Helpful Vocabulary:
Arriero - Donkey Driver
Lago/Laguna – Lake
Nevado - Mountain/Peak
Quebrada - Canyon
Pampa – Grassy field, usually quite level
Paso - Pass
Day 4 - Up, down, up, and doowwwnnnn
Laguna Cullicocha to Quebrado Alpamayo
650 ft ascent, 1280 ft descent, 985 ft ascent, 1970 ft descent, 9.3 mi
This day brought some awesome scenery. Along the way up the 15,945 foot Oruri Pass (but only a 850 foot climb from camp) we were able to behold Laguna Cullicocha and the Nevados Santa Cruz on a beautiful morning. The light was a bit bright and harsh for the pictures, but you get the idea. An amazing sight. We went over the Oruri pass, the highest on the trip, down for a bit, then back up over the Paso los Cedros (15,650 ft), before a long descent into the Quebrada Alpamayo.
Top & Left - Santa Cruz Range w/L. Cullicocha
Right - Chillin' atop Paso los Cedros
Below - Tey presenting the view
The canyon was pretty, green, with a river running along its depth. We passed Ruina Pampa, a ruin complex at the bottom of the valley before heading farther up the canyon to make camp for the night, receiving sporadic views of some towering peaks. The sunset lit up one of the mountainsides as well, making the snow look on 
fire in the brisk night air, before it turned a glowing white in the evening twighlight as the first stars came out. This late evening time of the day became one my favorites. It is just so beautiful to bohold the white peaks constrasting with the dark, deep blue sky with little, twinkling lights. Later that night, as the clouds cleared, stars were incredibly clear and beautiful because we were so high up and removed from light pollution.
Top - Quebrada Alpamayo
Left - Camp, Day 4
Right - Nevado Jancarurish from camp
Day 5 - Short but Steep
Quebrada Alpamayo to Alpamayo Base Camp
1476 ft ascent, 4.1 mi
The next day we made a short but very, very steep climb up to the Northern Alpamayo Base Camp, set inside an open bowl basin with some stunning views. We passed a gorgeous glaciar lake on the way up, turqois green in the sun and enclosed by steep rock walls, glaciar icefall clinging to its upper heights. Nevado Jancarurish rose steeply to a snowy point above the lake and ridge.Above - Jancarurish
Not long after setting up camp it began to snow, and continued for a god couple hours. It was a long, boring couple hours in the tent wondering when the storm might pass. Will you be able to cook later that night, or will you have to get wet doing it? Ominous thundering sounds rumbled throught the canyons from time to time, making us wonder if we were having an electrical storm too.
When it finally passed over it brought clear skies, Tey and I climbed up one of the steep mountainsides a bit to get a better view of the surrounding mountains before coming back for dinner. With evening though, with the clear skies and setting sun, the light was perfect for pictures, and Tey and I wished we had stayed up on the mountainside for the shots. On our way back down we realized what the thunderous sounds were as we heard a crack and the growing rumbling sound and looked out towards the sound. A 
huge pile of ice and snow had broken off the steep face under Nevado Jacarurish and was tumbling down to the lake below. All the moisture in the storm had made the snow heavier and weakened its bonds, and that what was what we were hearing from inside the tents. Glacial ice breaking and tumbling down mountainsides is a cool spectacle to behold. Alpamayo Base Camp was one of the highest camps of the trip and one of the coldest, but I was glad we made the climb up to camp, because it had some amazing scenery.
Top Left - Alpamayo Base Camp (North), Day 5
Top Right - Group Shot
Bottom Left - Sunset on glaciated ridge, seen from camp
Bottom Right - Santa Cruz as seen from Camp
Day 6 - Let's not rest
Alpamayo Basecamp to Quebrada Mayobamba
1476 ft descent, 2130 ft ascent, 820 ft descent, 8.2 mi
This day was supposed to be an easy descent down to the base of the Caracara pass before a long two-pass-day the following day. That morning I decided to hike up the same ridge that Tey and I did the day before, and got some amazing views of Nevados Jacarurish, Alpamayo, Abasraju, Santa Cruz, Laguna Jancarurish, Caracara pass, and back down Quebrada Alpamayo. It was an awesome spot and well worth the steep, hard climb up to the top of the ridge.Above - Caracara Pass (15,850 ft)
(Corrections: That pointy peak was acutally Jancarurish, the "possible" Alpamayo was alpamayo, to the right was Abasraju, and Santa Cruz was the little seen peak to the far right)
Left - Alpamayo
Right - Abasraju
Bottom - Dion has mad river crossing skills
It took us about an hour to walk down from camp to the base of Caracara pass, and a tour group was coming down from the pass going in the opposite direction. After talking to the guide, who said it would be very hard to do the two passes in one day, we decided to head up and over the first pass, Caracara (15,850 ft), and camp in a bowl-valley on the otherside. So much for resting. It was a steep (recurring theme, no?), cold, windy climb over the pass, and although it only took 3 hours to reach the next campsite, we were beat from the climb. The views were pretty good though minus the clouds, and would have been unreal if clear. It was good to have the pass out of the way though, and provided for a much easier next day.
Left - Top of Caracara looking back down the climg
Right - Rare photo of me in action. Thanks Tey
Day 7 - Potato Dinner
Quebrada Mayobamba to Huilca, sidetrip up Quebrada Tayapampa
328 ft ascent, 1510 ft descent, 7.5 mi
A rainy night followed our climb over Caracara pass into the Quebrada Mayobamba, freezing to ice by morning. Although we chose a perfect campsite to get some early morning sun, our efforts were thwarted by a cloudy sky, which blocked our warm yellow friend until abut 8:30 in the morning. So much for not having to play the waiting game this morning. We set off at about 9:00, walking a short distance up to the Mesapata Pass (14,630 ft). From there the group headed down to Huilca while I went into the Quebrada Tayapampa to explore a bit. With all the clouds though I decided to turn back and just relax in Huilca.Above - Camp in Huilca
Below - Relaxin' in camp
It is funny Huilca even has a name. It consists of 3 spread out Quechua dwellings in a large flat valley. The people are extremely friendly however, and we even managed to get some soup and potatoes with salsa for dinner for a whopping $1 price. We did donate some uneeded items however. Tey, Dion, and Rima decided 
they were going to head out the next day to Pomabamba, the exit town for the trip. They would take an easier route than the one planned. Therefore they ended up giving some medication, a pot, and other odds and ends they didn't want to carry to the family that cooked dinner for us. They told us for a month working the cattle out on the land they were paid the equivelent of about US$17 per month. How blessed we are.Above - Caught unawares
Below - mmmm, soup and potatoes
After 6 nights of noodles, pasta, soups and other
instant gourmet dishes, the potatoes, soup, and sweet root called orca (texture like a potato, flavor like a sweet potato) were amazing. We talked a bit with the husband (the wife only spoke Quechua), then went to bed with full stomachs. Because the group was heading out and I wanted to do some more trekking, I grabbed some of the extra food and gas, and decided to make a circuit out of the trip. I would be solo, going back nearly the distance we had already come in 7 days, although I didn’t think it would take that long. What adventures would await?To be continued…
No comments:
Post a Comment