Blogs from Huaraz, Ancash, Peru, South America - page 16

Hey guys, got my very own Toching the Void right here, and I´ll start from the very beginning. As I said in the last journal, Martin, Matt and I planned to climb Mount Pisco (5,752masl) without a guide and we were going to do it Monday. We spent a lot of time doing a lot of prep work for it, this is serious business, we were venturing into the realm of mountaineering for the first time and it´s no easy step to take. We spent two days sat in Cafe Andino poring over topographical maps, sketches, route descriptions and humorous stories of a dinner party at the summit. We needed to rent a fair few bits, get some food in and a bigger pot to cook in!!! Friday/ Saturday - We decided we´d do the trip ... read more

Hiking in this mountainous region was fantastic - exhausting but deeply satisfying. However, Huaraz gave me mixed feelings. This town, arguably the trekkers’ capital in Peru, located in the proximity of perhaps two dozen 6,000 m peaks (including Huascaran the Peruvian highest mountain and Alpamayo, supposedly voted for as the most beautiful mountain in the world) seemed in a disrepair. The major plaza and many streets in the center were under construction, many restaurants marked in my guide were no longer there, and Edward’s Inn, a highly recommended hotel, was totally empty when I got there. However, its citizens were nice enough and once we got used to the mess in the streets we were able to enjoy what the city had to offer - access to premier mountain equipment, mountain guides, agencies, and some ... read more

Hi everyone, great news, we´ve finally got our bums in gear and are doing stuff. Yesterday we went ice climbing and it was AMAZING!!!!! Since being here, we knew there was a lot we wanted to do and so have spent a lot of time checking out adventure tour operators for the best deals and services. Eventually we decided on a lovely chap called Walter at QuechuaAndes (for anyone reading for reccomendations this one comes very highly). We opted for the $35 day where we got a private pick up and 3-4 hours on the ice rather than the $20 where we had to find our own way and only get an hour. No brainer really. We checked out the boots and tried them on for size in the office, all the kit was included, we ... read more

This blog is a bit detailed, so if you find it boring, just take a look at the pics instead! Having tried our hands at ice climbing, we were eager to do more in the Peruvian Andes around Huaraz. We wanted to do a 4 day hike through the Cordillera Blanca and over the Santa Cruz pass (4900m). Our new friends Matt and Rebecca were set to climb the impressive Mount Pisco (5750m) which happened to be on our route. So we combined the two and set off on a 5 day high altitude adventure. Day 1 We set off early on a local minibus from Huaraz to Yungay. Rebecca, Matt, Wendy and I were joined by our crew for the climb - the brilliant Ruben our guide (who had shepherded us up the ice face ... read more

We had both been looking forward to doing some more trekking for a while. We were also dying to try ice climbing ever since we missed the chance while we were in Patagonia. So we made our way to Huaraz, the mountaineering capital of Peru (some would say of South America). Huaraz is a functional little town in the heart of the Peruvian Andes. It sits at 3091m in the Cordillera Blanca range which contains 50 peaks over 5700m! Huascaran, Peru´s highest mountain at 6768m is just down the road….. The area around Huaraz has a dramatic and heartbreaking history. It was here on May 31st 1970 that the worst natural disaster in Peruvian history took place. A huge earthquake (7.7 on richter scale) devasted central Peru, killing 70,000 people. Huaraz was flattened, with half the ... read more