South America, Peru—Cordillera Blanca, Caraz III, South Face

Publication Year: 1988.

Caraz III, South Face. On June 28, Haroon Khesghi and I climbed the south face of Caraz III (5720 meters, 18,767 feet). We started in a couloir that runs up just to the right of the summit. The climb was similar in length and difficulty to the southwest-face direct route on Alpamayo, involving eight pitches of snow and ice at about 55°. Then there were the final two pitches to the ridge with sections of ice up to 90°. The ridge was a knife-edged horror complete with several large holes; therefore we did not climb the last traversing pitch to the actual summit. After eight scary rappels in the dark, we reached the glacier.

George Bell, Jr.