huaraz climbing part 1

[joblo7]

took a cab to just outside huaraz to go climbing.i wanted to climb vallunaraju(18500

)it is a walk in of about 2hrs on a road then 2hours scrambling to the glacier and 2hrs to summit: pretty straithforward..yaaah.i was carrying about 30lbs.i missed the entrance to the steep scrambling section to morraine camp.'tever,,i like bushwhacking.all the new routes i've done are all on approaches or descents.so i started up and improvised my way up some 5.3/5.4 rock,80% grass slopes etc.all in great fun.i finally exited on the plateau above,(17000ft) after 4hrs.. nothing like rock climbing at that altitude when your partly acclimatised.. found some lungs..i was about 600yds left of where i was supposed to exit..i saw i summit cairn about i/2hr up so i thought i'd tagged that ..cerro carhuac(5110m)i got down to the side of glacier lakes i camped.need to boil cause evidence of altitude cows is every where.i crashed and at 6pm am awakened by hail.peas fell for hours..about one inch by morning..got up at 6am and went up to glacier to climb vallu.needed perfect clear weather to solo the route as there is no trail now,and its like a parking lot.when i got to the glacier the snow slope to get on was gone and instead a 50/80 feet of 80% ice awaited. my lone ski pole seemed overmatched.skies started to cloud over already (8am!) so i figured i would have to turn around. i found a weaker line, so i went up 2/3 way to see how downclimbing would be, doable but not if i have to turn around anyway.i'll come back with a tool..so went back to my tent at 16800 at continued my acclimatisation. i slept as it rained and snowed all day and all nite. by morning 6inches had fallen.

at 6am i left to go climbed 2 other peaks from the plateau i was on. all rock. all foggy but good track laying snow.one had a nice steep 5.2/3 finish.was back at camp in 2hrs. saw it was gonna rain again today so decided to back to town for new years eve. in the fog i lost the trail down again and ended creating another great workout for myself..

funnything is that when i met the caretaker of the refugio on the road up,he told me it was easy to spot the route up and THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY UP!!

proved his ass wrong!!! christian!!

all in all an interesting acclimatisation trip.. it is not climbing season here so anything i can get before june is pure bonus..! pics to follow

[spikehay]

Kudos for doing anything during the wet season. You should do Ampato the next time you're in Arequipa.

[Farrgo]

Did you go after the route as described in Johnson's book? If so, there is a more direct route which leaves the road before you reach the refugio. I think it might be in the Sherman guide... Andino will have it. On a side note, I'm jealous and hope to be down there again myself this summer.

[joblo7]

they have guidebooks.!!!!!???

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Hehe, nice job Jo. If you were headed up the standard Vaillunaraju route (not the one in Brad's book), you probably weren't in virgin territory. I screwed that approach up while solo as well earlier this year. It was incredibly unpleasant grass/slab climbing in a nasty gulley. I even pulled out the axe for some extra security on overhanging grass clump moves. Did you see a short and useless fixed rope down towards the bottom? Fortunately I found the proper route on the way down. Have fun int he rain (we had some this summer too).