Cordilleras Blanca & Huayhuash
- Peru -
Highlights
Figure 1. Sergiu Jiduc, carrying out repeat photography activities from a photo location in Cordillera Negra. ©Sorin Rechitan, 2012
In the summer of 2012, I initiated and managed a multidisciplinary expedition to the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Huayhuash of the Peruvian Andes of South America. The project had three main components:
i) scientific investigation,
ii) alpine-style mountaineering, and
iii) multimedia documentation.
The complex endeavour was supported by the Geoscience Department and Expeditions Committee of the University of Edinburgh, mainly in terms of scientific and logistic consultancy, and the National Geographic Society provided financial and media support. The expedition team comprised: Sergiu Jiduc as the project manager and scientific investigator, Sorin Rechiţan as expedition photographer and Aurel Salaşan as medic and mountaineering consultant .
The project’s main aim was to qualitatively assess the major landscape changes associated with glacial, vegetation and anthropogenic parameters that have occurred in the Cordillera Blanca and the Cordillera Huayhuash in the past 70
Figure 2. Project team.
years. To meet this objective, my team repeated several historic photographs from the 1936 and 1939 German and Austrian Alpenverein Expeditions and the 1953 American Expedition (Figure 1). The material, consisting of black and white photographs, maps and expedition journals was obtained with permission from the Austrian Alpine Library in Innsbruck, the German Alpine Library in Munich and the American National Snow and Ice Data Centre Library in Boulder Colorado, respectively.
Figure 3. Sergiu Jiduc and Aurel Salasan in Camp I on Artesonraju, Cordillera Blanca. ©Sorin Rechitan, 2012
In terms of mountaineering performance, Sergiu and Aurel ascended three peaks in pure alpine style. Two were in the Cordillera Blanca, Artesonraju (6025m) (Figure 3), ascended via the South East Face, and Alpamayo (5947m) via the French Direct route. The third, Yerupaja Grande (6617m), is in the Cordillera Huayhuash. It is the second-highest mountain in Peru and was scaled by a new route on the notorious west face. Furthermore, we collaborated on a social youth program with a local NGO, called Changes for New Hope on matters such as poverty alleviation and awareness generation. Overall our expedition returned from Peru with over 10000 photographs and 100 GB of video material. We wrote a comprehensive report, created two on-line blogs, and resourced a video and photographic assignment with National Geographic. These reflected contemporary landscape changes in the Peruvian Andes raised awareness of the precarious conditions of unprivileged Andean children and illustrated the positive impact Changes for New Hope has made to improve their livelihoods.
This is the expedition journal describing the travel and adventurous activities associated with the project. If you are interested in the actual scientific assessment of landscape changes in the two Cordilerras, then please read this article.
“A typical day in the Cordillera Blanca starts with a clear sky, the snowy peaks shine brightly under the first rays of the sun. By 10:00 it is quite hot in the lower valleys and even suffocating heat around noon if the up current has not set in earlier, first in single gusts, then with increasing strength. The wind starts to increase in strength, lowering the noon temperatures but at the same time raising dust and sand grains. The summits and crests become shrouded with clouds. In the evening, the clouds start to dissipate; glaciers are coloured flaming red and eventually dusk sets in quickly. The up current from the valleys decreases in intensity and eventually settles down. A clear sky showing the stars and the Southern Cross spans the landscape.”
— Hans Kinzl, Austrian geographer
Cordillera Blanca
Figure 4. Huaraz City at night as seen from Cordillera Negra. ©Sorin Rechitan, 2012
Repeat Photography
We landed in hot and humid Lima around midnight on August 5. We did not have much time or motivation to explore the hectic Peruvian capital since we had a bus booked that night to Huaraz, the “Chamonix” of the Peruvian Andes (Figure 4). The journey to Huaraz was long (350km) and cold (-5°C) as the bus lacked heating while it crossed high passes over 4500m altitude at night. We only had a short glimpse of the Andean landscape thanks to the full moon that was partially illuminating the land. This revealed an arid environment, lacking vegetation except for a few cacti species. We arrived in Huaraz early the next morning and checked in at a chic backpacker’s hostel known as Caroline Lodging. Here we had the pleasure to taste some genuine Peruvian breakfast: avocado, gem, margarine, coca tea and flatbread. Later during the day, we met with our local contacts: Christian Silva Lindo, an experienced mountain guide, and Jose Luis Flores, the owner of a mountain equipment shop. The rest of the day was spent sorting out the logistics, food supplies and technical equipment for the next few weeks.
Figure 5. Sergiu Jiduc overlooking Laguna Paron in Cordillera Blanca. ©Sorin Rechitan, 2012
In the following few days, we climbed to several photographic locations in the Cordillera Negra and reproduced over ten panoramas of the Cordillera Blanca and Rio Santa Valley, including the massifs of Ranrapalca, Huandoy, Copa and Huascaran. Preliminary results of the photographic comparison indicated a relatively high rate of glacial recession, with some glaciers retreating by as much as ¼ to ⅓ in the past 70 years. Additionally, a high urban and rural expansion was observed, including an increase in building density and area covered. Land-use changes were also observed which in turn indicated an increased agricultural pressure on the local soil resources. A detailed qualitative scientific analysis of the landscape changes is presented in the report uploaded in the “Articles” section of this website.
One of the most important valleys we explored was the famous Quebrada Cojup (Figure 6). Here, in 1941 a catastrophic flood event, which was caused by a large serac fall into the moraine impounded Palcacocha glacial lake, swept away Huaraz city and killed over 6000 people. In this notorious valley, we reproduced several key photographs and advanced our acclimatization process, reaching an altitude of 5035m.
Figure 6. Repeat photography activities from a photo location in Cordillera Negra.©Sorin Rechitan, 2012
During this important trip, we also sailed on Palcacocha Lake, and saw the first avalanche of our trip, roaring down the northwest face of Pucaranra. Dramatic anthropogenic changes were observed at this location, as the Peruvian authorities have carried out moraine consolidation and water drainage work to control the flow of meltwater and avoid future catastrophic floods.
Another fascinating location we explored was Laguna Paron (Figure 5) the largest glacial lake in the Peruvian Andes. With its beautiful turquoise waters and jagged snowy peaks, the valley of Paron never ceases to enchant the viewer’s eyes. The lake used to be part of a giant hydroelectric plan connecting Canon de Plata, however, due to poorly managed runoff rates, and pressure from local communities the lake’s waters are not used any more to generate electricity. Besides reproducing historic photographs, our team climbed a famous pyramidal peak called Artesonraju, located at the head of the Paron valley. Artensoraju is believed to be the source of inspiration for the Paramount Logo, the two being strikingly similar.
Artesonraju 6,025 meters
The Southeast Face
D+, 55-75°, 800 meters
Figure 7. Artesonraju’s South and Southeast faces as seen from Camp I. ©Sorin Rechitan, 2012
Artesonraju (19,767 feet, 6,025 meters) is considered one of the jewels of the Cordillera Blanca. It is a stunning, pyramid-shaped peak, comprising a mix of steep alpine rock and ice climbing at high altitude (Figure 7). Its biggest claim to fame is serving as inspiration for the Paramount Pictures Logo. The southeast face has traditionally been the standard route, though it is avalanche prone and has been out of condition for several years now. The north ridge is the second most popular route and has been the more reliable option in recent years. It is also possible to approach from the south and climb the east ridge. South facing routes are accessed via the Paron valley. North facing routes are approached via the more popular Santa Cruz valley. We aimed to climb the southeast face.
Figure 8. View across Artesonraju Glacier and Laguna as seen from Camp I. ©Sorin Rechitan, 2012
The approach to the mountain was made via the Huaraz – Caraz – Laguna Paron road. At the west end of the lake, we reproduced several historic panoramas of the lake and Piramide peak before we skirted its northern shore. Our first camp was set at an area known as Timber Camp, situated in a small pampa at the east end of the lake. Early next morning, we ascended the treacherous moraine crest through some steep grassy slopes, and skirted left of some smooth slabs before going up a couloir and scree terraces to the glacier edge. A moraine camp was set an altitude of 4840m, overlooking the beautiful Paron glacier (Figure 8), Artesonraju and Piramide peaks. The next day, we crossed the Paron Glacier, negotiating several dangerous crevasses at the east end of the glacier and set a high camp at 5200m under the “safe protection” of a massive serac.
Figure 9. Artesonraju. ©Aurel Salasan, 2012
The summit day began very early in the morning (04:00) and included the ascent of a packed snow, ice and mixt terrain slope, 825m in level difference, at 45 - 80° inclination. We approached carefully the large bergschrund above our serac sheltar on the right and the mixt ground on the left of the face (Figure 9). Being for the first time at 5500m in this expedition, we felt the altitude effects: headaches, suffocation sensations and tiredness. Nevertheless, we pushed forward with the climb and focused all of our attention on the consistent steep ice climb. Around noon, the clouds started to cover the surrounding mountain peaks and soon a complete whiteout prevented us seeing more than 20m in front of us. Additionally, the last 100m of the ascent were mainly on hard, occasionally brittle ice, at 60-80° inclination. As a result of the whiteout, fatigue and altitude symptoms, we thought of abandoning the ascent.
After we consulted the altimeter, however, we decided to make a final push. A few chunks of ice in our face, and almost blinded by the whiteout, we finally managed to reach the summit of Artesonraju around 15:00. Unfortunately, the summit view was very dull. I could barely see my partner, not to mention that the surrounding peaks and valleys were invisible. Slightly disappointed by the view but happy that we summited, we abseiled shortly using snow anchors and Abalakov threads. It took us a full day to return to Huaraz. A series of great feasts followed this endeavour ranging through Asian, European and of course South American dishes, including the notorious Cuy, known by westerners as Guiney Pig.
Cordillera Huayhuash
Figure 10. Camilo and his donkeys leave Llamac loaded with our gear and supplies. ©Sorin Rechitan, 2012
On August 17 we left Huaraz early in the morning and headed towards the famous Cordillera Huayhuash. In Llamac village, the base on the western side of the range, we hired Camilo Basilio, a horse and four of his donkeys to help us carry equipment on our trek around the Huayhuash range for the next two weeks (Figure 10). When we arrived at Quartelhuian, the first camp of our trek, we were surprised to see the tents already pitched, by Camilo. His kind intervention was much appreciated. The next day, we crossed Cacanapunta pass, and trekked the high ground towards Laguna Mitucocha, where we set camp. Interesting folding and dipping strata near the lake made me go off track to document these features as much as possible (Figure 11). A fantastic view of the east face of Jirishanca can be observed from this point, reflecting into the crystal-clear waters of the lake. There is no doubt that this face will inspire any climber who wishes to attempt a daring ascent in this part of the world.
Figure 11. Jirishanca (6,094 meters). ©Sorin Rechitan, 2012
After we passed through Yanapunta and negotiated some muddy slopes we reached Laguna Carhuacocha, where one of the best views of Jirishanca, Yerupaja and Siula Grande can be admired. Here we found a piece of the plane that crashed into the east face of Jirishanca in 1954, carefully guarded by Hermes - a charismatic Quechua shepherd. On August 21, we reached Rondoy camp, after we crossed the notorious Garagocha Punta and almost got lost and injured on the steep scree slopes. It seemed that the shortcut proposed by Camilo was quite dangerous and very misleading. Next, we reached Laguna Jahuacocha but not before seeing one of the most beautiful alpine landscapes my eyes have ever seen. From Sambuya Punta, we admired the heavily glaciated west side of Rondoy, Mituraju, Jirishanca, Yerupaja and Rasac. We were in awe for quite a while finding the view of Rondoy, Mituraju and Jirishanca truly inspiring. Using our long-focus lenses, we studied the west faces of Jirishanca and Yerupaja for the most efficient and safe route to climb. The next few days were spent recuperating and preparing for our big ascent at Laguna Jahuacocha. Here we ate fresh truchas, potatoes, onions and maize thanks to the hospitality of a Quechua family who live in a stone hut just next to the lake. From August 25 until August 28, we attempted to climb Yerupaja Grande, a rather dramatic experience resembling that in Touching the Void.
Yerupaja Grande 6,634 meters
The West Face
TD+/ED1, 60-100°, 950m
Figure 12. West Face of Yerupaja Grande. ©Sorin Rechitan, 2012
Yerupaja is the highest peak in the Cordillera Huayhuash and the second highest in Peru. It was first climbed in 1950 by Jim Maxwell and Dave Harrah. The mountain's local name is ‘El Carnicero’, which means ‘The Butcher’. This name refers to the knife-edge-sharpness of its summit ridge, and possibly to the climbers who have died trying to climb it. Many visitors consider Yerupajá to be the most spectacular peak in South America. There have been only a few successful ascents of the peak because it is one of the hardest Andean high peaks to climb. The most popular route is the southwest face and the approach is normally made from Huaraz via Chiquian and via Jahuacocha.
For us, as you woukld expect, the most thrilling experience of this expedition was the ascent on Yerupaja Grande. A mountain made famous by Simon Yates and Joe Simpson in Touching the Void when climbing Siula Grande. Our initial idea was to climb Jirishanca, but after we had studied the snow and ice conditions we realized that our proposed Cassin and Czech-Slovak Routes on the west and southwest face of Jirishanca were impracticable due to the massive bergschrund and crevasses, up to 40m wide, and the lack of quality ice. Under these circumstances, we decided to attempt a climb instead on Yerupaja Grande via the southeast ridge.
Figure 13. Our approach route to the base of Yerupaja Grande. ©Sorin Rechitan, 2012
From Laguna Jahuacocha, we skirted the lake until we reached the entrance of the swale between the south lateral moraine of Solteraocha and the southern slope of Jahuacocha valley . A faint climber’s trail rises through the swale and becomes narrow as it contours several hundred meters (Figure 13) above the lake. There were many dangerous and exposed spots until the path turned steeply uphill and gained a plateau at 4500m. Our heavy packs made this ascent quite difficult. Next, we crossed a few boulders and climbed the crest of another lateral moraine towards the southeast and set camp, north of a banded rock formation. From this spot, we admired the fragmented Tam and Yerupaja West glaciers as well as the surrounding peaks: Rondoy, Jirishanca, Mituraju, El Toro, Yerupaja Chico and Yerupaja Grande. Next morning, we continued up the moraine, hitting the snowline at around 5000m. After crossing a few crevasses, we entered the open Yerupaja west glacier. From here, the splendour of Yerupaja’s west face could be admired: hundreds of seracs and crevasses including a massive one that was crossing the entire face. We climbed up the saddle between Seria Norte and Yerupaja through some dangerous penitentes and crevasses. In the saddle, we realized that we were standing on a massive cornice the entire ridge was full of terrifying and unstable cornices on both sides. The view of Siula Grande – the famous mountain from Touching the Void reminded us that this was an alien and dangerous terrain. We returned to the col and set camp at around 5600m. The idea of an ascent on the southeast ridge was abandoned and a new plan wad made: the West Face (Figure 14).
Figure 14. Aurel Salasan ‘drawing’ our attempted route on the West Face of Yerupaja. ©Sergiu Jiduc, 2012
The night was terrible: wind, little oxygen and the sloping surface on which the tent was pitched made our sleep impossible. Tired and annoyed, we left camp very early and started to zig-zag between the giant seracs. We chose a fairly direct line on the west face situated between the southeast ridge and the 1950 American (Maxwell and Harrah) route. There were many sections of overhanging ice, massive crevasses and even a small incident where I almost got killed due to a TV-sized block of ice that dislocated along with my right-hand ice axe. Fortunately, my partner was aware and secured me tightly and I eventually managed to reach the edge of the serac. At noon, we reached a point at 6250m, marked by a massive bergschrund. We looked for a safe ice bridge to cross for more than 2 hours but soon realized how much the mountain conditions have changed since the last party had been here in 1998. Moreover, due to the extreme afternoon heat, the snow and ice began to melt fast and soon avalanches were roaring down the face every 10 minutes. After a quick risk assessment of the dangerous situation we were in, we decided to abseil into the bergschrund and wait until the evening when temperatures would drop, and the melted snow would freeze again. For more than 7 hours we stayed in an ice cave, bivouacked on a dubiously safe platform deep into the ice. Sometimes, small avalanches penetrated through the small cracks above us, giving us serious goosebumps Cold, tired and hungry, we melted snow and cooked our freeze-dried Bolognese pasta with an improvised paper spoon.
Figure 15. The impenetrable West Face of Yerupaja. ©Aurel Salasan, 2012
After sunset, we climbed out of the crevasse and scanned the bergschrund again for a safe spot to cross. Unfortunately, the unstable ice bridges, the brittle and overhanging ice and icicles, our fatigue and the approaching bad weather together forced us to abandon the climb. We abseiled the face, jumping over wide crevasses and zigzagging between seracs, using the snow anchors that we carried with us. After 18 hours we were back in our tent, extremely tired. We estimate the difficulty of our route to be: TD+/ED1 with AI5+ sections, 60-100° inclination, 950m level difference in total, of which we managed to climb around 600m. On August 29 we descended to Llamac through Macrash Punta. We spent the next three days relaxing, eating, socializing and also suffering from food poising in good old Huaraz.
Alpamayo 5,947 meters
French Direct Route
D+/TD, 65-90°, 600 meters
Figure 16. Alpamayo. ©Sergiu Jiduc, 2012
Alpamayo was the last mountain we climbed and also the most enjoyable climb of the trip. approach the mountain, we took a collective (a minibus) from Huaraz to Caraz and then a taxi to Cashapampa. Without porters or donkeys and with two heavy packs, we trekked the Santa Cruz Valley from La pampa (2900m) to the col between Quitaraju and Alpamayo at 5500m. We set camp below Alpamayo at around 5350m. The next day, we climbed the French Direct Route (D+/TD, 60-90°, 600m), starting at the very bottom of the bergschrund (Figure 16). Climbing the steep ice fluting was the best mountaineering experience of my life. The good quality ice was a celebration for our ice tools. The view below and around us kept us motivated to climb in the cleanest style possible. Both of us enjoyed every aspect of this climb to such an extent that we allocated to film and photograph every pitch of the 600m long route. We reached the summit shortly after noon in high spirits. The view was outstanding. All you could see were highly glaciated peaks such as Artesonraju, Huandoy and Huascaran to the south-east and Santa south-east to the west. We felt truly lucky and grateful to have the mountain to ourselves as no one else was there. Happy and pleased we shook hands on the most beautiful mountain in Peru. We abseiled down the route, using threads already placed in the ice. While we descended the ice face, my partner received an ice boulder the size of a handball straight into his face. Fortunately, no major injuries occurred, except a bloodied nose. While we relaxed in our yellow tent after the successful ascent, we saw a massive hanging serac roaring down the French route and obliterating our tracks below. It seems that today, with our rapidly changing climate, even the most secure Andean climbing routes are now questionable.
Ending remarks
Changes for New Hope, Machu Picchu & Lake Titicaca
Figure 17. Little girl attending classes at Changes for New Hope in Huaraz. ©Sergiu Jiduc, 2012
During the last two weeks of the expedition, we collaborated with Changes for New Hope – an NGO aiming to improve the lives of the unprivileged children of the Peruvian Andes. Through the dedication of Jim Killon, the founder and president of the organization, along with volunteers and supporters worldwide, Changes for New Hope develops opportunities for children to reach their fullest potential and to enhance the level of respect, self-esteem and community awareness.
We met Jim at Caroline Lodging earlier during the trip. Jim invited us to see some of the children he works with, not very far from the hostel in an area known as Challua, situated in the floodplain of the Rio Santa. We were surprised to be greeted with applause from the children. They seemed very happy to see us and showed great interest in our cameras and tripods. We played with Lego, and communicated with the children, showing them where we come from on the plastic Earth as well as photographs from the places we explored in Peru. We also photographed and video recorded every activity carried out by the organization with the children to produce a photo essay and video trailer (Figure 17). These, in turn, will be used to promote the organization worldwide. Their humble and rather mannered behaviour of these children but also their signs of depression and low self-esteem impressed me profoundly. Very intelligent individuals, they asked insightful questions about us to which we were happy to respond. Through art projects, nutrition and psychological assistance, coping skills and support from people all around the world, these children can become the leaders of tomorrow.
Figure 18. Macchu Picchu. ©Sergiu Jiduc, 2012
We also visited the popular and architecturally rich city of Cuzco and the mysterious Machu Picchu, one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. From the latter adventure, I remember the crazy driver that took us from Santa Maria village to Hydroelectrica, going at full speed through a very steep and treacherous canyon, having six people in his car and listening to loud Peruvian music. Machu Picchu is tangible evidence of the great Inca Empire at the peak of its power and achievement. It is a citadel of cut stone fit together without mortar so tightly that a knife blade cannot penetrate its cracks. The complex of palaces and plazas, temples and homes could have been built as a ceremonial site, a military stronghold, or a retreat for ruling elites. With its dramatic location, it is certainly well suited for any of these purposes. The ruins of Machu Picchu lie on a high ridge, surrounded on three sides by the windy, turbulent Urubamba River some 600 meters below in the tropical forests of the upper Amazon Basin. The archaeological site lies at the centre of a network of related sites and trails with many landmarks both man-made and naturally aligned with astronomical events like the solstice sunset. The Incas had no written language and so there is little or no information on why the site was built and how it was used. Nevertheless, the marvellous archaeological site stands as proof of the Incas superb engineering skills, even more, impressive in the light of the knowledge they lacked (Machu Picchu was built some 500 years ago with no iron, steel, or heels).
Figure 18. Los Uros Islands, Lake Titicaca, ©Sergiu Jiduc, 2012
We left Machu Picchu deeply humbled and impressed and headed south towards the border with Bolivia. It was truly astonishing to find out that 3500 people live on floating islands (Los Uros) in Lake Titicaca made of bundles of dried Tortora reeds (Figure 18). In Andean folklore, Titicaca is synonymous with the birthplace of the sun. Also, it is the largest lake in South America and the highest navigable body of water in the world. It is easy to understand why we chose this particular place to mark the end of our wonderful trip. Our return journey home was marked by a long flight but with no major incidents. Freshly arrived in Transylvania, our families greeted us in high spirits at the airport. After two and a half months of mountain exploration, we can conclude that the expedition has been a tremendous success!