Nevado Sajama

Nevado Sajama is an extinct volcano and the highest peak in Bolivia with an elevation of 6,542 m (21,463 ft). The mountain is located in Sajama National Park in the southwest area of Bolivia about 24 km (15 mi) from the border with Chile in the Oruro department.

The peak is an isolated cone, but is geologically complex, with lava domes of andesitic and rhyodactic composition overlain by an andesitic stratovolcano. The date of the most recent eruption is uncertain, although Holocene activity is assigned to the volcano by many. Some of the highest growing trees in the world are found on the volcano, where Polylepis tarapacana have been found growing up to 5200m.

Nevado Sajama is located in the Parque Nacional Sajama, established in 1945. This remote park on Bolivia's southwestern border with Chile occupies an area of about 80,000 hectares and includes within its boundaries Bolivia's highest mountain Nevado Sajama (6542 m), an extinct volcano with a large ice cap covering the higher elevations of the mountain. Despite the aridity of the area, the attractions of the park include the world's highest forest, vicunas, rheas, armadillos, flamingoes and Andean condors.

There is no particular season for climbing Sajama, though snowfall can be expected from October - April. Technically, the climb is relatively easy, but the glaciers covering the upper slopes of the volcano are severely crevassed and fairly steep.

The usual routes stay on ridges which eventually lead to the icy summit, where there is no trace of any crater. Severe local storms, high winds and the altitude are the main obstacles to any ascent.

The mountain was first attempted in 1927 when Joseph Prem soloed the north-west ridge to a height of 6200 m. Several attempts failed due to weather conditions until Prem and his partner Wilfrid Kuehm finally reached the summit of Sajama in August 1939 via the the much more difficult south-east ridge.