Three well-known peaks combine to create a perfectly balanced expedition with an intelligent progression that leads safely to the top of Peru’s highest mountain, Huascaran Sur. After a few days of acclimatizing around Huaraz, begin your climbing in the Ishinca valley. At 5530 meters high, Ishinca’s northwest face provides a nice non-technical warm-up climb with a 45 degree slope just below the summit. Follow-up this climb with an ascent of the normal route on Tocllaraju’s northwest ridge to gain some more altitude (6032 meters to be exact) and to test out your skills on steeper, more exposed terrain. Between these peaks and the final objective of the expedition, Huascaran, you’ll have a day off in Huaraz to recover and rest-up for the climb-to-come. Huascaran, unlike any of the other ‘trade’ routes in the Cordillera Blanca, requires the use of several high camps in order to acclimatize well and give the summit a proper shot. You’ll move from the town of Musho up to a basecamp with the help of donkeys, then onward to your first glacier camp at 5100 meters. From there, the legendary advancement through the “garganta” or “throat” of the mountain takes you to your final camp in the col between the northern and southern summit at 6000 meters. Two summit day opportunities are scheduled to allow for inclement weather and/or tired climbers, and with luck will culminate in the highest place your feet can take you in Peru.
Difficulty: Ishinca – easy/moderate, non-technical. Tocllaraju – strenuous, technical. Huascaran – very strenuous, partly technical.
Total nights in the mountains: 10 Itinerary length Lima to Lima: 19 days
