South America, Peru, Cordillera Blanca, Aloanaya, Southeast Face, and Quitaraju

Publication Year: 1980.

Alpamayo, Southeast Face, and Quitaraju. The Yugoslav Alpamayo Expedition reached Base Camp at 14,275 feet above the Quebrada Santa Cruz below Alpamayo on May 23. During the first week they recon- noitered the passes to the south and east and discovered the route to the southeast face of Alpamayo. On June 4 the sisters Marija and Barbara Percic, Alberto Callupe, Jože Hobic, Luka Karnicar, Matej Kranjc and Marjan Rucigaj set off up the north ridge of Alpamayo, reaching the summit early on June 5. Meanwhile Tomo Cesen, Matjaž Dolenc, Peter Markic and Žarko Trušnovec started up a new route, Alpamayo’s 2500- foot-high southeast face, which averages some 65° and has pitches of 80°. It was mixed ice and rotten rock, the major difficulties being in the upper part of the wall. They climbed for 15 hours on June 4 and bivouacked 150 feet below the top. Both groups met on the summit and descended the southwest face. On June 7 Pavle Oman, Milan Rebula and Drago Šegregur climbed the 1650-foot southwest face of Alpamayo by the Italian route in four hours. The north face of Quitaraju was climbed on June 6 by Oman, Rebula and Šegregur, on June 11 by Callupe, Horvat, Karnicar, Kranjc and Rucigaj, and on June 12 by Cesen and Marija Percic. Karnicar and Kranjc descended the face on skis. Callupe is Peruvian.

Franci Savenc, Planinska Zweza Slovenije, Yugoslavia