The spectacular Huayhuash (Peru)
Introduction
Late June and early July 2017 presented a rate opportunity for me. Usually that time of year it is very hard to get time off work, but this year I would just happen to be between projects.
The original plan for this year's big trip was for my wife and I to go to Kilimanjaro and do a Safari, but since I had time off in late June and early July we decided to do a family trip (Kilimanjaro being out of our budget range for all four of us to go).
We decided to go to Peru since Kim hadn't been there (it was the third Peru trip for Kessler and me and the second for Shaylee). At first we thought of Kessler and I doing some of the big peaks in the Cordillera Blanca, while the girls did something else, but then we decided that we should do something we could all do. Kim just had a major heart surgery in January, so really serious mountaineering was out of the question for her.
I had always wanted to go to the Huayhuash, but I never could get time off at the right time of year. We decided to do the challenging, but non-technical and very spectacular Huayhuash Circuit. Kessler and I hoped that we could find several mountains along the way that we could climb on a whim.
Since we were pressed for time to organize and take part in the trip, we contacted Peruvian Mountainsfor transportation, mules, and logistical support. We gave them our timeline and explained that we would need a flexible itinerary so we could climb peaks we found at random and to take any exploratory side trips that we thought looked interesting.
It was a great trip and we did end up finding several peaks to climb. We even made the second ever ascent of the spectacular Pucaccacca! The trek itself was incredibly spectacular, and of all the places I have been was perhaps only eclipsed in scenery to some of the places in the Himalaya. Things went well and it was one of our best trips ever.
Here is our story.
June 23: Lago Churup
We landed in Huaraz the afternoon before and were eager to start a hike.
With Diogenes (Peruvian Mountains) we rode up to the trailhead at Pitec.
The trail to the lake was very beautiful and a bit steep, though it wasn’t difficult. There were several sections where cables aided in the ascent over some cliffs though.
We arrived at Lago Churup just in time for lunch. The lake is beautiful, deep, and clear, with the impressive Nevado Churup rising above. There were some nice rocks to laze on and we spent much time at the lake just looking at the view and the mountains. After enjoying the lake, we headed down the trail and then to Huaraz.
June 24: Quebrada Cuncush
Today, by minibus, with Diogenes, we headed for Quartelhuain, which is at the beginning of the Huayhuash Trek. Along the way, the minibus stopped at a beautiful lake for some photographs and at a village where we set off to see if we could buy some ponchos. We found a few and watched a parade going on in the village. The parade consisted of children, ages 3-5 dressed up in costumes. After watching much of the parade, it was time to get back on the bus and head for Quartelhuain. Along the way we did stop for lunch in a beautiful grassy area.
Once we reached Quartelhuain, Kimberly and I set off up the valley to see if we could get some better views. We walked up the valley, road, and hillside up to where we got some nice views of Niñashanca. It was cloudy much of the time, but we did get a good view of the peak before we headed back to camp.
June 25: Quartelhuain to Mitacocha/Cerro Gasha Norte
In the morning, we met our two donkey drivers (Yosmer and Other) and our cook (Marcelino). Because of Kim’s recent heart surgery, the length of the trek, and because we were pressed for time, we decided to go with a local guiding service (though we would were free to choose our own schedule and side trips along the way). Diogenes (Peruvian Mountains) would be the guide for the trip.
We all headed up the well beaten, but relentlessly uphill trail to the top of the pass known as Cacananpunta, where we took a rest. We saw three condors along the way!
At the pass, the kids and I headed south along the ridge to the next peak, which is just north of Cerro Gasha. We dubbed our peak Gasha Norte and it had good views. We then headed back to the pass and down the valley and around the hill to the Rio Janca. There were some great views along the way and we could see all the way to the Cordillera Central, which is in central Peru. Our camp was near the river.
After a late lunch, Kessler, Shaylee, Diogenes, and I headed up the scenic valley to the beautiful lake of Mitucocha. We saw a lot of bird life along the way and the views were spectacular. The lake above this one is often listed as the source of the Amazon River, but there are other sources as well.
After enjoying the wonderful scenery, we headed back down to camp.
June 26: Mitucocha to Carhuacocha
Today we hiked from Mitucocha to Carhuacocha. The climb up to the pass (Carhuac) was rather gradual, but the mountains were hidden for much of the route to Carhuac. After the pass though, the views really opened up and we could see Siula Grande, Yerupaja, and Jirishanca.
We camped near the lake. Shaylee, Kessler, and I took a quick bath in the lake, but it was cold! We saw many birds, including some flamingos.
June 27: Carhuacocha to Huayhuash/Cerro Azulcocha
Today was one of the most scenic days any of has ever had. We hiked from Carhuacocha to Huayhuash. The views were incredible, even though the weather was cloudy for much of the day. There were many lakes to see along the way. The first lake, Gangrajanca was the most spectacular lake and avalanches spilled off the cliffs into the lake. We had to climb up a moraine to see the lake up close, but it was worth it. We saw several icefalls and avalanches.
The next two lakes were spectacular as well, and after the lakes, the route climbs steep up to Siula Punta. The views on the way to the pass were just gorgeous.
Once we reached the pass, we ate lunch. It was cloudy a bit cool, but the views were great and we saw several caracaras. Kimberly saw several vicachas, but I missed them.
Kessler, Diogenes, and I headed up the ridge to climb Cerro Azulcocha, while the others headed down the south side of the pass. The scramble to the summit of Cerro Azulcocha was interesting and the views from the summit were among the best I have ever seen with Nevado Carnecerio towering above and a string of glistening glacial lakes to the north, along with some of the most spectacular mountains in the world towering above the lakes. We also saw a heart shaped lake which I thought that Kim would have enjoyed seeing.
We returned to the pass and headed down the hills to Huayhuash. It was a nice campsite, but crowded. There were some boulders to go bouldering on. Kessler and Diogenes did some of the harder routes while Shaylee, Kimberly, and I climbed some of the easier routes.
June 28: Huayhuash to Laguna Viconga
There was some rain the night before, but the morning was fairly sunny. After packing up, we hit the trail and headed for Portachuelo de Huayhuash. The mountains looked different from the ones in previous days, but they were still scenic and the views were good. We saw two condors near the pass.
The views of the seldom visited Cordillera Raura were visible as well. Kessler and I made a quick climb of an un-named peak above Laguna Viconga as well. Laguna Viconga was big and scenic as was the waterfall below it. As we descended and made our way to camp, I had my eyes on the peak scanning them for reasonable ascents. They all looked really rugged. Some of the peaks of around and including Cerro Negro looked like they might be reasonable climbing targets, but I also noticed a cairn on the summit of Cerro Pucaccacca, which looked like a difficult summit.
We reached the hot springs in the early afternoon. The hot springs were great. There were even some locals selling some sodas. Kimberly and Shaylee wanted to take a rest day here and Kessler and I wanted to climb a peak.
A visible summit cairn indicated a route somewhere on the spectacular rock castle of Cerro Pucaccacca, but it didn’t look like an easy peak. Perhaps there was a “sneak route” somewhere through the cliffs. It was decided that it would be our target for a rest day tomorrow.
June 29: Cerro Pucaccacca
We climbed Pucaccacca today; it was one of my best climbs ever. It is possible that our ascent of the peak was only the second one; the first being in 2013. By Peru standards, the mountain isn't that high (16,644 feet/5073 meters), but it is the hardest peak yet that we have done in the Andes, even though we have climbed a lot of higher peaks.
Kimberly and Shaylee took a rest day at the hot springs, while Kessler, Marcelino, Diogenes, and I climbed the peak. From far below, I spied the cairn on top and wanted to give the peak a try since the girls wanted a rest day at the hot springs on day 6 of our trek. We didn't bring rock climbing gear, but used a 30 foot section of climbing rope that had been brought to tie the camping gear down to the donkeys on the trek.
We checked out the 2013 (first ascent?) route, but I didn't like the looks of it and suggested that we check out an exposed ledge crossing out onto the vast north face. We followed the exposed ledge and found a series of gullies and faces that allowed us to reach the summit.
From a technical standpoint, the pitches weren't that difficult (5.5), but some parts of the route were really exposed, with 2000+ foot (600 meter) voids yawning below. The crux up top involved a short, but scary knife edge, where you had to grab the top of the knife edge and scoot along, but with 2600 foot/800 meter drops on either side. I was ready to turn around here, but since the other three completed the knife edge, I did as well. The summit was surprisingly roomy.
The climb was a bit scary at times, but a good one and one that we won't be forgetting.
June 30: Laguna Viconga to Quebrada Cuyoc
It rained pretty good last night. Today we hiked from the hot springs at Viconga to the campsite at Quebrada Cuyoc. Kimberly was not feeling well today and neither of us slept well. We hiked up to Punta Cuyoc seeing three condors, several geese, and a vicuña. One of the condors was very close. We saw several foxes around camp.
Cuyoc Punta was the highest point yet on the trek (Kessler and I had reached 5073 meters on Pucaccacca) and we reached 5050 meters. We were very close to Nevado Cuyoc and the glaciers.
The camp was a scenic one, with towering cliffs all around. It reminded me of the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Mountains, but these mountains around our camp were much bigger!
