July and August saw the first stage of the Mujer Montaña and French Mountaineering Federation’s High Mountain Women Group project. On August 1, two of the participants, Susana Rodriguez (Venezuela) and Denys Sanjines (Bolivia), made the first ascent of a small, unnamed rock tower in the Araca region of the northern Quimsa Cruz. This small summit is known to climbers by its characteristic square top, and is situated to the northeast of Laguna Chillliwani (16°49'50.97"S, 67°30'58.05"W). It is one of many tops here that reach around 5,000m on the long ridge that runs south, and finally southwest, from Mama Okllo. The best approach is to ascend the valley that rises northeast from Chilliwani Lake; the summit is one of the first on the right.

The two women climbed the tower in three pitches. The first (35m, 5.9) follows a slanting crack/ramp left of a wall. The crack is dirty, a bit crumbly, and there is a delicate step on an exposed slab near the top. The second (50m, 5.10a) has a difficult move to change from one wall to another, about 1m apart. The third and crux pitch (40m, 5.10b) begins with a poorly protected 10m slab, then a wide diagonal crack (very large cams useful), and finally a vertical crack with a dirty left wall. They rappelled from the top, then moved south along the ridge until a faint path led north-northeast and then down into the valley. The route was named La Changa (120m, 5.10b).

Information supplied by Denys Sanjines, Bolivia