Peru - Ishinca - Urus - Tocllaraju - Alpamayo - Ishinca Valley

Peru

Ishinca Valley

Tocllaraju (19,785’)

Urus (18,881’)

Ishinca (18,138’)

Extension available for Alpamayo (19,512’)

Overview

Difficulty Rating: Ishinca, F; Urus, PD; Tocllaraju, D; Alpamayo, AD+
Experience Level: Advanced Beginner/Intermediate
Duration: 15 days (24 w/ Alpamayo extension)
Climbers: 6
Guides: 3
Land Cost: $3200 ($4600 w/ Alpamayo extension)

Expedition Code

PRIU-10-06120626

PRIU-10-06270705

Expedition Goals

Ishinca is a fairly straightforward climb with just the right amount of challenge.

Urus is a perfect acclimatization peak and a great introduction to the Peruvian Andes.

Tocllaraju is an aesthetic mountain with a classic pyramid shape. Together with Urus and Ishinca, Tocllaraju offers a spectacular introduction to climbing at high altitude.

Alpamayo (optional extension) is considered by many the world’s most beautiful mountain; a classic pyramid shape with steep, icy slopes. Alpamayo is one of a number of peaks in the Santa Cruz massif and the northernmost extension of the Cordillera Blanca. Our route on this aesthetic gem is the ultra-classic Ferrari Route.

Prerequisites

Participation in this climbing expedition requires advanced intermediate to advanced mountaineering skills. You must have a solid working knowledge of the techniques for staying warm and dry while climbing, traveling and camping in extremely cold conditions, and the proper use of ice axe and crampons. Additionally, you must be comfortable moving over steep snow and ice up to 90-degrees, following grade 4 ice, and be proficient in commonly accepted belay techniques. High altitude experience up to 14,000 feet, glacier travel experience, and technical ice climbing experience are required. For reasons of personal and team safety and success, it is imperative you arrive for this climb in excellent physical condition.

Itinerary

Day 1 — Arrive in Peru; transfer from airport; hotel check-in; administration & logistics. Arrive in Lima (sea level), where an Expedition-Logistics guide will be waiting to greet you. After a gear inventory and hotel check-in, take some time to relax or explore the city. This evening, get to know your guides and teammates at the welcome dinner and expedition briefing.

Day 2 — Early wake-up; transfer to Huaraz. This morning we load our gear into vans for the eight hour drive north to Huaraz (10,000’), where we spend the next two days acclimatizing. We drive past lush fields of sugarcane, giving way to dry hills, and eventually dense grasslands. At Conococha Pass (13,387’), we turn north and descend into the Rio Santa Valley, and the city of Huaraz. Huaraz sits in the heart of the Callejon de Huaylas, the Canyon of the Mountains; it is the capital of the Department of Ancash as well as the center of Peru’s mountaineering universe.

Day 3 — Casual wake-up; acclimatization in Huaraz; administration & logistics. Today we begin our active acclimatization with some easy walking and sightseeing in town; those feeling especially spry can take a day trip to the site of Yungay, a city buried by an earthquake in 1970. Another option is the trek from Huaraz to the town of Monterrey for a soak in the hot-springs. Huaraz itself is not an attractive city, having been destroyed many times by catastrophic earthquakes. What was once a traditional colonial town with red-roofed adobe houses has become a haphazard city of concrete buildings, but one look at the rugged grandeur of the surrounding mountains and it’s easy to understand why climbers come here from around the world. Huaraz commands breathtaking views down the Callejon de Huaylas, with some of the finest views in the entire Cordillera Blanca including Huascaran and Huandoy. In the afternoon we visit the local marketplace to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables for the expedition.

Day 4 — Casual wake-up; Laguna Churup; return to Huaraz. We continue with our active acclimatization with an easy trek to the village of Pitec, and then up to Laguna Churup (14,764’), a picturesque glacier fed lake at the foot of Nevado Churup (18,017’). We return to town in the late afternoon to organize our gear into mule-loads in preparation for tomorrow’s approach into the Ishinca Valley.

Day 5 — Early wake-up; transfer to Collon; trek to Ishinca basecamp. This morning we drive to the town of Collon (10,827’), where we register and pay a small access fee, as well as hire burros to haul our gear for the moderate 5-6 hour approach. We arrive at Ishinca basecamp (14,200’) in the late afternoon and spend the remainder of the day relaxing and recuperating from the approach.

Day 6 — Casual wake-up; mandatory rest day. Today is a rest day to promote recovery and allow for proper acclimatization. It is important to remember that rest and recuperation are vital to the acclimatization process and the prevention of altitude sickness. Our well thought-out and proven system of active acclimatization – incremental increases in altitude and exertion in combination with sufficient recovery time and proper nutrition – has paid off time and again with a consistently high success rate summit days.

Day 7 — Alpine wake-up; Urus summit; return to basecamp. Leaving basecamp by headlamp, our route, the straightforward Southeast Ridge, is mostly over snow with few technical difficulties. Urus has a three-pronged summit comprised of Urus Este (17,782’), Urus Central (18,028’) and Urus Oeste (17,881’). Climbers usually only ascend Urus Este as it is the shortest, most direct route from the Ishinca Valley. After summiting we return to basecamp.

Day 8 — Early wake-up; climb to Ishinca high camp; overnight. This morning we move to Ishinca high camp (16,080’) near a small lake, where we review glacier travel and rescue techniques. Following an early dinner we prepare for tomorrow’s climb and hit the sack early.

Day 9 — Alpine wake-up; Ishinca summit; return to high camp. This morning we travel over the glacier and navigate around large crevasses on our way to the top. Higher up we encounter steeper and steeper slopes, eventually negotiating a belayed pitch on the upper headwall. After summiting we return to high camp for the night, or, time and energy permitting, pack up and return to basecamp.

Day 10 — Early wake-up; climb to Tocllaraju high camp; overnight. This morning we move to Tocllaraju high camp (17,400’), where we relax and prepare for tomorrow’s climb.

Day 11 — Alpine wake-up; Tocllaraju summit; return to high camp. Leaving high camp we move over mostly moderate glacier terrain with huge crevasses and bergschrunds, followed by steeper snow and ice up to sixty degrees on which we belay. This is a thoroughly aesthetic climb with stunning views from the summit. Afterwards, we descend to high camp and spend the night.

Day 12 — Optional day. This day can be used at any time during the expedition, and is built in to the itinerary to allow for illness or injury; to be used for additional rest and acclimatization; or as an additional summit day to allow for unfavorable weather or route conditions, or to climb a secondary objective.

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