29-30 Jun: PISCO ASCENT (5752m)
I wanted to fit in with all the extreme mountain climbing types hanging around Huaraz... but saying that I'd walked around a few mountinas (ie Santa Cruz trek - last entry) wasn't quite cutting the grade. So I set off with Holly (Coloradenese) to go climb Nevada Pisco in the Cordillera Blanca. We chose the option of doing it in 2 days... the downside being a really long second day which was countered by the up shot of getting to sleep in a bed after the ascent.
Day 1. We headed off with our guide Eloy from Huaraz at 0630 to the trail head via Yungay. Our promised english speaking guide was struggling to tell us where he comes from in English so we were concerned about him being able to explain the intricacies of mountaineering to a few beginners.
We got some help with our gear from a pack horse and driver as far as the first base camp (4600m) where we had been informed we'd be staying. Upon arival Eloy informed us that it would be extra to get a porter to the morraine base camp (4800m over some tough terrain) 'cause the horse can't go any further. Luckily we bumped into some other climbers who told us it was only another 2 hours to the morraine camp... So we lugged the clmbing gear the rest of the way ourselves instead of forking out the big bucks for a porter. the benefit was better acclimatisation and we could sleep in to the respectable hour of 3Am in the morning!
Day 2: up at 3am and away at 4 to the mountain. We reached the glacier and began the climb with ice axes and crampons at 5 ... more to come
