Chacaltaya is a mountain in the Cordillera Real, one of the mountain ranges of the Cordillera Oriental, itself a range of the Bolivian Andes. Its elevation is 5,421 meters (17,785 ft). Chacaltaya's glacier - which was as old as 18,000 years – had in 1940 an area of 0.22 km², reduced to 0.01 km² in 2007 and was completely gone by 2009. Half of the meltdown was done before 1980 (measured in volume). The final meltdown after 1980, due to missing precipitation and the warm phase of El Niňo, resulted in its final disappearance in 2009.The glacier was one of the highest glaciers in South America, located about 30 kilometers (19 mi) from La Paz, near Huayna Potosí mountain. It has been claimed that this was one of the glacial ranges to decrease markedly in size due to climate change.
The glacier on Chacaltaya served as Bolivia's only ski resort. It was the world's highest lift-served ski area, the northernmost ski area in South America as well as the world's most equatorial. The rope tow, the very first in South America, was built in 1939 using an automobile engine; it was notoriously fast and difficult, housed in the site's original clapboard lodge and is now inoperable. The road to the base of the 200-meter (660 ft) drop is reached by a narrow road, also built in the 1930s. Traditionally, due to the extreme cold weather, the lift operated exclusively on weekends from November to March. This summer glacier skiing is no longer possible following the unexpectedly early melting of the glacier. As of 2009, skiing is restricted to a 600-foot (180 m) stretch that sometimes receives sufficient snowfall for a run during the winter. The mountain is also popular with amateur mountaineers, as the aforementioned road stops only 200-metre (660 ft) from the summit.
The Mount Chacaltaya Laboratory began as a weather station in 1942. Located at 5,270 meters (17,290 ft), the Chacaltaya Astrophysical Observatory (Observatorio de Física Cósmica) of the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés is operated in collaboration with other universities worldwide. It is an important site for gamma ray research. It has also been the site of medical and physiological research expeditions organized by the Apex charity.
The road climbs up the steep rocky slopes to the lift area. Not a journey for the weak hearted ...... or a vehicle with poor steering or brakes! On reaching the end of the road at the resort, you have a gentle 300ft walk to the highest point of Chacaltaya.
