South America, Peru, Huayanay Group, Cordillera Vilcabamba

Publication Year: 1967.

Huayanay Group, Cordillera Vilcabamba. Led by Louis Dubost, a group of 55 members of the Section Lyon-Saint Gervais of the French Alpine Club left France on July 23 for the Cordillera Vilcabamba. Of these, 14 men and 2 women were serious climbers. It was the plan to go straight to the Huayanay group, but faulty information sent them first into a neighboring valley above Limatambo. On July 31 Guy Demenge and A. Barbarin made the first ascent of Ancaspillaca (16,755 feet). On August 7 Dubost, R. Gillot, Demenge and Paul Gendre climbed Acobamba ( 17,061 feet), which was repeated on the 9th by Ph. Cailloux, M. Delisle, M. Jeannot and R. Sibuet, while Dubost, Louis Gevril, Mlle J. Bernard, Pierre Chabrand, and B. Faidide were repeating Ancaspillaca. On the 11th Barbarin, Chabrand and Faidide climbed Acobamba, a climb repeated the next day by four more. Other ascents of Ancaspillaca on the 7th and 10th brought the total of climbers to reach its top to eleven. Eleven climbers in all reached the two summits of Cara-Cruz (17,123 feet) on August 11, 12 and 13. Meanwhile Demenge, Gendre and Claude Eberhart had established camp at the foot of the Huayanay group. On August 13 they climbed Huayanay’s central summit (17,553 feet) and the next day Gendre and one other climbed the main summit (17,992) feet). That same day Huayanay Sur fell to Dubost, Delisle, Gillot, Sibuet and Chabrand only after a long and difficult struggle. An ascent of 16,568-foot Pucavinda was made solo on August 7. The other two members of the climbing party were Mlle S. Valentini and B. Denjoy.