New restrictions in Cordillera Blanca
New restrictions in Cordillera Blanca

New restrictions in Cordillera Blanca

Page Type Page Type: Article
Activities Activities: Mountaineering

Next season we are in for a surprise if we do not act

New restrictions on Parque Nacional Huascaran

A new set of regulations for the Cordillera Blanca were published on the British Mountaineering Council Journal.
Below there are some of the most relevant regulations:

Article 7.1: Concerning the prohibition of "free entries" for the tourist activities which imply risk for the visitor: Entrance to the PNH for the practice of adventure tourism, rock/ice climbing or other forms of tourism which imply risk to the visitor shall be done through the use of tourist service providers, who are responsible for the safety and behaviour of the visitors during their stay inside the PNH, which cannot exceed thirty days.

Article 25: The Tourism and Recreation Use Plan classifies the mountains according to their degree of difficulty. This classification will be available to the public in the offices where entrance tickets to the PNH are sold. In the case of mountains designated ‘difficult’ due to circumstances of climatic variation, the guide may climb with only two people at a time. In any case it is the responsibility of the guide to ascertain the capacity of clients for this type of climbs.


We are still on time to make our voice heard. The new superintendent—
Lic. Luis Alfaro—is a very reasonable man. I already emailed him my concerns.
His email address is lalfaro@inrena.gob.pe . They are other people that is worth writing to, such as: The new chief of INRENA, Ing. Roberto Angeles Lazo rangeles@inrena.gob.pe; The chief of Parque Nacional Huascaran, Sr. Martin Salvador, mspoma14@yahoo.es. Another important person is Jim Bartle, he has written extensively about Cordillera Blanca and is the person that keeps contact with the Peruvian officials, his email address is jbarlte@terra.com.peAlso, Walter Lazo, who is the President of The Peruvian Federation of Andinismo and Winter Sports. His email address is fepadi@gmail.com

External Links

Article from the British mountaneering Council

Cordillera Blanca access threatened

Why we should care

Cordillera Blanca is one of those few places that high peaks and technical routes are readily accesible, until now. Not for nothing the best climbers come every year. Here we find routes that have not seen repetions in 10 or 20 years. In example, Renato Casarotto, the one who died on K2 in 1986, opened a line in Huascaran Norte in 1977. This line was repeated for the first time in 1998 by guys form the Czech republic. The new legislation does not allow for these type of climbs anymore.

The reason these restrictions are so out of whack is because they limit the acces to technical lines and funnel everybody to the normal routes on easy peaks. Thus, creating an ecological chaos. Parque Nacional Huascaran was created to preserve the environment and these restrictions do exactly the opposite. The people that crafted the new legislation were not thinking about this. Their concern was a financial one.

There are several reasons why this legislation does not make sense. First, ecologically if these restrictions get implemented environmental degradation would be increasing. Second, by being part of the UIAA they cannot force you to hire a guide becaue if they do that UIAA would drop them. Thirdly, this legislation would not benefit all the companies involved in guiding equally companies in Cordillera Blanca.

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Comments

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Viewing: 1-10 of 10
Scott Dusek

Scott Dusek - Oct 18, 2006 1:35 am - Voted 10/10

Questions

edited as changes were made.

ElCapitanKoolAid

ElCapitanKoolAid - Oct 18, 2006 5:20 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Questions

That's exactly it. You will need a guide, how is that? Thanks for the correction. I will expand it.

Scott Dusek

Scott Dusek - Oct 18, 2006 5:49 pm - Voted 10/10

Great article

thanks for expanding a little. upgrade vote to 10/10 I agree this should be posted as a featured article.

-Scotty

ElCapitanKoolAid

ElCapitanKoolAid - Oct 18, 2006 6:14 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: The Evolution of Big Mountain Expeditions

It is about what you point out, too. But, also from an ecological point of view the restrictions fly in the face of the purpose of the park. So, from a legal standpoint they are wrong and if they want these restrictions to fly they need to change lots of things.
Also, as I mentioned, to force you to hire a guide to climb goes against UIAA rules and they can get booted from the UIAA. And, this matters to Peru, unlike all the countries that you mention, because they have a guide school that's affiliated with the UIAA.

hanokem

hanokem - Jan 7, 2007 11:35 am - Voted 10/10

what more?

first of all, do you know when enforcement will start? the coming season?
what else is there to do other than mailing officials in peru?

ElCapitanKoolAid

ElCapitanKoolAid - Jan 7, 2007 11:02 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: what more?

Keeping in touch with the American Alpine Club would be useful, too.

MRoyer4

MRoyer4 - Oct 16, 2009 6:38 pm - Hasn't voted

Restrictions Changed

The UIAA has worked with the park administration to allow members of UIAA-affiliated clubs (AAC, BMC, etc) entrance into the park without a guide. You must have your ID card for your organization at the time you purchase your park pass (the AAC also provides a letter than can be printed from its website). While there is supposedly a 30-day advance registration requirement, I have never seen or heard of this being enforced (it’d be nearly impossible to obtain a pass if it was). In 2009, with my passport and AAC membership card, I had no problem getting the pass at the park office and no problems at any of the checkpoints.

MRoyer4

MRoyer4 - Jan 8, 2010 10:33 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Restrictions Changed

I haven't heard otherwise. Even if it did, there's always a way to work things out down there.

MashaSho

MashaSho - Sep 28, 2010 8:43 am - Hasn't voted

August 2010

Just came back. Nobody asked nothing, only entrance fee to the park (we arrived to BC Ishinca at Sunday, so window in entrance was closed, but in BC local person come to us and we payed there). nobody even ask what our plan is. Anyway we prepared copies of our NKBV cards, not used:)

Matt Lemke

Matt Lemke - May 3, 2017 12:20 am - Hasn't voted

This article is out of date

Only requirement as of 2017 is that you buy the park pass which costs 65 soles and good for 21 days (like an entrance fee). Also, have your alpine card from the alpine club in your home country, or you might be turned back at some of the popular trailheads if you don't have a guide. This enforcement is hit or miss though, and certainly non existent at the lesser known trailheads.

Viewing: 1-10 of 10

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