How steep can a mountain be? (Huayhuash trek, Day VI)

Northern Peru. Cordillera Huayhuash. From Huallapa to Gashpapampa

Tarantino would love Huaylappa and its mystic after-the-dark hours, Image by the author, Images by the author

Getting out of bed seems like a heavenly experience. Huayllapa looks more inviting in the morning that last night when we ventured in its streets witnessing a perpetual Halloween party that unfolds in its alleys after dusk.

On the football pitch, the porters are loading the mules with our bags, tents and kitchen utensils. The Brazilian is gone, having already boarded the early morning bus to Huaraz. I suddenly start to envy him as we begin climbing up a sharp path interspersed with boulders and water rushing down to the valley.

Porters loading stuff and riding up the mountain, Images by the author

The mountain range we are to scale today is massive and the path cuts directly from the village in a constant, almost straight line to Gashpampa at 4,470 metres. The today’s route is nothing but one protracted ascent: relentlessly steep and so long that it will take us almost seven hours to reach the end destination, at the maximum gradient of 13 degrees and difference of 1,582 metres in altitude.