The easiest route entails an exposed ridge and sections of moderately steep ice, with a UIAA rating of PD.

Perhaps therefore, the main reason Huayna Potosí has been referred to as the easiest 6,000 m climb is that the elevation gain from trailhead to summit is less than 1,400 m; with easy access from La Paz.

21 years later, on 9 September 1898, an expedition of Austrian climbers attempted the mountain ascension again but after five days spent at 5,900 m they were forced to descend.

From the hut here it is a 1–3 hour hike up to the high camp at 5,200 m (16°16′32″S 68°08′16.6″W / 16.27556°S 68.137944°W / -16.27556; -68.137944) on the snow line (Time taken depends greatly on acclimatization and fitness).

This camp is called locally Campo Argentino and consists of a number of areas of leveled rocks suitable for pitching tents.

Fit and well acclimatized climbers rise and leave later, overtaking other groups during the climb, and can reach the summit in around 3–4 hours, but people frequently take twice that time.

The views on a clear morning from the summit are unbelievable – the mountain is far higher than anything else anywhere nearby, and the Cordillera Real, Lake Titicaca, La Paz, and part of the Altiplano they reside on are all visible.

Unfortunately this overhang collapsed in mid-2006 leaving the original metal container protruding out of the summit ridge hanging above the city of La Paz below.