Peru -
No Bandits in the Blanca
"Anybody willing to get bumped?"
The crowded terminal barely skipped a heartbeat, and the
check-in attendant wiped his sweat-ridden brow with a bandana,
as he paced backwards and forwards in front of the computer
console. I looked at the boys, and they were grinning. Here
we were, Miami airport, at 7.30 on a hot and sultry Saturday
evening. We were bound for Lima, for a great climbing trip
in the Peruvian Andes and it looked like we didn't mind staying
over for one night.
A quick conversation confirmed that the $600 per person being
offered, plus a free hotel night, was infinitely more attractive
than the crowded 737 and seven hours of hell.
It was not to be. Somehow he got us on, Oh well, back to
plan A.
Trekking and climbing in the Cordillera Blanca
and Huayhuash has been popular for many years. In 1903 possibly
the first European was C.R.Enock, trying to establish a
trade route across the snow-clad peaks. He persuaded several
Indians to accompany him in this hair-raising attempt. Being
an adventurer of the highest order, he saw the possibility
of climbing the huge mountain mass, known as Huascaran.
His small team failed at c5100m at the first of several
huge crevasses. He did however, manage to estimate the height
of the peak fairly accurately at 6800m. Several other intrepid
explorers followed in Enock's footsteps between 1904 and
1908 when Annie Peck, a determined American, finally climbed
the north peak, this being a little lower than its twin
southern peak. There were no other known visitors in the
early twentieth century apart from Germans, who were predominately
scientists. They kept to some passes and valleys but information
filtered to the famous German Alpine Club, the DOAV.
A series of expeditions were mounted until finally, the
massive south peak was climbed, though not without considerable
effort.
Huaraz is often classed as the 'Chamonix' of Peru. Countless
pals of mine had climbed in the Blanca and the Huayhuash,
returning with tales of beautiful snow peaks, wonderful treks
and of course exotic souvenirs from the 'land of the Incas'.
As the coach pulled into the side road, we realised we were
here. It was 4pm and our journey from Lima, using the Rodriguez
Overland Coach Company, had taken 6½ hours. There hadn't been
so much as a bump on the journey, yet we had expected a rough
ride along dirt tracks. However, improvements like Tarmac
had arrived, and with no effort at all, so did we.
Humping our considerable baggage across town to the Hotel
Copa was made much easier by hiring a young lad for a few
Peruvian Soles (approx. 4 Soles : £1). His bicycle pulled
a large trailer and most of the gear went on, especially the
five plastic barrels containing much of our equipment for
the three and a half week stay. A round of cervesas was called
for, and soon we were relaxing in the bar, pinching ourselves.
A second DOAV expedition in 1936 intended to explore the
Huayhuash, the more southerly, much more remote and inaccessible
region. They warmed up, so to speak, in the northern part
of the Blanca, and documented a series of peak successes.
Finally one team member and a local man made a bold and
unsuccessful bid on a high peak, defeated by bad weather,
being robbed by bandits and running out of food three days
before reaching civilisation. The leader of this expedition,
a Dr Kinzl, was out again in 1939, and his new team succeeded
on several unclimbed peaks all around the 6000 to 7000 metres
height. Dr Kinzl was dedicated to the geography of Peru
and the beautiful books and maps he produced awarded him
several honours in both Peru and Europe. His final work,
a history of Huascaran, remained unfinished due to his death
in 1979.
The '50s highlighted a period when the Blanca became an
international playground. Since then, the climbing history
of the Cordillera Blanca developed at a rate second to no
other place in the world, with many hard and serious climbs
being established. The rapid rise in popularity was only
marred by the existence of the Sendero Liminoso, a small
group of terrorists that, for their cause, produced a great
deal of trouble for the authoraties and visitors. Only when
their leader was killed, did this major problem diminish.
The ‘Shining Path’, as it was known, moved south
and in recent years have not troubled the tourist areas.
It is prudent, however, to remember they are probably still
around and do have sympathisers. Petty theft appears to
be the more common problem now, and alertness combined with
common sense should rule this irritant out on your trip.
We had firstly to acclimatise. Huaraz was at 3000 metres,
so already our preparation programme had started. Each mountain
range was bisected by a valley, or quebrada, and we learnt
from Walter, our man at the hotel, that we could be driven
in his mini-bus to each roadhead. There, awaiting us would
be any number of burros and our arrerio, or mule man. All
this was arranged by Walter. It seemed all too easy. However,
comparing costs with Nepal, it wasn't that cheap. Still, we'd
come to climb. Spending several days on approach walks didn't
appeal at all.
Ishinca (5530 metres) was the choice for our first foray.
Supplies for seven days gradually filled our hotel rooms and
copious supplies of lead-free petrol, for our MSR petrol stove
were the final 'shopping trip' around town. We were ready!
The week was fantastic. Good weather, tremendous valleys
and mountains all-round, and our arrerio, Valerio Morales
proved a tower of strength. He was only supposed to load
the burros and be our guide to the base camp, but no job
seemed too much for this strong little chap. Very enthusiastic,
he catered for our every whim, helping with the tent erecting,
the cooking, and even the washing up. This was paradise.
The Ishinca climb went reasonably well. John had some problems,
finding the altitude too much for him. So he sat on some
rocks below the snow line, in a secure place while the rest
of the team topped out. The climb? A lot higher, but for
those that were fit, a lot less effort, than a Mont Blanc
climb.
One down - what next?
One problem with the Blanca, is that it contains what is
commonly known in the climbing world, as the world's most
beautiful mountain - Alpamayo. A problem because the peak
is the obvious target of most expeditions arriving in Huaraz.
That means congestion and a fair amount of danger. It wasn't
always like this. First climbed by three Germans in 1957
by the south ridge, but a later ascent by some Italians
via the south-west face has become the 'Via Normal' of the
peak. Consequently, with the climbing season being fairly
short (2 -2½ months) it's not uncommon nowadays to find
up to ten teams on the most reasonable gully line leading
to the summit. Coupled with the seriousness of moving below
other teams, was the knowledge that a huge cornice overhung
the entire gully, this being made up of six 50 metre pitches
and getting up to 75 degrees at the top. That’s dangerous!
The news that Alpamayo was off wasn't too badly received.
Stamina and fitness on Ishinca had shown the weaknesses
of some of the team members. We chose another valley, the
Quebrada Cayesh, and a base camp for another trekking peak
called Maparaju (5325 metres). More organisation through
Walter at the hotel meant some spare time for drinking the
local 'Pisco', on the lines of neat alcohol, and not to
be over-indulged in, unless our one - two days in Huaraz
between mountain forays lengthened with hangover days, followed
by the inevitable 'vicious circle'! The festival (fiestas)
atmosphere was also captivating, ensuring a difficult exit
from town.
Peru is a country steeped in tradition, and historical events
are always celebrated by a festival. Throughout the calendar
year, numerous festivals occur, one major event being Peru's
Independence Day. The festival can start a week before the
actual date and continue for a week afterwards. Drinking,
dancing, processions, brightly coloured costume parades. It
seems like every village, town, civic authority, football
team and school is represented by a procession. The problem
with independence day is its date - 28th July. Right in the
middle of the best season for climbing, it means hundreds
of 'Limarites' heading for Huaraz and the festival. Buses
and coaches become full. Hotels booked out. Restaurants forming
long queues. If you can get to Huaraz and be in situ in a
hotel, then plan your foray to be out of town for most of
the festival. Don't worry about missing all the processions.
There are so many, for quite a few days running, you are almost
certain to not miss the event.
Maparaju was a sheer delight. It could have been that we
were getting acclimatised, or perhaps it was a little easier
(and lower) but we cruised to the top. As on every peak,
we would have reached the base camp, set up our tents, and
the following day made a reconnaissance of the route as
far as the snowline. This usually meant a couple of hours
without rucksacks, up a stony winding track through the
hillside to some col. Photography was the call of these
recces and, as we had ensured Valerio stayed working for
us, our return to camp was all the more pleasant with hot
tea waiting for us.
The summit day dawned cloudless as always. If we did get
any bad weather it was always in the afternoons. Worth bearing
in mind for bigger targets. Moving together in two teams
of two, we were excitedly surprised by the summit and its
curving ridge. Wonderful. This was what mountaineering was
all about. A joyous party made the fairly swift return to
camp.
One of the best parts of a Cordillera Blanca trip is the
return to Huaraz to wind down after a route, to then spend
an evening or two with friends, drinking in the cantinas,
visited each evening by a band playing the traditional pipes.
The music is captivating. You sit and watch the performance
and remember that condor you saw swooping gracefully in the
quebrada, just the other day. I remember a while ago having
a set of pipes as a gift from a climbing friend. I could never
play them, but now I've been there I know why. The tourist
ones I have are about 6" long and the diameter of each
pipe in the set, around half an inch. The band players each
had sets of pipes around 3ft long and maybe one and a half
inches diameter. No wonder I can't get a tune out of mine,
or perhaps it’s something else?
The time was running out. The coach was booked for the following
week, our return to Lima for the plane home, assured by the
valuable tickets in our hands. There was time however...Huascaran,
the big one, at 6760 metres, higher than most of us had been.
Neil had summited by a hard route three years before and had
descended the normal route. This time, planning must be more
thorough. Legally, Valerio could not help us over 5900 metres,
that is, the high camp on the famous Gargantua Col. There
would be two camps before there, and we would be carrying
all our own gear, including tents, five days food and fuel!
Once on the snow we felt at home, although John was tired.
It was very high though. The day through the seracs to the
Col camp was hard work. John admitted he wouldn't be going
any further than 5900 metres on this trip, but would be
happy to reach this high point. Andrew was going well! Unfortuately,
Robin had picked up a stomach bug and had to bale out early
on.
We set the tents up a little way down and away from the other
prospective summiteers. Our American friends, Stu and Alex
were there, along with about twenty others, from several different
countries. It was the climbing season after all!
On the summit morning, Neil pulled his trump card. Convincing
us we were sane to do so, we made our way from the col camp
at midnight, by torchlight. A moon did assist us and, gradually
moving towards the steepening serac slopes. We felt really
alive. The feeling was short-lived. Any interest through
the steep seracs vanished with the traverse onto the summit
ridge. At around 30 degrees, the slope took nearly five
hours. A case of head down - switch off. The cause was there
though. At 07.30 we virtually crawled the last few feet
to the summit, and were rewarded by a glorious sight. Mountain
after mountain lined up to taunt us for a next trip. A dozen
Alpamayo look-a-likes. Quitaraju, Artesonraju, Santa Cruz,
Pyramide, Tauliraju, Huandoy. Neil reeled off as many as
he could remember, as Andrew and I gazed in wonder at this
marvellous sight.
It was very cold, so we only stayed on top until the Americans
reached us, then all descended together. The other climbers
still coming up showed the strain we must have had on our
faces during our ascent. Now though, it was different. Very
easy going down and, with only a couple of easy abseils
lower down, at eleven o'clock we lazed in the morning sunshine
just above the col.
The storm whipped up around four in the afternoon. Food,
then sleep had been our order of the rest of the day, and
we were woken and surprised by the ferocity of the snow
hitting the tent. The evening was spent cooking, chatting
and concerned for the climbers still on the hill. There
is nothing one can do. It's Greater Range climbing and you
are mostly 'on your own'. At 22.00 a procession of six climbers
returned. The storm was easing and we guessed they had sheltered
in bags somewhere. However, we saw no one else!
The retreat down past Camp One to basecamp proved less
dangerous (for windslab) than we thought, and even base
camp came quickly. Suddenly there was no more snow and it
was all over. The descent to Huaraz was interrupted by a
night in the little village of Musho, the starting place
for Huascaran. Beer flowed freely, well, easily that is
and we slept a comfortable night, the first for five days.
Our first ride on a collectivo, the local bus, took us down
the winding valley to the main drag. The place was crawling
with people. Yes, there was a festival on. There was also
a bullfight. Swapping collectivos, we were back in Huaraz
at midday. Reunited with Robin, who was recovering from his
bad stomach, we listened to his fascinating description of
his visit to Cuzco, and the start of the Inca trail to Macchu
Picchu.
The wind-down began, cervesas all around, and packing for
home in earnest.
Suddenly it was all over. Touching down in Miami, you could
instantly feel the difference in heat. Orlando, then Washington
was our penalty for booking flights too late, but we were
soon touching down at Heathrow, a murky and misty morning.
I often recall my favourite comment from Neil - "By
the way, there are no bandits in the Blanca!"
Fact sheet:
Getting there
We flew United Airlines (the friendly skies) via Miami
on the way there, but had a stop off at Miami, Orlando and
Washington on the way back. The most direct (and cheapest)
flights have to be booked in February or March, for a summer
trip. Costs were increasing daily, as each airlines' cheaper
seats became unavailable.
We had to go for places up the pecking order before we
could book seats. By the end of April, Air Italia, Lufthansa,
and Egypt Air were all sold out. United Airlines were next.
They were, however, fantastic to travel with, lots of free
booze, good food, and gave a massive 64kg person baggage
restriction, based on you having two containers only, but
any size. That's really useful, except if, like me, you
travel British Airways down from Inverness airport to Heathrow!
Visas are currently not required but it's worth checking
just prior to your visit.
Currency
The unit is soles, around 4 to the dollar. We found it
just great to take small denomination dollar bills and credit
(visa) cards. There is an official changing office in the
main street of Huaraz but also lots of guys on the street
ready to take your dollars.
Dangers
We didn't feel there was much fraud or stealing around,
but just being sensible is enough. Keep your hand on your
wallet and your eyes open.
We saw no signs of bandits!
Transport
From Lima we used Rodriguez Transportes, on Jironde (road/street)
Roosevelt, tel. 280506. Costs for the journey to Huaraz
was $14 each. On our return we paid $25 each but it was
a much more comfortable coach (Expreso Cruz Del Sur).
Hotels
Out of fiesta time, there are plenty, ranging from $5 to
$50 per night. Walter runs the Hostel Copa, a perfectly
adequate place with a variety of rooms for around the $5-$10
per person. Beware - hotel rooms double in price during
fiestas!
Hotel rooms double in price during Fiestas, if you can
get one! Pre-arranging ensures some help from the manager
of your chosen hotel.
The Hostel Copa is close to the Guide's Office, a place
where you can also organise Arrerios and transport, and
it has the best breakfast bar in Huaraz. It’s also
close to the Expreso Cruz coach depot, so there is not too
much gear-humping.
Restaurants
There are numerous, all reasonably priced for a good evening
meal (around $6 - $10). The most frequented by Europeans
is Pepe's, good value. Better though are the Chinese Restaurants
around town. Great meals (safe as well) for around $6. The
chicken and chips places (we found two in town at least
) are sensational for a couple of visits. You literally
tear a well-cooked chicken (very safe) to bits with your
fingers.
Language
A dialect of Spanish called Quechua is spoken in most areas.
A little effort and practice at Spanish will help you enormously.
There is a tremendous amount of useful information available
out of two books. I'd recommend getting them both. They're
worth their weight in condor droppings, and they are:
Peru - Lonely Planet Guides
Climbs in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru - by David Sharman
(Whizzo Climbs)
P.O. Box 412, Aberdeen AB9 6JA
Apart from this information, you've just got to get on a
plane to Lima and take it as it comes. It's a wonderful experience.