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 large (21 km) and 124 miles (200 km) lengthy because the condor flies.

• The Cordillera Blanca comprises a dozen peaks which can be greater 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), utterly destroyed the city of Yungay, and was accountable 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 cut 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, that means that folk that aren’t all for thru-hiking the CBT may probably do a number of of the levels as stand-alone hikes (Observe: Distances have been up to date as of 2022, and can differ relying on route selections):

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

• Could to September is the dry season within the Peruvian Andes. Technically talking, that is late autumn/winter within the southern hemisphere, nonetheless, resulting from 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 superb climate all through a lot of the 16 days. Temperatures ranged between highs round 20°C and lows of -10°C (Observe: The latter was skilled when tenting just under 5,000m).

• What’s too early? What’s too late?:  Clearly, circumstances will differ from 12 months to 12 months, however given common annual snow ranges, I wouldn’t advocate beginning the route earlier than early June or later than the top of September. A working example is Austin Lillywhite’s Could 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 have been spent route discovering, visiting archeological websites, and usually trying out different factors of curiosity alongside the best way. I took one full “zero-day” (relaxation day) in Huaraz and one other “nero” (virtually a zero) in Chavin. Pushing a little bit bit more durable and with out the diversions, route-finding, and relaxation day, I believe I’d have taken round 13 days to finish the hike.

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

After the preliminary climb out of Hualcallan, virtually the entire CBT takes place above 4000 m (13,123 ft). I can’t emphasize strongly sufficient that this can be a hike for which you have 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 might be organized from Caraz.

• Southern Terminus: Pastoruri Glacier is a well-liked vacation spot for day-trippers from Huaraz. Should you arrive earlier than late afternoon, there ought to be no points getting a spot on one of many buses that recurrently 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 greater reaches, the place water was coming straight off the glaciers, I drank straight from the supply. I had no intestinal points on this or another 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 out there, equivalent to dried fruit and nuts, cereals, pasta, tuna, powdered milk, chocolate, and so on. Selections are way more restricted within the villages alongside the best way. On the cooking entrance, you’ll be capable to choose up a fuel canister or denatured alcohol to your range in Huaraz.

On the route itself, you possibly can 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 canine).

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 sudden bonus. Half anticipating a semi-dilapidated backcountry outpost, what I acquired as an alternative was comfortable beds, good meals, useful workers, and even a solar-powered bathe!

In City: The regional capital of Huaraz has a mess 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 have been glorious hosts, the breakfasts have been first-rate, the rooms snug, and so they saved my further baggage once I was out within the boonies. Double thumbs up.

Relating to 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 situated. 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 put up, shout-out to my 1996 touring/climbing 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 basic Cordillera Blanca textual content (see under). When climbing 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 selections, 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 have been marked on the above-mentioned topo maps. Nonetheless, through 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 part. 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 be aware 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 cross (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) (Different possibility out there) 
   11. Urus Cross (5,040 m/16,535 ft) 
   12.  Ishinca/Palcaraju Cross (5,201 m/17,064 ft) (Different possibility out there)
   13.  Choco/Huapi Cross (5,073 m/16,644 ft)
   14.  Shallap Cross (5,001 m/16,407 ft) (Different possibility out there, although not beneficial)
   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) (Different possibility out there)
   21.  Huarapasca Cross (4,930 m/16,175 ft)

In placing collectively this Q&D Information, I plugged all the information 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 selections, ultimate totals will differ as much as 10 p.c.

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.

• Other than the beginning and ending villages, you could possibly complement your provisions within the blink-and-you-miss-them hamlets of Huaripampa, Colcabamba, and Yanama.

• Other than a one-mile (1.6 km) stretch between levels 3 and 4, the one time you’ll stroll on a paved street through 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 might be prevented by following (generally) faint and infrequently steepish trails that bypass the various switchbacks on both aspect of the cross. These paths have 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 cross of Stage 2 – Portachuela de Honda (4,763 m) – is bookended by dust 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 (no less than from what I can collect on the topo maps).

• It’s value noting that the jap finish of Quebrada Honda has a mining presence, and you’ll probably see automobiles touring to and from the mines when you attain the dust street that runs alongside the valley ground. Neither I nor DM encountered any points with these people; quite the opposite, they have 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 choose my favourite part of your complete CBT, it will 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 have been among the many group for which I didn’t have any pre-trip information, and although I used to be pretty certain 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! (Observe: Each passes had small cairns at or close to the highest, so locals accustomed to this a part of the Cordillera Blanca undoubtedly knew of their existence, even when I didn’t). For anybody studying this put up who’s all for doing a piece of the CBT fairly 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 best stretches of high-altitude climbing in your complete Andes vary.

• It’s normally potential 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 out there while 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 12 months is prone to encounter fairly a little bit of snow/ice on the northern aspect and appreciably extra on the even-steeper southern aspect. Should 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 cross, the panorama transitions from rock and ice to pastoral. The next cross, 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 top of the stage (-9.68107, -77.34529).

• Throughout the ultimate 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 could be to comply with the lake’s western aspect after which swing round its southern finish to affix the street at a lookout (-9.72753, -77.33123). This may lower just a few kilometers of street strolling off the start of the fourth and ultimate 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 aspect.