Matt Wells of Hailey, Idaho and I did an earlier ascent of the direct route up the West Face of Husacaran in July of 1977. At the time, we felt is was the first but who knows? Ice tools at the time were not as advanced as they are now. We were unable to get any of our Salewa ice pins or screws in due to the extreme hardness of the ice. We effectively freed the whole route albeit we were roped together the whole way up which in retrospect may not have been wise. It was a very challenging route mentally and physically, it turned out to be my last climb. Matt however and much to his credit continues to climb in South America.
Dan Manning
Manning - Jan 10, 2009 12:04 am - Hasn't voted
Earlier AscentMatt Wells of Hailey, Idaho and I did an earlier ascent of the direct route up the West Face of Husacaran in July of 1977. At the time, we felt is was the first but who knows? Ice tools at the time were not as advanced as they are now. We were unable to get any of our Salewa ice pins or screws in due to the extreme hardness of the ice. We effectively freed the whole route albeit we were roped together the whole way up which in retrospect may not have been wise. It was a very challenging route mentally and physically, it turned out to be my last climb. Matt however and much to his credit continues to climb in South America.
Dan Manning