South America, Peru, Southern Peru, Cordillera Chila, Ampato, Hualca Hualca

Publication Year: 1973.

Cordillera Chila, Ampato, Hualca Hualca. A German expedition from Augsburg first visited the Cordillera Chila, which lies south of Chivay and north of Calloma. Expedition members were Engelbert Neumair, leader; Walter and Petra Siebert, Hubert Abele, Franz Leutgäb, Alfred Matt, Gerhard Patz, Helmut Steinherr and Hermann Warth. After considerable delays in getting baggage through customs, on May 19 they finally approached the range through Calloma and Chiayulla. Base Camp was set up on May 21 at 15,250 feet. They climbed nearly all of the peaks of the range. Minaspata (15°26' S, 71°52' W) was the peak the farthest west which they climbed. This group lies in a semi-circle which faces northeast; on the semi-circle: Minaspata (18,225 feet), P 5419 (17,779 feet), P 5430 (17,815 feet), Surihuiri (18,228 feet), P 5375 (17,635 feet) and P 5370 (17,618 feet). Abele and Matt climbed Minaspata on May 23 via the north-northeast ridge, Leutgäb and Patz on May 25 via the southeast slope before continuing along the ridge to P 5430, and Neumair and Steinherr on May 26 before continuing along the ridge to P 5419. Abele and both Sieberts climbed P 5430 by its east ridge on May 26. Matt and Warth climbed P 5370 and traversed over P 5375 to Surihuiri on May 25. Surihuiri was the only previously climbed peak in the range. Attached to this group and lying to the east is a five-mile-long ridge. The peaks from north to south are Ccacsata (18,094 feet), P 5405 (17,733 feet), P 5400 (17,717 feet), P 5380 (17,651 feet), P 5360 (17,586 feet), P 5350 (17,553 feet), P 5380 (17,651 feet), P 5440 (17,848 feet), P 5425 (17,796 feet), P 5410 (17,750 feet), Jatunpila (17,881 feet) and P 5430 (17,815 feet). Leutgäb and Warth climbed Ccacsata on May 23 via the northwest ridge, Abele and Neumair on May 24 via the northeast slope Abele and Matt on May 27 via the southwest slope, continuing on over P 5405 and onto P 5350 (17,553 feet), which lies east of P 5405 off the main ridge. On May 28 Siebert and Steinherr climbed Ccacsata’s east ridge. On June 3 and 4 Patz and Warth traversed the entire ridge from south to north. Just southeast of Ccacsata lie Culluncuya Oeste (17,553 feet), Central (17,618 feet) and Este (17,586 feet) and northeast lies Ticllasi (17,093 feet). Neumair and Patz climbed Culluncuya Central and Este on June 2 and Abele and Steinherr all four on June 5. Patz and Warth climbed on June 6 Inchurana (16,923 feet) and Andallullo (16,611 feet), northwest and north of Base Camp. Some three miles west of the Ccacsata-Jatunpila crest runs another ridge with the following peaks from north to south: P 5179 (16,992 feet), P 5241 (17,195 feet), P 5247 (17,215 feet), P 5325 (17,470 feet), P 5404 (17,730 feet), P 5398 (17,711 feet), P 5400 (17,717 feet), P 5373 (17,628 feet), P 5406 (17,737 feet), P 5438 (17,842 feet), P 5456 (17,902 feet), P 5452 (17,887 feet), P 5437 (17,838 feet), and P 5415 (17,766 feet). A ridge branches off southwest from P 5400 on which lies Teclla (17,159 feet), Anchaca (17,586 feet) and Mamacanca (17,323 feet). Leutgäb and Warth climbed P 5415 on May 26. Neumair, Leutgäb, Patz and Warth repeated the climb on May 28; Neumair returned from there but the other three traversed the ridge as far as P 5406. On May 29 Abele and Matt traversed the entire ridge from south to north. Leutgäb traversed from P 5420 to P 5179 on June 3. Patz and Steinherr climbed P 5247, P 5241 and P 5179 on May 23. On May 31 Steinherr and Neumair climbed Anchaca via its south ridge, traversed to Mamacanca, back to Teclla and north from P 5420 to P 5179. On June 1 Abele and Matt climbed the west peak of Mismi (18,143 feet). Leutgäb and Neumair repeated this climb on June 5 and continued on over Mismi Este (18,143 feet). (The latter was climbed by Dick Culbert in 1966.) They then moved operations to Ampato,* where Base Camp was at 14,750 feet and High Camp at 16,250 feet. On June 20 Neumair, Steinherr, Warth and Patz climbed to the summit (20,670 feet). On June 24 Patz and Warth climbed all three summits of the Hualca Hualca massif, the highest of which they gave as 19,587 feet. Neumair and Warth climbed Chachani (20,013 feet) on July 2. We are grateful to the expedition leader, Herr Neumair, for this information.

*There is no certainty that the Ghiglione party reached the summit of Ampato in 1950 (see Berge der Welt 1951, p. 193). In the book by Piero Ghiglione, Nelle Ande del Sud Peru (Milano, 1953, p. 103) Ghiglione only claims to have ascended “il punto sud”. In Mario Fantin’s book, Alpinismo italiano extraeuropeo (Bologna, 1967, p. 105) it is stated that Ghiglione’s ascent was a "… tentativo fino in prossimitá della vetta”, that is, attempt finished in proximity of the summit. Therefore, it is only fair to say that the 1972 party mentioned here made the first proven ascent of Ampato.—Evelio Echevarría.