Peru - Pisco Oeste - Chopicalqui - Llanganuco Valley

Peru

Llanganuco Valley

Nevado Chopicalqui (20,939’)

Nevado Pisco Oeste (18,871’)

Overview

Difficulty Rating: Pisco Oeste, PD; Chopicalqui, PD+ Experience Level: Advanced Beginner/Intermediate
Duration: 18 days
Climbers: 6
Guides: 3
Land Cost: $3400

Dates

Jul 9 - Jul 26, 2010

Expedition Goals

Pisco Oeste is a technically forgiving peak with plenty of moderate glacier travel and steep snow and ice climbing at high altitude – the perfect acclimatization climbs.

Chopicalqui is a more technically demanding and strenuous climb, and the easternmost peak of the Huascaran Massif.

Prerequisites

Participation in this climbing expedition requires advanced beginner to intermediate mountaineering skills. You must have a good working knowledge of the techniques for staying warm and dry while climbing and traveling 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 65-degrees, following grade 3 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 is recommended. 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. 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 — Early 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 in preparation for tomorrow’s move to the Quebrada Llanganuco.

Day 5 — Early wake-up; transfer to trailhead; Pisco basecamp. This morning we load into 4x4s for the three hour drive to Pisco basecamp at the Quebrada Llanganuco. From our drop-off, we trek a short distance to our camp at Cebolla Pampa (12,795’). The Quebrada is a narrow glacial valley flanked by Huascaran (22,205’) and Huandoy (20,981’). The Lagunas Llanganuco, Chinancocha and Orcococha, are two picturesque, impossibly turquoise-colored lakes situated at the base of Huascaran; the perfect vantage point from which to contemplate the many glaciers plunging into the lakes’ frigid waters. In contrast to the turquoise waters are the quenoa trees that grow around the lakes. With their paper-thin bark of red and orange, quenoas are some of the world’s heartiest trees, thriving at high altitudes.

Day 6 — Early wake-up; Portachuelo de Llanganuco; return to basecamp. Today we enjoy an acclimatization hike from camp at Cebolla Pampas to the pass at Portachuelo de Llanganuco (15,584’). The view from the pass is fantastic, and includes Chopicalqui, Huascaran, Huandoy, Chacraraju (20,052’), Contrahierbas (19,803’), Taulliraju (19,127’), Rinrihirca (19,062’), Artesonraju (19,767’), Quitaraju (19,800’), Alpamayo (19,511’), Caraz (19,767’) and Yanapaccha (17,913’). Afterwards, we descend to basecamp and prepare for tomorrow’s move to Pisco advanced basecamp.

Day 7 — Casual wake-up; trek to Refugio Peru. After breakfast we meet our mule drivers, who will assist in moving our gear to the Refugio Peru (15,305’). Carrying only daypacks, the trek will take us about four hours. At the refugio we relax and prepare for tomorrow’s move to Pisco high camp.

Day 8 — Casual wake-up; climb to Pisco high camp; overnight. This morning we move to high camp. After several hours of dealing with moderate glacier travel, route finding around crevasses and steep snow and ice climbing, we arrive at our spectacular high camp on the col between Pisco and Huandoy (17,552’). Here we rest and prepare for tomorrow’s summit climb.

Day 9 — Alpine wake-up; Pisco summit; return to refugio. Leaving high camp on the col, we continue climbing up the broad slope towards the summit. Even though this section of the route isn’t steep, we take great care in negotiating our way around crevasses and over snow bridges. We ascend a short pitch of steep snow on the final section just before the summit. Afterwards, we descend back to the refugio for the night.

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