Adventures in Peru (Trip Report)

[Scott P]

Introduction

This is the story of our adventure in Peru and in the Arequipa and Chivay regions. The root of the trip trace back to last fall when a friend asked me where a good place in South America is to go to in early April for some climbing. April can be a tough month to find good climbing conditions in much of South America, but I suggested that the Arequipa region should be reasonable, even if it might not be quite be ideal then.

I was just suggesting a place rather than planning to go myself, but then I checked airfare during our discussion and noticed that it was just over $600 round trip to Arequipa from Denver. This was too good of a deal to pass up, so after checking with my employer, I hoped to book the tickets!

Kessler (my now 11 year old son) and I had already been to that region of Peru, but I was supposed to take Shaylee (my nine year old daughter) on a Daddy daughter trip when she turned 10 and she was getting fairly close to that age (I promised both kids that I would when they turned 10). I asked her if Peru is where she wanted to go and she said yes.

Kessler was one upset kid when he heard that there was a good chance that his little sister could have a chance to beat his high altitude record, so he was begging and pleading to go as well. My wife wanted and needed a break from the kids, so it was decided that I would take both kids to Peru.


As far as our previous adventure in Peru went, Kessler and I did that one when he was five years old. On that trip we trekked through and across one of the world’s deepest canyons, climbed in the mountains up to 17,400 feet/5300 meters, and even experienced a volcanic eruption up close.

2007 Trip Report

Kessler with a llareta plant back in 2007 and at age 5.

Kessler with the same coat on and with some llareta plants in 2014 and at age 11.

Now that the kids were older, we would have a chance to have a more adventurous trip. Because it was just me and the kids though, I wasn’t comfortable with going alone with just them. Our other friends were headed down there at the same time, but in the end they were planning on climbing Ampato, which was something I considered to be too big for my nine year old girl.

I decided to check with some local guiding agencies and see if we could put together a trip. I didn’t want to do just the normal tourist treks (some of which we had already done on our last trip anyway), but wanted to visit some new areas and get into some remote places. We also wanted to do one of the popular peaks as well. I had some ideas of various routes and peaks wanted to attempt so I checked around.

In the end, it was Incadventura whom we decided on and whom was willing to take us to the remote places we were planning.

The plan was to do a remote trek and circuit around Ampato, Sabancaya, and Hualca Hualca. We would do some more things around Chivay and hopefully this would be enough acclimatization for a climb of Pichu Pichu and either El Misti or Chachani.

The weather did adjust our plans, but we still had a great trip. We climbed or attempted several peaks, reached 5850 meters/19,200 feet, did some exciting river rafting, did some great treks, saw lots of wildlife, and had lots of cultural experiences.

It was also amazing how much the region had changed since 2007. There is now a very modern paved highway Arequipa to Chivay, (and more tourists!). For better or worse, now it's a quick and comfortable 3 hour bus ride Arequipa to Chivay instead of a bumpy and dusty road that used to take all day!

Here is our story……….

Kessler and Shaylee looking down on the sunset from basecamp on El Misti.

March 22-23: Getting There is Half the Fun?

It was somewhat a trial to get to Arequipa! First, the windshield wiper flew off the car during a blizzard on the way to the shuttle pick up point in Steamboat. The shuttle had to drive through the blizzard over the mountains to Denver.

Connecting through Mexico City was a real pain and it took 3.5 hours to clear customs. We were next to a screaming kid (not mine) on the flight we tried to sleep on. The kid was throwing a fit, stabbing the seats with a pen, throwing cheese, and all kinds of stuff. I have seen kids throw tantrums, but not for three and a half hours straight.

The first day we visited some old churches around Arequipa and went on a horse ride in the evening.

We also talked to Hugo and Nicolas at Incaventura. The area around Chivay had been experiencing much thunderstorms and the mountains were receiving heavy snow. We would have to adjust the original plan.

I was afraid however about heading directly to Pichu Pichu or El Misti because of acclimatization factors. In the end we came up with a plan that sounded good.

Plaza de Armas, Arequipa.

March 24: Bosque de Piedras/Sumbay Cave Paintings/Nevado Chucura

[COLOR=#000000]Today was our (Shaylee, Kessler, and I) first day in Peru. We met with Hugo, Eloy, and Nicholas from Incadventura to visit the cave paintings at Sumbay and to climb Nevado Churcura.

[FONT=Verdana]We drove to the Pampas Ca

[Scott P]

March 29: Rio Chili

Today was a “rest” day and we chose to do some rafting on the Rio Chili. It was a very exciting river trip and quite scenic as well. The rapids were great and the kids like to jump off the cliffs into the river.

We (the kids and I had to decide whether to climb El Misti or Chachani the next day. Chachani is quite a bit easier, but you have to sleep higher and the summit elevation is higher.

In the end, we decided on El Misti because it should be better for acclimatization.

Rafting on the Rio Chili. It was an exciting trip!

Shaylee loved to jump of the cliffs and into the Rio Chili.

March 30: El Misti (Day 1)

Today we started on our climb of El Misti, a huge symmetrical volcano piercing the sky at 5822 meters and rising 3600 meters above Arequipa.

Shaylee, Kessler, and I left with two Peruvians to climb the mountain. We drove to the trailhead on a mostly sunny day and headed up. El Misti is non-technical, but it is steep and requires 2400 meters of elevation gain.

It took us five hours to climb up to basecamp at 4610 meters. We ate dinner and watched the sunset. It was very beautiful since we could look down on the clouds. The lights of Arequipa were far below as well.

The trailhead on the south side of El Misti. The trailhead is at 3400 meters and it is still 2422 more meters to the summit.

Trekking towards basecamp.

Basecamp at 4610 meters/15,125 feet.

Sunset from basecamp on El Misti.

March 31: El Misti (Day 2)

We awoke very early in the morning, around 3 am. It was windy and cold, but the weather was pretty good. The kids said they weren’t hungry, but I really encouraged them to eat some high calorie foods. I had them eat a huge chunk of cheese. This was probably a mistake since it didn’t set well with Kessler’s stomach. He didn’t make it very far up the mountain. He returned with one of the Peruvians.

Shaylee and I continued up the mountain. Shaylee was determined to reach the top, but high on the mountain she had stomach cramps. We reluctantly turned around and headed back down the mountain.

It was still a good climb, even though we didn’t reach the summit.

Shaylee climbing high on El Misti.

April 1: On to Cabanaconde!

Today was originally planned to be a rest day, but we had already lost a rest day back when we were sick. I was hoping to head for Cabanaconde so we could soon start are big circuit of Haulca Hualca. We got up early in the morning and took a bus to Cabanaconde, seeing the Colca Canyon along the way.

We ate in a small local restaurant. Since it was April Fools Day, Nicolas and I were teasing the kids and saying we were eating carne de condor (condor meat). It was really alpaca.

Also in the evening, there was an earthquake, but since we were walking we didn’t feel it. It was the same one that hit Chile (we weren’t far from the Chile border).

Walking the streets of Cabanaconde, the start of our climb on Hualca Hulalca.

n Cabanaconde, this curious and friendly pig kept peeking over the wall at us wondering what we were doing (we were just packing up all of our stuff).

April 2: Hualca Hulaca (Day 1)

Today we started our big traverse of Hualca Hualca. It was a major endeavor, so we had two mules to help carry gear. Eloy, Nicolas, and a muleteer joined us.

We started right from Cabanaconde in good weather. We walked through town and then through the beautiful terraced fields above town. We were told that the terraces are hundreds or even thousands of years old and are still being used today.

The valley was very green because we were at the tail end of the rainy season. After the scenic valley, we had some steep climbs and much of the route was off trail. The views of Hualca Hualca were really nice and we saw several condors (I actually lost count of how many condors we saw on this trip).

The route was pretty rugged, but we all did fine. Shaylee would sometimes get “tired” so rode the mule a bit. I think she just liked riding the mule, but the route was tiring at times. Shaylee really enjoyed the wild horses which were seen.

There were some really spectacular views (Hualca Hualca itself is a really beautiful mountain) as we climbed high and higher into the mountains. It got cloudy as well and we were glad to climb over the final ridge and to descend to a beautiful little valley to camp. Camps was set up at 4600 meters /15098 feet.

Except for a bunch of cows pooping up the place, it was an ideal campsite with a nice crystal clear stream, a waterfall just above camp, and hot springs. Bad weather hit not long after camp was set up, so we retreated into the tents early.

It was a beautiful day.

Trekking above Cabanaconde towards Hualca Hulalca. Here at the end of the rainy season, everything is green.

Looking back down the trail from above Cabanaconde.

The pyramid of Hualca Hualca as seen on April 2 2014.

One of the many condors that we saw on the Hualca Hualca climb.

Nevado Seprigina as seen from the lower slopes of Huala Hualca.

Sometimes nine year old Shaylee would get "tired" and want to ride the mule. She walked most of the way, but really liked to ride the mule.

Hiking towards Hualca Hualca on day 1 of our climb.

Approaching our first camp on Hualca Hualca. The camp is just over the ridge.

Our first camp was located in the green valley below.

April 3: Hualca Hulaca (Day 2)

[COLOR=#000000]It snowed throughout the night, so we awoke to a blanket of white. The weather was a mix of sun and clouds. Camp was packed up and we headed up the valley. It was pretty steep at first and we climbed up to and past the waterfall. Along the way we saw some vizcachas in the rocks.

After the initial steep climb we found ourselves traversing a gentle high elevation valley. We would then climb up to a pass. Unfortunately, the pass which is normally climbed on this route was iced up and had fresh snow, so we had to climb an alternate pass. This once was at 5000 meters/16,404 feet. The other pass was higher, but this alternate route would be much longer and more rugged.

[FONT=Verdana]Climbing up to the pass was pretty easy and there were some nice views of the storm clouds dancing over and shrouding Hualca Hualca. We could see the Colca Valley as well. After the pass is where the route got much more difficult. We would have to traverse up and down the steep mountains. There were some nice views, some wild horses, vicu

[ststephen]

Outstanding TR! Loved reading about how Shaylee and Kessler fared on the journey as well. Sounds like you all had a memorable experience!

[zzyzx]

Awesome TR!!
I really enjoyed your writing and your pictures.
BTW, you're the dad of the year.

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[Moose Droppings]

oh man... this TR is just awesome. much respect for being an outstanding father. the exposure for your kids is priceless.

the Yareta is such a strange plant. thought I was hallucinating from the altitude when I came across a patch of it on a climbing trip into cordillera huayhuash back in the day.

thanks for the TR stoke.

[jman]

Wow! What a awesome trip! Jealous.

Would love to go to Peru one day.

[peakbagger1971]

Loved the trip report as always. I am jealous.

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