stirbt-bei-lawinen-unglueck-in-den-anden-aid-1.6793673|website = www.rp-online.de|access-date = 2017-08-20}} The guide survived with minor injuries.
American climber Daniel Granberg died on the summit of Illimani in September 2021. His body was recovered after a two-day effort.{{Cite web|title = Body of climber from Colorado recovered from Bolivian peak|url = https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-bolivia-ea3dab95eea5a3aed2151cb8deb3b606|publisher=Associated Press|website=www.apnews.com|access-date = 2021-09-06}}
See also
Notes
{{reflist}}
External links
File:Illimani La Paz April 2014.jpg]]
- {{cite peakware|id=121|name=Illimani}}
{{La Paz Department}}
Category:Mountains of La Paz Department (Bolivia)