Caullaraju Group. A Brazilian expedition authorized by the União Brasileira de Excursionismo operated in the Caullaraju group of the beautiful Cordillera Blanca. Because of my previous expeditions there, I was put in charge of the group made up of the climbers Michel Lebret, Peter Slavec and Jair Laguna and the geologists Umberto Cordani and Antonio Carlos Rocha. After a warm reception in Lima by the Chief of Andinism in the Ministry of Public Education, César Morales, and by the directors of the Club Andino Peruano, we climbed to the Conococha plateau where we had lovely weather and good snow conditions. We continued on to the western slope of the Caullaraju group and climbed on July 18 through its icy plateau to the 18,491-foot summit, which we called “Nevado Brasil.” We climbers were joined by the Peruvians Eugenio and Macario Angeles. Two days later, ascending from the Hacienda Yanahuanca through the Ocullo quebrada, the same climbers conquered the Nevado Shumakraju (18,313 feet) which appears to the left of the Cruz de Plata. Most interesting was the crossing of the sérac-filled glacier, which joins the two principal peaks of the group as it descends from an imposing ridge. Meanwhile the scientists had spent two weeks making a geological map of 140 square kilometers of the Caullaraju group. This will make a great contribution to the studies the Peruvian authorities are making of glacial tongues; they are interested in finding out as much as possible about these accumulations of ice which have proved to be very dangerous because of ice avalanches such as the one which occurred on January 10, 1962 on Huascarán’s northwestern glacier and fell into the Santa valley, crushing various towns near Yungay including Ranrahirca and causing the death of some 4000 people.

Domingos Giobbi, Uniao Brasileira de Excursionismo