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Published: February 7th 2006
Knowing that Peru is home to some of the most stunning mountain ranges in this part of the world, we headed to Huaraz after Trujillo. We were eager to see some of these mountains especially after reading about their beauty in the trusty Footprint guide.
It was with some trepidation that we travelled to Huaraz though, as we weren't sure whether trekking would be a practical proposition, it being the rainy season in this part of the Andes. Our friends Duncan and Jermayne had been through Huaraz a few weeks before us and sent back reports of hail storms and heavy rain, effectively precluding any mountain treks on their part. Would we be able to do any trekking? Were we going to even see the mountains through the clouds?? We didn't know.
Duncs and Jermayne had also given us contact details of a mountain guide who was said to be reliable and well informed, so after checking into the very friendly and often recommended (but not entirely clean) Lodging Caroline, we headed into town to track him down. Surprisingly, Victor actually tracked us down, and approached us on the street. Once we'd worked out who each other was, we
Taulliraju (5830m) at sunrise
Named after the blue Taulli flowerheaded to a café to work out what would be possible given the weather and our available time.
The first issue was acclimatisation. Huaraz sits at some 3100m above sea level and the treks went plenty higher than that, so we needed at least a couple of days to get used to the thinner air. Victor is a very knowledgeable and helpful guy, so we soon struck upon a plan. We decided that as part of our aclimatisation we would do the Laguna Churup hike, a day trek that went up to 4400m and a good way to speed the aclimatisation process. It was only a one day hike, so it couldn't be that hard..... right??
Well no, not really. The walk to the lake turned out to be quite strenuous, Em's legs not fully recovering for about 4 days! Mine weren't too bad but at the top I couldn't get my head straight (altitude has a variety of unpleasant effects, it made me feel both queasy and dizzy and not want to eat - and those of you that know me well know how serious THAT is!!) and on the way down my knee started to ache
quite badly. Not the best start given that we were considering a 12-day 100 mile trek in a couple of days! The weather on the way up was fine and we actually got quite hot. With our waterproof trousers and jackets we were prepared for the worst with though, which was good news as we encountered the same hail and rain that Dunc and J had mentioned on our way back down.
As a result of our experience on the Laguna Churup trek we decided to scale down our plans somewhat and go for the less intense (but still very picturesque) Santa Cruz trek instead. This was "only" a 6 day trek which took in two mountain passes over 4500m and went around some incredible mountains, including Huascaran, the highest mountain in Peru at 6768m.
Our departure was delayed a couple of days, yes the traveller's plague had paid me another visit and rendered me incapable of venturing far from the toilet. The joys of life on the road, eh? A swift course of mysterious orange tablets later we were ready to leave. Emma and I, being the hardened outdoor types that we aren't, declined the offer of
Taullicocha lake
Also named after the blue flower that grows in the Cordillera Blanca hiring a donkey and handler for an extra $15 per day. Instead we chose to empty our backpacks of all but the essential items - torch, penknife, spare pants, that sort of thing - and carry as much as we could ourselves. We split the hired tent between us, Em taking the poles (very light!) and me taking the fabric (sadly not so light). Victor took it upon himself to carry the stove, pots, pans, all the food, his tent and in fact anything else that we showed the slightest desire not to carry. I thought my pack was heavy until I lifted (or at least attempted to lift) his! ¡Muchisimo gracias Victor! Tu es un hombre muy honesto, provechoso y veraz.
And so it was that at 5:30am, in light drizzle on a grey morning, that we were off. We took two combis, the first a minibus to Yungay and then another (this one a Toyota Corrola estate - containing no less than 9 occupants!) to our starting point of Cashapampa. We'd stocked up the day before with all manner of snacks and food, most of which was contributing to the weight of Victor's backpack. The hiking on
Our tent on the second morning
Yeah, that's ice on the tent..... bbbrrrrr...... the first day came as a shock, as we hadn't trekked carrying a load before, necessitating lots of stops on our part. After some hours we reached our destination, the first campsite at Llama Coral, which sat at 3760m. After one of a number of tasty dinners, we were out for the count.
Day two saw us hike past Lake Ichiqcocha, a beautiful and huge mountain lagoon, and make camp nestled between the majestic peaks of Alpamayo, Quitaraju and Taulliraju. That night was COLD, and neither Emma nor I slept very well. As soon as I heard Victor awake I got up, sensing that warm coffee was on it's way. I certainly didn't expect to see the crystal clear morning that greeted my dopey eyes as I got out of the tent! The snow-capped peaks looked so close you could reach out and touch them. I dived back into the tent (startling Em in the process!) in order to get my camera and tripod out and set up to try and catch the sun hitting the various peaks in turn. You'll also see from the pictures I managed to capture the ice on the outside of the tent -
The Taulli flower
This flower is common in Cordillera Blanca and gives its name to a mountain, valley and lake. that's how cold it was!! We were both thankful we'd invested in decent sleeping bags before leaving the UK.
The day that followed this magnificent display was equally picturesque and painful. It was the day of the ascent to the first pass, Passo Punto Union, at 4750m. The walk, or rather climb, to the pass was HARD work. As Em and I sat panting at the top, both due to thin air and more exertion than we're used to, I couldn't help but be mesmorised by the Santa Cruz valley stretching out beneath us. It really is hard to explain how beautiful it looked. On the other side of the pass, Huaripampa valley was waiting to greet us, with equally impressive views. The subsequent descent was nearly as hard as the ascent, as it went on for a very long time. We finally made camp at around 6pm, meaning we'd been on the go for some nine hours. Unsurprisingly sleep came to us with none of the trouble of the previous night!
Day five was another day of painful ascent as we had to get back up to around 4000m and after which we were greeted by a
serious hail storm just as we were erecting the tents. I'm not sure if my hands have ever been that cold before, if so it was at school when I reluctantly played football in the winter. Ouch. Our tent withstood the elements though and we slept reasonably well given the temperature.
The next day was an uneventful but pretty descent after the other pass of the trek, Passo de Portachuelo Llanganuco at 4767m. We camped for the last night and eat what was left of the supplies, managing to make a surprisingly tasty dinner from an onion, 4 slices of bacon, 3 tomatoes, a suicidally hot chilli, some pasta and a stock cube.
Our final day was spent crawling up to the suspiciously named Lake 69, a climb which was made all the more difficult by the weather's repeated insistence on switching from hot sunlight to stinging hail and snow. On the way there and back we were lucky enough to get a good view of Peru's highest peak, Wascaran, looking every bit as impressive as it's 6768m would imply. The lake too proved to be well worth the effort and it was with some regret that we
We made it!!
Through hail, snow and rain we trudged to the suspiciously named "Lake 69"... We were rewarded by some brief sunshine at the top. made the final descent to the campsite, and then to the road, to wait for whatever transport might pass and take us back towards Huaraz. As it happened, the only things to pass for 2 hours were a box truck which we in advisedly ignored and much later a stinky open-backed truck full with angry cows and horses - regardless of how hard it's raining, going in there can't be a good idea! Finally a bus came along which was headed to Huaraz directly, a good thing as we were really considering what sort of dinner we could make from a packet of instant potato and a can of tuna..... ewwww......
We got back to Huaraz in one piece and gorged ourselves on chicken and chips. Both Em and I lost some weight during the 6 days, neither of us are used to eating so little and doing so much physical exertion, so we figured we'd earnt it. We also treated Victor to dinner, he'd been more helpful and energetic than we could have ever asked him to be, he'd certainly earnt it. Overall, we'd had a great time, but now were ready to move on. There was talk
early in the trek about going for the 12 day option a couple of days later, but that was before the painful parts of our 6 days.... So it was, after an excellent adventure (sorry Bill & Ted), that we were on the road again. This time to Lima - apparently a city of smog and congestion - but one which we wanted to visit all the same.
NOTE: If you do happen to be in Huaraz and need a good trekking/ice-climbing guide, get in touch with Victor. He can be contacted at victorjht@yahoo.com, or on his mobile on 9540838. Failing that, pop into Kaori Tours on Av Jose San Martin. He comes with our recommendation!
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JGirl
non-member comment
You jammy bastards!
im so jealous of your Santa Cruz trek! im glad the sun shone in part and you got to see the montañas...glad too you got to meet and enjoy the company of Huaraz's mountain goat (AKA Vistor). Good piccies Georgeous.. more gruff! more gruff! more gruff!