Everyone and their brother knows that Nevado Sajama, located at 18° 6′ 29″ S, 68° 52′ 59″ W is the highest point in Bolivia, and has an altitude of 6,542m. But I’ll betcha didn’t know there was a soccer game played on the summit… more on that later…
Sajama is one of 64 volcanoes located in the country. The name itself is the Hispanicized version derived from the Aymara language word meaning ‘west’. Sajama, is a type of composite Stratovolcano, thought to have been formed about 679,000 years ago. It is not known when it last erupted but it is likely to have been in the current epoch (Holocene), or in other words less than 11,700 years ago. It is the 9th tallest volcano in the world. For those that are interested in such things it has 2,428m of prominence, and 733km of isolation.
The area of the Altiplano around the peak was remote and desolate when I was there in 1996, so one can only imagine how wild the area was in 1927 when it was first known to have been attempted. Solo at that, by one Joseph Prem. The guy was persistent, I’ll give you that. He made several other attempts including in 1931, and eventually summited in 1939 via the difficult southeast ridge. He and his partner, fellow Austrian Wilfrid Küem faced the usual storms, high winds, altitude issues, and the ubiquitous and soul stealing nieves penitentes that all climbers risk taking on when attempting this peak.
From the American Alpine Journal 1943 Ascents in Bolivia by Joseph Prem:
August 24–27: Attempt on Mt. Sajama (6550 m.), with Piero Ghiglione, starting from Sajama village on the W. side of the mountain. August 24; from the village to base camp. August
October 2–5: First ascent of Mt. Sajama (6550 m.), highest peak of Bolivia. Start from Cosapa village on the E. S. E. side of the mountain. With Wilfried Kuehm. October 2; from Cosapa to camp on the E. flank of Mt. Sajama. October 3; reconnaissance. October 4; Ascent. From camp to saddle in the S. E. ridge, obliquely upwards over the S. face to the S. W. ridge and over the same to the summit and back to camp. October 5; return to Cosapa.
Joseph Prem was an exceptionally prolific climber in the area over many years. He also bagged the first ascent of Parinacota in 1928.
Sajama had to wait until 1946 for a second recorded ascent. Apparently one of the climbers mysteriously disappeared in a snowstorm on this climb, and was never found. These of course were recorded ascents by western climbers. Is it possible that any of the indigenous peoples of the area could have climbed it at an earlier date? Sure why not. There have been over 40 archaeological sites found on or around the mountain at various elevations; granted, most, but not all, at lower elevations. So, I suppose that anything is possible, when you consider archaeological remains that predate the Spanish conquest have been found on many Andean summits; over 100 sites over 5,200m in elevation, with several reaching as high as 6,700m. Never underestimate the indigenous peoples, as we will see a bit later on.
And while I mentioned barren and desolate, there is actually some interesting flora and fauna in the region. Most notably is the queñoa de altura, which by all accounts is the tree that grows at the highest elevations in the world.
The peak is reasonably heavily glaciated, very crevassed, steep, and along with the aforementioned nieves penitentes and notoriously high winds makes for a challenging, although not technically difficult climb.
Sajama can be ascended year round (although one could say that about most peaks I suppose), with October through April (summer season) bringing the greatest chance of snowfall. Numerous routes exist but the three most popular are: Southwest Ridge (AD III slopes to 60°), West Glacier / Southwest Ridge (PD III slopes to 55°*), and the easiest and most commonly climbed Northwest Ridge (slopes to 55°).
In 2018 a bold route was put up the West Face / Northwest Ridge. Graded at WI5+ M4, and consisting of sections of vertical and thin ice, it is probably the hardest existing route on the mountain. For those willing to put in the effort, the potential for new routes is high, especially on the imposing East Face.
*this was the route The Desert Mountaineer and I were planning in 1996, and can be read about elsewhere on this site
And, yes in August, 2001 a football match was played on the dead flat summit**. The participants had summited the peak by climbing the easy Northwest Ridge. A second match was played in 2007, not on the summit, but still at a respectable altitude of close to 6000m, with a team that included then President Morales. No doubt the site for this match was one that had easy helicopter access. The reason for this outrageous stunt was as a protest by Bolivians against the FIFA decision to not sponsor games at locations of high altitude such as La Paz. The summit was again politicized in 2015 when a challenge was put forward by an election candidate to hold a debate there…only in Bolivia.
**unlike neighboring Parinacota which has a distinct and deep crater, the one on Sajama is not apparent due to it being filled with ice.
The mountain is located within Sajama National Park which was first established in 1939 coincidentally, the year of the first ascent. I mentioned earlier that the name comes from the indigenous Aymara language. Within the park limits there are estimated to be about 1700 people that speak Aymara. Tourism has certainly helped this impoverished part of the country, but livelihoods are still typically made by raising alpacas and llamas, often times subsidized by smuggling items from Chile.
One shouldn’t talk about Sajama without also talking about the Sajama Lines. These are an amazing network of virtually straight lines that are etched into the ground in the land surrounding the volcano. Similar in nature to the perhaps more famous Nazca Lines in Peru, the difference being the Nazca Lines depict animals, humans and other objects, whereas the lines in Bolivia are ‘just’ straight lines for the most part. Some are 10 to 20 km in length, and the entire network is estimated to be over 16,000 km long, and cover an area of over 22,500 sq km, which is 15 times as large as Nazca. The how and why of these lines are not clearly understood by researchers, other than they were likely some sort of ritual pathways, but what is known, is that some have been in existence dating back over 3000 years. It’s interesting to note that very little scientific research has been done on what is undoubtedly the largest such prehistoric artwork ever discovered on the planet. Even today some of these lines are used as footpaths, although there are now some efforts to try and protect them from man made erosion, vandalism and other damage.
For another interesting account of Nevado Sajama I invite you to check out the article here at: