Global Adventure - Trek Peru's Cordillera Huayhuash

Trip Report

After months of planning and preparation, 14 Mountaineers arrived in Lima on May 19th to start an extended trekking adventure in Peru's Cordillera Huayhuash.  After a full day in Lima for sightseeing and waiting for delayed travelers to arrive, we took a short flight to Hauraz.  At an elevation of 10,000ft and conveniently located between the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Huayhuash mountain ranges, Hauraz serves as a gateway to adventuring in the Andes.

To help us acclimate to the high altitude -- with even higher altitudes to come later during our trek -- we spent 4 nights in Hauraz and completed three dayhikes that took us high into the mountains.  Our first dayhike was in the hills overlooking Huaraz: 8 miles and 1,900ft gain up to an elevation of 11,800ft.  Our second dayhike was to the popular Laguna 69: 9 miles and 2,500ft gain up to an elevation of 15,100ft:

Our third dayhike was to Laguna Churup: 5 miles and 2,200ft gain up to an elevation of 14,600ft:

With our lungs and trail legs warmed up after 4 nights in Huaraz, we had a shuttle transfer to the tiny village of Llamac in the foothills of the Cordillera Huayhuash.  We had time for a short hike (our 4th dayhike of the trip) that afternoon.

Our 5th and final acclimatization day hike was 9 miles and 3,100ft gain, and took us up to Paso Rondoy at 15,600ft.

From the pass, we were able to look down on the turquoise Laguna Solteracocha, which we'll visit 10 days later on our last day on the Huayhuash Circuit:

We finished the day at Quartelhuain camp, with 5 acclimatization day hikes completed and 10 days of trekking the Huayhuash Circuit ahead of us.

Circuit day 1: Our first day on the circuit started with a big ascent up to Cacanapunta, which gave us gorgeous mountain and meadow views.  But our jaws dropped when we turned south at 4.4 miles and we saw Ninashanca, Rondoy, and Nevado Jirishanca towering ahead.  5.5 miles, 1,805ft gain, 15,260ft max elevation

Circuit day 2: We woke up to clear skies...

...and then headed out.  Initially trekking along a valley floor, we soon ventured up to a high route overlooking Laguna Mitococha and Laguna Niñacocha before passing Laguna Alcaycocha.  We then descended to our camp on the shores of Laguna Carhuacocha.  7.5 miles, 1,880ft gain, 15,570ft max elevation

Circuit day 3: Time for another day hike, this time to a classic viewpoint just below Paso Siula offering views of the "Tres Lagunas": Quesillacocha, Siulacocha, and Gangrajanca.  With Nevado Carnicero, Nevado Sarapo, Nevado Yerupajá, and Yerupaja Chico towering above the 3 lakes, we knew that today could be a real treat.  Unfortunately, unlike day 2, we woke up to cloudy skies and drizzle.  But we made the most of it, did the out-and-back day hike, and appreciated the peekaboo views that we were able to see.  8.5 miles, 1,950ft gain, 14,880ft max elevation

Circuit day 4: Our destination for the day was Huayhuash Camp, and our original plan was to retrace our steps from yesterday's day hike, ascending to the "Tres Lagunas" viewpoint and then continuing over Paso Siula.  But with a weather forecast calling for snow, we opted for a lower-but-very-pretty valley route that took us over Abra Carnicero, from which we had views of Laguna Huaracacocha and the mountains beyond.  9.5 miles, 2,150ft gain, 15,100ft max elevation

Circuit day 5: We had a gentle start to the day, with less than 900ft gain over our first 2 miles.  But things picked up from there as we tackled Paso del Trapecio at 16,480ft.  It was windy and cold at the pass (no surprise), but we had some striking views once we found a spot out of the wind.

From there, it was a short haul to our destination: Elefante camp.  8 miles, 2,500ft gain, 16,475ft max elevation

Circuit day 6: Today was a big day -- our highest elevation of the trip (16,600ft) and another classic viewpoint (Paso del Trapecio).  Ascending 1000ft per mile (thankfully only for 2 miles) we soon found ourselves hiking on a fresh (thankfully thin) layer of snow.

A different world awaited us on the other side of Paso del Trapecio: the massive Nevado Yerupajá, Siula Grande, and Nevado Sarapo towering over emerald-colored Juraucocha.

After a steep descent, we quickly made our way to our home for the next 2 nights: Cutatambo camp.  4.7 miles, 1,950ft gain, 16,600ft max elevation

Circuit day 7: Today we had an out-and-back day hike to explore a bit of history: views of Siula Grande's West Face and the location of the base camp used by Joe Simpson and Simon Yates during their first ascent of the West Face.  Made famous in the book (and subsequent movie) "Touching the Void", it was impossible to fathom what Joe Simpson must have endured while fighting his way back to base camp.  5.8 miles, 1,350ft gain, 15,175ft max elevation

Circuit day 8: After quite a few days of clouds and intermittent showers, we appreciated a star-filled night and a brilliant sunrise.

Today was the first of three consecutive long days, but it was full of flowers, meadows, and of course mountains as we made our way to Huitiac camp.  11.8 miles, 2575ft gain, 14,125ft max elevation

Circuit day 9: The Milky Way, a barren moonscape pass, vibrant flower-filled meadows, and turn-the-corner-and-watch-your-jaw-drop views...today had a bit of everything.  We made our way to Laguna Jahuacocha camp, and the views as we descended into camp were spectacular. 11.5 miles, 3,010ft gain, 15,880ft max elevation

Circuit day 10: Our last day of hiking!  We started with an out-and-back to Laguna Jahuacocha, the lake we saw from atop Paso Rondoy 10 days ago during our 5th day hike.  From a moraine above the lake, in the shadow of Rondoy directly across from us, we tried our best to absorb what was so special about the Huayhuash -- emerald lakes, lush meadows, and massive peaks.

We then had a long, hot hike out to Llamac, completing our trek.  14.5 miles, 1,800ft gain, 4,500ft loss, 13,800ft max elevation

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