The Andes part one - acclimatising in Huaraz

Most travellers make a beeline for Cusco and the Inca trail when they visit the Peruvian Andes, but the high costs, crowding and need to book up to six months in advance put us off this option.


The Cordillera Blanca



Sure, we will visit Macchu Pichu, but we opted for the high-altitude adventure playground of Huaraz, in a mountain range to the north of Cusco, for trekking and other fun. Huaraz, at 3000 metres above sea level, is neatly sandwiched along a narrow valley separating two immense piles of mountains - the Cordilleras Blancas, or white mountains, and the Cordilleras Negras, you guessed it, black mountains.

I´m not going to bore you with facts and figures but basically the Cordillera Blanca is an imposing row of stunning white peaks running the length of the valley, that include Huascaran, Peru´s highest peak, at somewhere over 6800 metres. At the foot of the mountains lie glaciers, crystalline blue lakes and pretty alpine meadows.

The Cordillera Negra, on the other hand, was not a bunch of spooky, jagged precipices that I had imagined, but a more conventional set of scantily forested hilltops. They aren´t as pretty as their white cousins but they shield the area from warm, moist winds blowing off the Pacific and so allow the Cordillera Blancas to exist, which is quite amazing given we are just a few hundred kilometres from the equator.



Our first trek to acclimatise to higher altitudes was like a postcard-perfect tour of the prettiest peaks and most amazingly coloured (but most pathetically named) Laguna 69. After travelling up a bumpy mountain road in a crowded mini-van with typically bad suspension, we alighted at the trail head, at an altitude of 4000. At this point it was the furthest Adam and I had been from the sea in our lives.


Laguna 69

We could feel the effects of the altitude the second we started walking. Our heart rates and breathing sped up as if we were jogging, yet we were strolling along a flat field. As the trail started to ascend, we had to slow down to a hasty plod, or we would start hyperventilating. I developed a stitch after not too long, and had to fight to hold my breath in and out for long enough. And the hill we were walking up was hardly steep at all! It felt as if we had both become morbidly obese overnight and were also carrying sacks of lead up a hill. I could feel the thumping of my heart rate beating out of control in my ears.

Luckily we had the view to distract us. The mountains seemed so close that you could reach out and touch them (although in reality from there it would take days to ascend to the summit). Trekking and mountaineerin is certainly not a past time for the impatient. You have to go as if in slow motion, and stay this way until your body is forced to adapt to less oxygen.


Mighty Huascaran

 We walked right by Huascaran, Peru´s highest peak, through a meadow where all the animals grazing in it had cute woolly coats, until after about 2.5 hours we got to the highest part, at 4600 metres, and the lake stretched out in front of us. Those who know me will remember that blue is my favourit colour, and this incredible bright turquoise hue did not disappoint, especially with two beautiful mountains as a backdrop.

Next, we spent three days in the mountains on the opposite side of the valley, the Cordilleras Negras. The area is home to an immense collection of rocks and boulders, grouped together in a valley in what is known as the "rock forest," and unsurprisingly it is mecca for rock climbers. Some of the rocks look larger than the pillars in stone henge, and are arranged completely randomly, but in all there are over 150 possible rock climbing routes and innumerable activities for bouldering, or climbing smaller rocks without ropes and harnesses.



Hatun Machay refuge with rock forest in background



We opted for the more carefree bouldering, which requires less equipment and expertise - normally when we rock climb there are ropes already set up but with this area you had to be able to put in all the pitches yourself. Equipped with a crash mat which had straps like a backpack, we set out into the forest and clawed our way up boulders and other weirdly shaped rocks of differing sizes and shapes.

A refuge has been built to house the many hoardes of compulsive climbers that descend on the area. It was pretty basic - there was no shower and electricity for only two hours a day, but it had a big kitchen, a warm fire, and most important, a bed (albeit with a strange u-shaped matress).

The refuge and rock forest was surrounded by rolling hills, the highest being 4800 metres in height, which we walked up, again for acclimatisation purposes. We also planned to catch the sunset, but we left it a bit late and the trail wasn´t very clearly marked, so we ended up walking too far along the ridge and didn´t spot the actual peak until the sun had set and by the time we got up there, it was dark.



Bouldering!

 Our head torches stumbled on this group of three mountain-crazed Austrians who were in the region for 6 weeks and planned to climb several mountains, including Artesonraju, better known as the mountain in the Paramount Pictures logo. They were lying there on the summit in their sleeping bags, and were sleeping up there to better acclimatise to the altitude - the refuge is 600 metres lower. Let´s not forget that at 6pm it was probably already below zero, with fierce winds, and it would have been up to -10 over night but these guys didn´t feel the need to pitch a tent!

After three days of bouldering and walking up hills, it was time to return to Huaraz, if only for a shower! And we needed some rest for the real adventure...stay tuned for part two!