A Fast & Soiled Information to the Cordillera Blanca Traverse

• Located within the Ancash area of Peru, the Cordillera Blanca is a sub-range of the Andes mountains. It’s roughly 13 miles broad (21 km) and 124 miles (200 km) lengthy because the condor flies.

• The Cordillera Blanca comprises a dozen peaks which might be larger than 20,000 ft (6,096 m), with an additional twenty-four topping 18,000 ft (5,486 m).

• There are estimated to be 722 particular person glaciers inside the Cordillera Blanca vary, which is the biggest focus of tropical-zone glaciers on the planet. For the reason that 1970’s they’ve retreated greater than 15%. A staggering discount, particularly contemplating their hydrological significance to a rising Peruvian inhabitants.

• In 1970, the Cordillera Blanca was rocked by an earthquake (7.9 on the Richter scale) that worn out 95% of Huaraz (the regional capital), fully destroyed the city of Yungay, and was liable for the deaths of as much as 70,000 individuals. It was the worst pure catastrophe in Peru’s historical past, and the ensuing avalanche is taken into account the deadliest in world historical past.

For the needs of resupply, I break up the CBT into 4 levels (click on on the hyperlinks under for journal entries from 2014). Every of the stage trailheads is accessible by public transport, which means that folk that aren’t interested by thru-hiking the CBT might probably do a number of of the levels as stand-alone hikes (Notice: Distances have been up to date as of 2022, and can range relying on route decisions):

The CBT takes place in Parque Nacional Huascarán. For any multi-day hike within the park, you’ll have to get hold of a trekking allow from their workplace in Huaraz (-9.53203, -77.52984) earlier than setting out.

• Might to September is the dry season within the Peruvian Andes. Technically talking, that is late autumn/winter within the southern hemisphere, nevertheless, because of the truth that the Cordillera Blanca is located so near the equator, temperature fluctuations are comparatively minor all year long. I hiked from late August to early September and had advantageous climate all through a lot of the 16 days. Temperatures ranged between highs round 20°C and lows of -10°C (Notice: The latter was skilled when tenting slightly below 5,000m).

• What’s too early? What’s too late?:  Clearly, circumstances will range from yr to yr, however given common annual snow ranges, I wouldn’t advocate beginning the route earlier than early June or later than the tip of September. A living proof is Austin Lillywhite’s Might 2017 hike, the place he was unable to go over Stage 3’s Cashan Cross due to snow circumstances.

• My CBT Expertise: I took 16 days to finish the CBT. A few of these days had been spent route discovering, visiting archeological websites, and customarily trying out different factors of curiosity alongside the way in which. I took one full “zero-day” (relaxation day) in Huaraz and one other “nero” (nearly a zero) in Chavin. Pushing a little bit bit tougher and with out the diversions, route-finding, and relaxation day, I think I might have taken round 13 days to finish the hike.

• Common Length: This can be a route that ought to solely be undertaken by skilled long-distance hikers who start the path effectively and really acclimatized. When you tick these bins, together with turning up in fine condition and carrying a lightish pack, I’d estimate the typical time wanted for the CBT can be between 16 and 22 days (together with a relaxation day or two).

After the preliminary climb out of Hualcallan, nearly all the CBT takes place above 4000 m (13,123 ft). I can’t emphasize strongly sufficient that it is a hike for which it’s worthwhile to be well-acclimatized earlier than setting out.

• Northern Terminus: Hualcallan Village. I took a collectivo (minibus) from the city of Caraz to the village of Cashapampa, from which I walked 9 kilometers to Hualcallan. If you wish to go on to Hualcallan, non-public transport/taxi could be organized from Caraz.

• Southern Terminus: Pastoruri Glacier is a well-liked vacation spot for day-trippers from Huaraz. When you arrive earlier than late afternoon, there must be no points getting a spot on one of many buses that usually ply the path to and from the regional capital. 

• Water: Considerable all through a lot of the hike. Usually talking, I handled with Aquamira within the low-lying areas and/or wherever there was livestock or human settlement. Within the larger reaches, the place water was coming straight off the glaciers, I drank straight from the supply. I had no intestinal points on this or some other hike I’ve completed throughout my journeys to Peru.

• Resupply: From north to south, the principle resupply factors are Huallin, Chacas, Pitec (Huaraz), and Chavin de Huantar (see Transport above). The regional hub of Huaraz has a variety of “conventional backpacking” meals obtainable, equivalent to dried fruit and nuts, cereals, pasta, tuna, powdered milk, chocolate, and many others. Decisions are way more restricted within the villages alongside the way in which. On the cooking entrance, you’ll be capable to decide up a fuel canister or denatured alcohol to your range in Huaraz.

On the route itself, you’ll be able to wild camp just about wherever you want. That mentioned, I’d keep away from establishing too near villages or shepherd encampments (which can be patrolled by territorial guard canines).

There’s one full-service mountain hut alongside the route – Refugio Ishinca. Located within the shadows of  Toclarraju (6,032m) and Polcaraju (6,110m) peaks, Refugio Ishinca was an surprising bonus. Half anticipating a semi-dilapidated backcountry outpost, what I received as a substitute was cozy beds, good meals, useful workers, and even a solar-powered bathe!

In City: The regional capital of Huaraz has a large number of choices to go well with all budgets. Throughout my time on the town, I stayed on the Lodge Churup, which I can extremely advocate. Juan Quiros Romero and his household had been glorious hosts, the breakfasts had been first-rate, the rooms snug, they usually saved my additional baggage after I was out within the boonies. Double thumbs up.

Concerning the opposite cities alongside the route, in Chacas, I arrived late and ended up staying at a dodgy place whose solely redeeming function was that it was centrally positioned. As for Chavin de Huantar, I stayed on the characterful Hostal La Casona on the Plaza de Armas. I’m 99% sure that this was the identical place I stayed at in 1996, and for the sake of nostalgia, I couldn’t resist returning 18 years later. On the distant likelihood that they’re studying this publish, shout-out to my 1996 touring/mountaineering companions, Sylvia, Fleischy, and Dave.

I put collectively the CBT route in 2014 with the assistance of the below-listed topo maps, Google Earth, and Jim Bartles’s traditional Cordillera Blanca textual content (see under). When mountaineering the route, I used mentioned maps and a Suunto M-2 compass for navigation. I additionally took alongside a Garmin Foretrex, with which I took waypoints of notable spots alongside the route. 

The collective crux of the CBT are the passes. Relying on route decisions, there are between twenty-one and twenty-three in complete, ranging between 4,347 m and 5,201 m. By any standards, it’s a rollercoaster of a visit, with a lung-busting, knee-wobbling complete elevation achieve and lack of round 50,000 m (164,000 ft).

When placing the route collectively, the vast majority of the passes had been marked on the above-mentioned topo maps. Nevertheless, throughout the southern half of the journey, there have been a handful that weren’t, and a few of these represented probably the most difficult side of the planning section. The passes for which I had no info on the time included Urus/Akilpo (5,040m), Ishinca/Palcaraju (5,201m), Shallap (5,001m), Cashan (5,157m), Rurec (4,350 m), Pucaraju (4,583 m), Maraytaca (4,611 m), Landslide (4,951 m), and Huarapasca (4,930 m). Please observe that the majority of those names merely replicate adjoining peaks, valleys, or within the case of “Landslide”, a comparatively current geological occasion, and will not be the names utilized by locals for a similar excessive factors.

Right here’s the record of passes (from North to South), with their respective elevations in parentheses. Stage 1 passes are in black font, Stage 2 in blue, Stage 3 in purple, and Stage 4 in inexperienced:

1. 1. Osoruri Cross (4,848 m/15,906 ft) 
   2. Vientunan Cross (4,760 m/15,617 ft)  
   3. Gara Gara Cross (4,840 m/15,879 ft)  
   4. Mesapata go (4,450 m/14,600 ft)  
   5. Yanacon Cross (4,601 m/15,095 ft)  
   6. Tupatupa Cross (4,347 m/14,262 ft)  
   7. Alto de Pucaraju (4,615 m/15,141 ft)  
   8. Punta Yanayuca (4,790 m/15,715 ft)  
   9. Punta Olimpica (4,909 m/16,106 ft) 
   10. Portachuelo de Honda (4,763 m/15,551 ft) (Various possibility obtainable) 
   11. Urus Cross (5,040 m/16,535 ft) 
   12.  Ishinca/Palcaraju Cross (5,201 m/17,064 ft) (Various possibility obtainable)
   13.  Choco/Huapi Cross (5,073 m/16,644 ft)
   14.  Shallap Cross (5,001 m/16,407 ft) (Various possibility obtainable, although not advisable)
   15.  Cashan Cross (5,157 m/16,919 ft) 
   16.  Rurec Cross (4,350 m/14,272 ft)
   17.  Pucaraju Cross (4,583 m/15,037 ft)
   18.  Maraytaca Cross (4,611 m/15,128 ft)
   19.  Punta Raria (4,801 m/15,751 ft)
   20.  Landslide Cross (4,951 m/16,243 ft) (Various possibility obtainable)
   21.  Huarapasca Cross (4,930 m/16,175 ft)

In placing collectively this Q&D Information, I plugged all the info I had into Gaia GPS, created a route, and got here out with the next up to date figures for distance and complete elevation. For these doing the hike sooner or later, relying on route decisions, closing totals will range as much as 10 %.

Distance: 152 km (94.4 mi)

Whole Ascent: 10,517 m (34,504 ft)

Max. Elevation: 4,911 m (16,112 ft)

Min. Elevation: 3132 m (10,276 ft)

Notes: 

• The primary stage of the CBT was totally on established trails. The preliminary couple of days coincided with the Alpamayo Base Camp Trek, and later the route intersected briefly with the area’s hottest multi-day hike, the Santa Cruz Trek.

• Throughout stage 1, the route goes up and over 9 passes, all of that are marked on the topo mapsets listed above.

• Aside from the beginning and ending villages, you might be able to complement your provisions within the blink-and-you-miss-them hamlets of Huaripampa, Colcabamba, and Yanama.

• Aside from a one-mile (1.6 km) stretch between levels 3 and 4, the one time you’ll stroll on a paved street throughout the CBT is on the finish of Stage 1, from the Punta Olimpica tunnel to the villages of Huallin and Pompey. Each earlier than and after the tunnel, a lot of the street part could be averted by following (generally) faint and infrequently steepish trails that bypass the numerous switchbacks on both facet of the go. These paths had been utilized by locals within the days earlier than the street was constructed.

Distance: 108 km (67.1 mi)

Whole Ascent:  5,978 m (19,613 ft)

Max. Elevation:  5,201 m (17,064 ft)

Min. Elevation:  3,416 m (11,207 ft)

Notes:

• The primary go of Stage 2 – Portachuela de Honda (4,763 m) – is bookended by grime street walks in Juitush and Honda Valleys. At Portachuela de Honda, there are a few completely different excessive factors from which to decide on; each DM in 2018 and myself in 2014 took the blue route, which is shorter, steeper, and (maybe) much less well-defined than the purple route (at the least from what I can collect on the topo maps).

• It’s value noting that the japanese finish of Quebrada Honda has a mining presence, and you’ll probably see autos touring to and from the mines when you attain the grime street that runs alongside the valley ground. Neither I nor DM encountered any points with these people; quite the opposite, they had been uniformly pleasant and nobody appeared bothered by our presence. This was the scenario in 2014 and 2018, I can’t say if the temper has modified within the ensuing years.

• If I needed to decide my favourite part of the whole CBT, it could be the roughly 50-55 km (31-34 mi) stretch between the western finish of Quebrado Akilpo and the northeastern reaches of Quebrada Quilcayhuanca. Starting with the “enchanted forest”, the route goes up and over three 5,000 m plus passes – Urus/Akilpo, Ishinca/Palcaraju, and Choco/Huapi. The primary two of those excessive factors had been among the many group for which I didn’t have any pre-trip data, and although I used to be pretty positive each would go, I used to be over the moon after they truly did. All that zooming out and in from completely different angles on Google Earth wasn’t for nothing………. I could have even completed a celebratory jig! (Notice: Each passes had small cairns at or close to the highest, so locals conversant in this a part of the Cordillera Blanca undoubtedly knew of their existence, even when I didn’t). For anybody studying this publish who’s interested by doing a piece of the CBT relatively than the entire trek, that is the stage I’d advocate. It’s difficult, however the rewards greater than compensate. For my cash, one of many most interesting stretches of high-altitude mountaineering in the whole Andes vary.

• It’s often attainable to catch a experience right down to Huaraz from the tiny village of Pitec on the finish of the stage. Pitec is the beginning/ending level for one of many space’s hottest day hikes – the path to Laguna Churup (4,480 m). If nothing’s obtainable whenever you arrive in Pitec, stroll for 4.5 km right down to the neighboring village of Llupa, the place common collectivos run up and down the mountain to Huaraz.

Distance: 65 km (40.4 mi)

Whole Ascent:  4,520 m (14,829 ft)

Max. Elevation:  5,157 m (16,919 ft)

Min. Elevation:  3,747 m (12,293 ft)

Notes:

• The third stage traverses 4 passes, particularly Shallap (5,001m), Cashan (5,157m), Rurec (4,350m), and Pucaraju (4,583m).

• Cashan is the final and probably probably the most difficult of all of the passes. As talked about above, anybody trying the CBT earlier than mid to late June in a median snow yr is more likely to encounter fairly a little bit of snow/ice on the northern facet and appreciably extra on the even-steeper southern facet. When you’re adamant about doing the hike early season, be sure you take microspikes and an ice axe. Possibly a rabbit’s foot as effectively.

• Descending into Quebrada Rurec after Cashan go, the panorama transitions from rock and ice to pastoral. The next go, which I unimaginatively referred to as “Rurec”, is principally only a lengthy grassy slope (see picture under). The identical goes for “Pucaraju” close to the tip of the stage (-9.68107, -77.34529).

• Throughout the closing few kilometers of the third stage, you’ll attain Laguna Querococha, the biggest lake on the route. Each DM and I skirted the lake’s northern shore earlier than making a beeline to the street to Chavin. A greater possibility can be to observe the lake’s western facet after which swing round its southern finish to affix the street at a lookout (-9.72753, -77.33123). This could reduce a couple of kilometers of street strolling off the start of the fourth and closing stage.

Distance:  72 km (44.7 mi)

Whole Ascent: 4,402 m (14,442 ft)

Max. Elevation:  5,040 m (16,535 ft)

Min. Elevation:  3,865 m (12,680 ft)

Notes:

• Ranging from the Lago Querococha viewpoint, hike for a mile (1.6 km) down the street to the place it passes over the lake’s outlet stream. Go away the street right here, and start descending WSW alongside the watercourse’s true left facet.