Peaks in Las Cuevas Valley. During a folklore-collection trip along the valley of Las Cuevas in the hinterland of Mendoza, I managed several climbs. I entered the hitherto unexplored lateral valleys of Los Gemelos (south of the international highway to Chile) and Los Chorrillos (north of the village of Las Cuevas). In the former, on December 24 I made the first ascent of Cerro Negro (4432 meters, 14,500 feet). Since there are so many Andean peaks of the same name, I rechristened it Cerro Negro del Inca, being close to Puente del Inca. On December 30,I also made the first ascent of a 4200-meter ( 13,780-foot) peak on the north rim of the Chorrillos valley. I suggest it be called Cerro Peñas Colorados (Red Crags). I also explored access to border peaks P 4596 and P 4764. Bad rock prevented my reaching higher than 4000 meters on both.

Evelio EchevarrÍa