Hi,

we're a 4 people party going to Peru this summer. we've already done a lot of research, and will probably spend some weeks on Huaraz and do some of the great peaks. I cannot find much information on how much a guide will set us back though - anyone know more about daily fees or how much they charge for the following mountains?

- Alpmayo
- Artesonraju
- Huascaran

we've decided to go with one guide, alpine-style, with as few porters (hopefully none), and would therefore only need 1 guide to help us with route-finding etc. what does this normally cost? is there a daily fee like in the Alps or do they have one fixed price for the whole number of days we spend on each mountain? is there a common consensus between the guides in the area, or do they all charge whatever they want?
I reckon there is probably best to wait until we get there to find one, and since we'll probably chose our next mountain depending on how we feel on the first and second one. in any case we won't fix a schedule before going. maybe only the first mountain.

Alex.

A few years ago I had heard that the going rate was about $100 (U.S.) a day. If you are not going to have porters carry the gear and you are not going to hire a cook, they might charge more figuring that they'll have to do more work.

Hey Alex - what time are you folks going? Planning on heading out to Huaraz myself....

hi .
i did almost the same thing as far as guide services.
first you need to go to casa de guias in town to get information about the mountains best place, also thay will tell you which agencies around town are trust worthy.
for example a freind of mine found this really cheap agencys that supplyed him with a guide a donkey+donkey driver, (which i reccomend if youre planing to go up alpamayo and huascaran) it turned out that his "guide" was actually a cook the went up to high camps on various occasions with large party expaditions.
go around town ask for a combined deal for all the summits you wish to climb the more you do the lower the price per mountain ask to meet youre guide prior embarking to see if his the real thing and thats aobut it.

let me just add that you should try and squeez in a a easy 5000-6000m climb like piso for a good acclimatzation and you can sort all of you logistical needs wih the agancy food transport donkey park passes etc..
hope this helped
have fun.

It helps to negociate when you are there, and it will depend a lot on how many people want to climb at that time. Just to give you an idea, for 6-7 days of ascending Yannapaccha and Chopicalqui with a guide, food, most of the gear and transport to/from Huaraz, but no porters, I believe I paid 450$ (US), but this was quite early in the season.

hey guys, thanks a lot for all the answers, appreciate it!

we're heading out in the end of july, around the 20th and staying until the 7th of August. I might stay longer up north, but some in my party are heading down to Arequipa for the The VIII World Congress on High Altitude Medicine and Physiology. I might go with them, or I might stay if I feel something is undone, but I hear there are quite some challenging mountains down in the South region of Peru aswell. Any suggestions in that region?

Alex.

From my experience on Artesonjaru and Huscaran Sur, the route finding wasn't too bad using the Brad Johnson book. It has good descriptions and pictures. Plus these are popular peaks with good amount of guided parties so if you are lucky you can follow their tracks. You have to pay a fee going into the trailhead of Artesonjaru in addition to your park pass. Plus don't be discouraged by the large number of memorials on the trail to Artesonjaru moraine camp.

Look at the post below this. There's a page here on SP on all the logistics of climbing in Huaraz.

Sounds good. We're more than willing to take on the challenge on going on our own, and I will definitely check out the book regarding route-finding etc.

Appreciate it!

Alex.

Be aware that when you're in Huaraz, just about everyone will try to sell you a trip with the 'best guide service in town'. You may meet some random person on the street who seems like they are just trying to help you out, but they are probably trying to get a commission by referring you to a service. There are tons of agencies, and guides work for multiple agencies. I wouldn't necessarily just go with the first thing that looks good. Be sure to know EXACTLY what is included in the price (transport, food, porters, # days, fees, etc), how many people are going, who is your guide, etc.

Skyline Adventure School is a top-notch outfit and they will customize any trip you want. They aren't the bargain basement of Huaraz guides. If you're sole criteria is a cheap service, you have lots of options. If you want great, friendly people with top-notch service, look into Skyline. There are several on SP who have used them. If you don't want a guide, they can also arrange logistics, as can (I think) some others .

Oh yeah, and the page Kevin was referring to was this one: http://www.summitpost.org/logistical-ce ... -peru.html If any other Huaraz veterans have anything to add to that page, let me know. It'd be good to have a diversity of opinion.

If you want top notch service then I will also recommend Skyline. They aren't the cheapest, but you do get what you pay for. I will also recommend their maps. I took a look at them back in the spring when I climbed with Skyline and the maps are pretty sweet. Skyline also brews some of the best beer in town
http://www.skyline-adventures.com/maps.asp

Or you can also contact Chris Benway at Cafe Andino for logistical support.
http://www.cafeandino.com/

Other than that check out the Huaraz page here on SP. It's full of excellent information.

I´ve been living in Huaraz since January, and have used the same guide for 2 climbs. He´s a friend of a friend and gives me a discount. But he says normaly a guide is 85 bucks a day per person. There is an agency called Galaxia that charges 85 per personper day including transport, gear, mules, food but I haven´t used them yet. The entrance fee to the park is 65 soles for the month, wich is 25 bucks.