Trip Report — Cordillera Blanca Part 1
(Note: this report has two sections: First around arrival, logistics and acclimatization, and then a second one on our Ishinca and Urus Central attempts. Also, Medium is acting up, so pictures will come later.)
Arrival, logistics, acclimatization
After a few days in New York City in which I thoroughly enjoyed food, drink, and rest (as well as some outstanding company!), I left for Peru last Sunday, July 3rd. In many ways, I saw both the Washington and Colorado trips primarily as training, with Peru being the first stop where the training wheels would come off. I left for the airport both excited and apprehensive. The trip had an auspicious start when, after arriving at JFK, I realized my flight would leave out of Newark. Thankfully, I hadn’t left the cab yet, so off we went to Newark, and I made it with minutes to spare.
After a layover in Panama, I landed in Lima around noon and decided I’d eat my way around the city until leaving for Huaraz in the evening. The ceviche at Sonia was outstanding, as was the coffee at the Miraflores’ Juan Valdez. Sadly, the food at Pescados Capitales fell short of expectations and price. Whatever. After dinner, I took a taxi to the bus station to take the eight-hour bus to Huaraz.
A note about buses in Peru. They are not like your average bus. In fact, my bus had about 8–10 seats total in the lower floor, and each seat reclined 160 degrees and had its own personal entertainment system. Perhaps more amusingly, the operators carry themselves with an airplane-like complex in which there is a “pilot” (on the deck :)), a “co-pilot” and, obviously, a “crew attendant.” And, obviously, the bus offered both drink and meal service. Pomp and circumstance aside, this whole approach makes the eight-hour ride a lot more enjoyable.
After getting to Huaraz and checking in at our hostel, I got a few hours of sleep before heading out to explore the city. Other than its location (right at the base of the Cordillera Blanca), I didn’t find much about Huaraz worth remarking upon. Dust everywhere, and not a lot of historical or cultural references. Thankfully all the climbing outposts and “gringo-friendly” restaurants are located near each other around “gringo square.” I went to the “Casa de Guias” to get the latest mountain conditions, met some outrageously good French climbers, and then came back to the hotel to wait for my climbing partner, Matt.
Matt and I had originally met on SummitPost (for the non-climbers reading this, think of a Reddit meets Vox meets Match.com for alpine folks), so this would be our first time meeting in person. Exciting! Kidding aside, we met up at the hostel and went to get dinner. I think we were both relieved and excited about the fact that we liked and trusted each other and wouldn’t mind spending a few days together. Over pizza at one of the overpriced gringo-friendly restaurants, we decided on our plan. Acclimatization hike to 15,000+ feet the next day, rest and logistics the day after, and then off to our first acclimatization peak (ideally something in the 5,500 meters or 18,000 feet for those who like Imperial units). We settled on climbing Ishinca and potentially exploring a line up Urus Central, a little-climbed peak with an appealing-looking face.
Matt having been here before, we decided we wanted to avoid the crowded hikes (tons of hikers around here), and after much research we found a hike up a little-known lake — Ahuac. To get there, though, we’d have to take one of Huaraz’s infamous taxis. These guys drive beat-up station wagons and are absolutely fearless when driving. Road conditions are pretty poor (with cliff exposures pretty much everywhere), but that does not stop a Huaraz taxi driver. I did put my language skills to good use and negotiated a cheap fare to the nearby town of Wilcahuain where the trail starts. Unfortunately, the taxi driver got the last laugh when he dropped us at the edge of town, and well below the trailhead.
After chatting with a few locals who helpfully said that the lake was “further up” and “really far” we made it to the trailhead. The hike itself was unremarkable, but for a couple of things. First, the lake was absolutely beautiful. Second, we didn’t run into a single soul all the way up. Lastly, and most importantly, both Matt and I felt a lot better than we thought we would. We hiked 4,000 feet up in two hours at conversational pace and not even trying to go fast. We made it all the way to 15,200 feet, and realized we would be back in town on time for lunch. Doing so would require us to take a combi — a uniquely South American invention in which vans are transformed into truly incredible (and daring) forms of public transportation. The best description I’ve found is here (courtesy of Royce, who was supposed to join us for the trip but sadly had to leave early).
At lunch, Matt suggested we adjust our plans and leave for our first peak, Ishinca (elevation: 5,530m / 18,143 ft) the next day rather than take a full day for resting and logistics. I was a bit apprehensive, having never been to 5,000 meters before and worrying about our stamina. We found a good compromise by deciding to leave the next day and, if needed, taking a rest at base camp before attempting the summit. Having decided to leave the next day, it was time to rush through the afternoon to finalize all the logistics, which was its own adventure.
While we did not need a guide, we did need arrieros (these are the local folks who handle the donkeys that can carry your loads to base camp). In the interest of saving money, we visited about six different places, all of which quoted slightly different and obscurely-determined; prices (Verizon and AT&T would have been proud). After going back and forth with a handful of these operators, we settled on one of them, and then it was time to go buy snow pickets. That also turned out to be quite difficult, as most pickets in Huaraz just didn’t look reliable or versatile enough for what we wanted. But, again, after visiting five different places, we found the right ones at last. Finally, off to the market to get food for the three-day trip. I have to say this already was a long day. We had done a full acclimatization hike and then spent a good 3–4 hours negotiating logistics. Alas, it wasn’t over yet.
Off we went to dinner, where we met Andreas, a Swiss climber who had climbed with Royce before our arrival. We made plans to climb together after our acclimatization outing, having all agreed that a party of three would be preferablre to tackle some of the bigger peaks. At last, we got back to the hotel, where we had to pack a proper rack, two ice tools and screws, as we didn’t know what we would find in Urus Central.
Ishinca (5,530m) and Urus Central (5,450m)
On Thursday (July 7), we left Huaraz around 9:30am for the Ishinca Valley. The valley is but one of the many valleys that form in the Cordillera Blanca and is home to a number of peaks, including Ishinca, Urus (Este, Central and Oeste), Tocllaraju, and Ranrapalca. The approach into the valley consists of a 12km cliffside trail, which you share with the occasional donkeys and other climbing parties. The trail affords incredible views of the nearby peaks, as well as of some really unique local flora. At the end of the trail, you get to basecamp, which conveniently also has a a proper Alps-style hut (elevation 4,350m).
We got to the hut around 1pm, and our donkeys came in a couple hours later. We took advantage of the afternoon to get the latest conditions from a couple of very helpful guides who were leading a Mountain Madness party and eat as much as we could (side benefit of altitude mountaineering: you can eat all you want). We also tried — and failed — to get conditions on Urus Central, which apparently nobody has climbed this season yet.
We left for Ishinca at 3am the next morning, and summited right around 8:30am after a mostly uneventful hike and climb. Only at the very top did we find a small and straightforward step (or, as Matt would call it, a staircase). We were back at camp for lunch. It was my first time up above 5,000 meters, and I was psyched to have been able to go up in the time we did and feeling as good as we did. A bit (ok, more than a bit) of a headache on the way down, and that was pretty much it.
Undoubtedly, the highlight of the climb came a couple hours into the approach. I was out in front when, after turning a corner, my headlamp shone directly into two yellow eyes and a black shadow. I immediately thought — shit! That’s a big cat/puma/panther/jaguar! (the things you think about at 5:00am). I waited for Matt who, after inspecting the shadow, agreed that we had, indeed, run straight into an animal. Probably already conditioned by my big cat suspicions, we decided to grab a big rock each and go around the puma/jaguar/whatever and get into the hut at high camp. We took a break inside, only to have the hut warden come out and scream at us for using the hut without permission. I pleaded with him, excitedly telling him about the menacing jaguar/puma/panther and holding him responsible for our lives. He dismissed our concerns and pointed out that the mystery animal was probably a cow. Whatever. We got some courage (and rest) and decided to head out again, cautiously approaching the cat. Low and behold, upon further inspection, this “cat” turned out to be, well, a black cow.
On the way down from Ishinca, we realized conditions at Urus Oeste would not be amenable for our exploratory ascent. Having already felt properly acclimatized given our Ishinca run, we decided against going up the next morning. Instead, we left for Huaraz the next day and arrived in town yesterday.
Having spent the last couple of hours at the market buying supplies, we are planning on resting for the remainder of the day, as we leave tomorrow for Artesonraju (6,032 meters). We are planning on doing the East Ridge via the South Face.
