South America, Peru, Cordillera Blanca, Churup, 496spa-mos

Publication Year: 2002.

Churup, 496spa-$mos. On October 2,I placed my tent at the upper Churup Lake and the next day broke trail to the base of the wall, where I left ropes, harness, and ice ax. On October 4 it took 1 hour and 30 minutes to return to the base, thanks to the trail I had opened. From the bottom of the face I climbed the obvious couloir to the right. This couloir comes to an obvious intersection. To the left, leading directly to the summit, is the Princesa Malinche route. To the right is Fear, a route up a mixed dihedral. I began by trending slightly to the right and then straightened my line and ended below a promontory to the right of the summit. From this point I took less than ten minutes to reach the summit. Descent was by the Fear route; the rappels are in place. (1 used two 60-meter ropes.) I found good ice conditions, the average slope being 70 to 80 degrees, with two sections of 85 degrees. Equipment left: one ice screw, one pin, four slings. The route is named 496spa-smos (V AI4,450m), on the southwest face of Churup (5493m).

Richard Hidalgo, Peru