Climbs in the Cordillera Blanca. Each year there is more climbing in the Cordillera Blanca. The first expedition in 1987 was composed of Colombians Fernando Pizzaro and Daniel Herrera, who climbed Tocllaraju on April 26. A few new routes were made. Italians Marco Schenone, Guido Ghigo and Enrico Tessera made the first ascent of the delicate mixed southeast face of Vallunaraju Sur on August 8. Slovenes (Yugoslavs) Marjan Freser, Milan Romih and Danilo Tic, climbed a difficult new route on the north face of Huandoy Norte; it ascends for 1445 meters up the great dihedral to the left of the big rock wall. Spaniards Chema Polanco, Manolo Oliviera, Eduardo de la Cal and Alejandro Madrid climbed a new route on the Torre de Parón (Sphinx), the south face (860 meters). Notable ascents included a repeat of the Australian 1985 route on the south face direct of Chacraraju Este. On July 25 Englishman Mick Dovie and Belgian Lars Vanhaelewyer and on July 30 New Zealander Brian Alder solo all were able to exit from the face directly over the cornice onto the summit; the Australians had had to traverse toward the east face and then climb to the summit from there. On July 26, Spanish Basques Pedro Sanchez, Francisco José Ruiz and Joan Cortejo repeated the Barrard route on the east face of Huascarán Norte. Caraz I was climbed by Yugoslavs Franc Canžek and Ivanic Iztok on June 5, by Drago Praprotnik and Miha Uršic on June 6, and by Anton Pavlic, Andrej Grudnik, Erjavec Bošjan, Zdenko Cigljar, Miha Šorgelj and Victor Hribar on June 10. The west ridge of Huascarán Sur was climbed by members of the same group: Milan Jolic and Dušan Habolin on June 21, and by Praprotnik, Hribar, Uršic and Zdenko Zoric on June 23. Some of the expeditions climbed with incredible speed. On May 15, Swiss Jean-CLaude Tondre and Pierre Dafflon climbed Pisco in 2½ hours and descended in an hour, Base Camp to summit and back. On May 22, they climbed the north face of Quitaraju in three hours and descended in 1½ hours. On May 23, they ascended the southwest-face (Ferrari) route of Alpamayo round trip in 3¾ hours. On May 30, it was Artesonraju’s south face in three hours up and down. On June 7, joined by German Manfred Mehl, they took seven hours to climb Chopicalqui from the moraine camp and back again. The same three climbed Huascarán Sur in three hours from the Garganta and descended to there in 1½ hours. Italian Fabrizio Manoni on the southwest-face (French direct) route of Alpamayo in three hours and on July 15 the south face of Ocshapalca in 4½ hours. On June 3, Gladiz Diaz and I climbed Vallunaraju Norte in a single day from Huaraz. There were innumerable other ascents in the Cordillera Blanca, at least the number noted on the following: Alpamayo (15, mostly on the southwest face routes), Artesonraju (11), Tocllaraju (8), Huascarán Sur (6), Chopicalqui (6), Quitaraju (5), Pisco (4), Ranrapalca (4).

Walter Silverio, Asociación de Guías de Montaña del Perú