pics from hatun machay:
I´m an intense climber
pics from dave´s climb:
houses on the route to laguna anticocha
amanda at laguna anticocha
the start of the laguna churup hike
other views from the hike:
amanda and dave cooking at andy´s place
street art in huaraz
woman in the market in huaraz
Hola Everyone!
Since last time, a lot has happened. I´m going to give you all the breakdown but it might be a bit fast. Sorry but I got´s things to do and places to see. Here we go:
Since arriving in Huaraz, we gained our grounding after a rough first week. Lilli got pretty sick with an ear infection and a fever. She had to let them sweat out before we could really do anything and get better. During that first week, we gained our bearings of the town, met up with Jeff and Jarra (friends from Rhiannon Community) for Chuchuwasi and other interesting beverages, as well as hanging out with our friends from Couchsurfing. After that first week, our friend from Oregon, Amanda, arrived in Huaraz and we were able to really start getting into gear.
Andy (Couchsurfing host), Nelson (Couchsurfer) and I decided to head up to Huscaran National Park to summit Vallanarju, a 5686 meter peak (for all those Americans, that is equal to about 18500 ft.) We got up there the first day and Andy made us practice climbing in both rock shoes as well as mountaineering boots because a lot of the time we would have to be scrabbling on those boots. Trying to climb a 6a (= 5.10b) in plastic boots is really hard but I was able to lead the route and make Andy proud (just kidding Andy). The next day, we headed up to base camp at 4800 meters for a day of acclimitization and rescue practice. Awesome fun and a lot of work learning all the different techniques, especially since Spanish is not my first language. Nelson and I had a blast jumping off the edge of a hill and pulling one another along until we could arrest each other. That night we went to sleep early to get up at 2 AM and start hiking around 2:30AM for the summit. We needed to get up that early so that the ice and snow would be still very hard and not slush by the time we wanted to come back down to camp. Andy thought that we should reach the summit within four hours and descend within three hours, since we were all strong hikers and in decent shape. By the way, 4800 meters is the height of the tallest peak in France (Mont Blanc), which made Nelson crack up with laughter at the fact that we were camping at the same height. So, Andy and Nelson and I got up, started hiking up the glacier around 2:30 in the dark. The glacier at that hour is so sparse and bone chilling at times that it can be a bit hard to regulate your body temperature, especially as you heat up early and then cool down fast. We saw some crevasses as well as ice bridges that we had to cross. Pretty incredible and made me realize how wonderfully beautiful the world in which we live in is. So as we kept on hiking, I looked at my watch and realized we were way ahead of schedule. By the time we reached the summit, the ascent had only taken us 2.5 hrs and we were left up there before the sunrise! The sun eventually came up within 20 minutes of us being there, but man was it cold! I got some amazing pictures of the Cordillera Blancas from the summit as well as a feeling that I need to do this more in my life. For the descent, we bombed down and got back to camp by 7 AM, a total of only 4.5 hrs hiking! We made it back to our tents before some other mountaineers had awakened! We were then able to hike down to the main road and hitch a ride back with some of the other local mountain guides and their company thanks to Andy´s suave nature.
While we were up on the hill, Lilli and Amanda went to visit a local social center in Caraz, a Peruvian woman who owns a community education center, where she educates people from all over the world and gives seminars about the local community. She also makes her own cheese, yogurt, and butter, and gave Amanda and Lilli a tour of the place. They also took a trek to Laguna Anticocha, a glacial lake in the Cordeirra blancas. The trek was through some small villages, where women were tending to their sheep and taking naps in the hills. Quite the picture of life in the mountains of Northern Peru.
After our respective outings, all met up back in Huaraz and went out for drinks and dinner with some of our new buddies from Huaraz who work as mountain guides at the casa de guias.
2 days later, we were on our way again: Amanda, Lilli and I headed off to Hatun Machay, Quecwha for Rock Forest (Quecwcha is the native language of the region, before the Spainards came in). Not much information is on the Internet about the place but it is absolutely incredible. It definitely has more rock available than my local hangout Smith Rock and is still in its infancy of development, with tons of new routes going up consistently. We had to travel for about 2 hours to get out there but it is in an amazing setting with views of the Cordillera Blancas, Huayhuash and the Pacific Ocean on clear days! When we first got out there, we met a Spanish buddy Xavi, who went climbing with us at the warm up spot. I led a 2 5.9s and then a 5.10b. Xavi went to lead the 10b after me and one of the holds popped right before he got the first bolt so he went flying and hit the deck! I was a bit shaken up but Xavi, an experienced climber, walked it off and went right back to the route to send it. That night a few more folks arrived with the owner Andres and some Chuchuwasi, a local drink made of different types of local plants and fermented cane juice. It helped make the night a lot warmer, espeically since Hatun Machay is around 4200 meters in height (13500 ft.) so it gets pretty darn cold at night... and we were camping outside the refuge! The next day, we went to the Cueva (cave) for some fun routes. A gorgeous 10a called Putas Chicas was our first followed by me hang-dogging a 10c (pretty physical but I managed to finish the send). I also led a 10b chimney that had my heart racing a bit and top-roped an 11c that I think I could have gotten if I was in better shape. Xavi sent a 12b without a hitch and made me realize how much harder I am going to climb when I get back. We bid farwell to our Spanish friend, who was headed out of Hatun Machay for work, and warmed ourselves by the fire with friends that night.
Also while at Hatun Machay, Lilli and Amanda both climbed their first 5.10d´s...a huge accomplishment for both of them. The place was absolutely magical and beautiful, and between climbs, we enjoyed some hiking, sunsets, and soaking up the sun. Our nights were full of card games, hot food, guitar playing, and chatting in Spanish with other travelers who were staying at the refugio. Lilli also taught a yoga class (in attempted spanish) to some of the girls who were traveling to the refugio from Chile. All in all, we were psyched to have had the opportunity to spènd 4 days at this amazing, off the beaten track place.
We hiked down to the road on Saturday afternoon after our last morning of climbing, caught an overfilled taxi, and dragged ourselves back into Huaraz. We splurged on a nice hostel with hot showers and beds...(no more sleeping on Andy´s floor!) Tomorrow we are headed off to start the Santa Cruz trek, a 4 day trek through the Cordierra Blancas. We are psyched! More to come soon folks....
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