UKH

Hi,

I am thinking about a 3 to 4 week trip to the Andes next summer aiming to end up climbing Alpamayo or Quitaraju so nudging 6000 metres from a base camp of around 5400. I am therefore looking to come up with an acclimatisation plan when I'm there. Obviously a few days in Huaraz then i know there is some cragging higher than that we can do for a day or so to help. What I am interested in is some peaks around 5500 that we could ascend first to help with the process. Something we can be up and down to a base camp in a day, doesn't have to be hard, in fact something easy enough we can keep moving on would be better I just want something local to that valley we can use to get some altitude exposure.

Cheers

Pisco is the standard one - 5600m IIRC.

The passes on the trek in go quite high too and there are several opportunities for high camps 4-5000m.

That looks ideal cheers with maybe some high passes and climbing earlier

cheers

Also, close by Pisco is Chopicalqui, which is around 6300m, but quite straightforward.  There's a high camp at perhaps 5700m (base camp in the valley at the lake) and then a one day round trip to the summit.  It's technically easy.

Alpamayo I have not done, but understand to be quite conditions dependent.  The flutings can be a bit of a 'mare high up so try to choose the right line.

Urus Este and Ishinca were standard ones for acclimatisation. I went ages ago so don't know about conditions these days.

Vallunaraju is a standard acclimatisation peak. Huara Pasca is a pleasant little peak at the southern end of the range. It can easily be done in a day from Huaraz. 

Yanapaccha further up the valley from Pisco is also good.

IIRC you can get a taxi very high up the pass and then it is mostly downhill to basecamp!

When we did Alpamayo about 6 years ago we spent a few days in Huarez with some higher local day treks to places like Laguna Churup. Following that we climbed Ishinca, and a couple of days later, Tocllaraju which is actually higher than Alpamayo and a far more interesting mountain than the popular Urus nearby.  By the time we got to Alpamayo was well acclimatised.

Alpamayo and the glacier camp are ace, just jaw droppingly beautiful. Just make sure you get on the route (French Direct?) nice and early - wouldn’t want to be stuck behind a slower party on the narrow snow and ice flutings being showered with chunks of ice from high above.