South America, Peru, Cordillera Blanca, Climbs in the Cordillera Blanca

Publication Year: 1976.

Climbs in the Cordillera Blanca. Our party consisted of Ernest and Richard Hildner, Ernest Kuncl, and me. During a brief trip into Quebrada Ishinca we ascended two peaks, Ishinca (18,143 feet) on July 20, and Urus Este (18,012 feet) on July 23. A subsequent attempt on Huascarán by the Hildners and E. Kuncl was abandoned just short of the Garganta in order to render emergency medical treatment and evacuate two injured members of a Japanese women’s expedition. On August 1 Burl Mostul, Alberto Miori, Steve Belk, and I reached the summit of Vallunaraju (18,655 feet), starting from Laguna Llaca. Although excellent weather prevailed for all of our climbs, snow on south slopes was frequently knee to hip deep, the result of unseasonal snowfall during early July.

Thomas Bowen, California State University, Fresno