Caullaraju Group and Santa Cruz, South Face and Southwest Ridge. Our expedition from the Tegernsee Section of the DAV was in the Cordillera Blanca from July 18 to September 14. We were Sepp and Hans Gloggner, Fritz Niedermaier, Alfred Müller, Walter Janner and I as leader. We first climbed in the Callaraju group in the southern part of the range. We had Base Camp at 15,750 feet in the Quebrada Huicsu, from which we made the following day climbs: Queñuaracra (17,562 feet) via north face on July 25 by S. Gloggner, July 27 by Müller, P. Gloggner and July 29 by Janner, S. Gloggner (scree and then 40° snow slopes); Condorjitanca (17,690 feet) via southwest ridge on July 27 by H. and S. Gloggner, Niedermaier and July 28 by Müller, P. Gloggner (rotten rock to three rope-lengths of 50° ice to reach the summit ridge); Condorjitanca Chico (17,585 feet) via south-north traverse on July 28 by Müller, P. Gloggner (traversed from main Condorjitanca); Callaraju (18,656 feet) via northeast ridge on July 30 by S., H., and P. Gloggner (Nieves penitentes on the northeast face kept us on the rock ridge); Brasil (18,491 feet) via northeast ridge on July 31 by Janner, H. Gloggner (scree slopes to the long, flat summit ridge); Huicsu (17,838 feet) via west face on July 31 by Niedermaier, Müller, S. and P. Gloggner (a glacier walk gradually steepening to 40°), The expedition’s main objective was the untouched south side of Santa Cruz (20,476 feet). We approached from Cashapampa through the Quebrada Santa Cruz to the Quebrada Paccharuri. It took 1½ days to reach Base Camp at 14,400 feet in alpine meadows. The approach to the foot of the face was by a wildly contorted glacier. We did two routes: 1. The southwest ridge from August 10 to 12 by S. and P. Gloggner and Niedermaier. We bivouacked at the foot of the wall at 17,725 feet. The next bivouac was at the only possible spot at 20,000 feet. We climbed the southwest face for 1000 feet, 55° to 60° ice with one rotten rock band, to reach the southwest ridge at 18,700 feet. We then followed this 40° ridge to the summit. 2. The south face from August 11 to 14 by H. Gloggner, Janner and Müller. They bivouacked at the foot of the wall, again sitting above the ice bulge in the upper third of the wall and finally on the summit. The lower part of the wall was 50°. The greatest problems were in the steep upper third of the wall, which can be climbed in the fall-line. The most difficult spot was a 15-foot section of vertical ice at 19,000 feet. From there it went at 60° to the summit. Both groups took a day to descend the southwest ridge.

Peter Gloggner, Deutscher Alpenverein