After an aborted attempt on a west-east traverse of the Picacho Kasiri summits with Juan Gabriel Estellano in 2020 (AAJ 2021), I returned on July 9, 2021, with Marcelo Gomez to attempt the traverse in the opposite direction. As the two main summits are located on the eastern side of the range, the views down to the cloud-covered Amazon basin and up toward the glacier-covered Huayna Potosi and Tiquimani are spectacular. 

We hiked 1.5 hours from the road to reach the base of the east ridge and started up it at 8:30 a.m., simul-climbing on gradually more difficult terrain. We enjoyed a final 200m steep ridge to reach Picacho Kasiri East (5,181m). We then had to cross two additional lower summits, where we had to rappel twice, before continuing up the ridge to Picacho Kasiri West (5,172m). 

The crux was the start of the descent of the west ridge of Picacho Kasiri West, as we decided to downclimb a 60m pitch (probably UIAA V). Then, after watching three adult condors soar close to the summit, we made a 50m rappel to reach easier terrain. We arrived at the lake between Picacho Kasiri and Pucusani at dusk, after 10.5 hours of climbing with only a few breaks. Even though the rock wasn’t always good, the steeper sections offered fine climbing, and the whole undertaking proved to be a beautiful, fun, and diverse adventure.

— Alexander von Ungern, Andean Ascents, Bolivia