kevin trieu wrote:Can you recommend a hostel or cheap place to stay?
Well, in Arequipa I´m staying in a midrange place, hostal La Casa de Melgar. A fine place, but between cheap and expensive.
kevin trieu wrote:Also, a reliable bus company and or driver to take us to the trailhead. Can you recommend logistics that allows us to do both without going back to Arequipa after each climb? We are experienced climbers with gear and only need a ride to and from the trailhead.
So far, I´ve just taken any bus that was going my way when I was on my own, or private transport when going guided. For mountains near Arequipa (Misti, Chachani), you best pop into the office of Carlos Zarate Adventures, or of Quechua Explorers, and they will both give you honest advice, and if you want to, they will arrange private transport.
However, Coropuna and Solimana are a long drive from Arequipa, so private transport from here will be quite expensive. I seriously looked into climbing these two, and it should be possible to get at least close to their respective trailheads by public bus, so from a cost perspective, that´s a viable option. Again, the two companies above can give you good advice on which bus to take and where, as well as how to combine the two without going back to Arequipa, because I agree that that would be silly.
kevin trieu wrote:Do you have any interest in climbing these two peaks?
Sure, but during my period here in the Arequipa area, nobody else showed up at the two companies mentioned above to express interest in these two, and to hire a guide all for myself for these two is a bit expensive. By the time you´ll be here, I expect to be somewhere in the wider Cusco area, and after that in the Cordillera Blanca.
kevin trieu wrote:I just read your Plan & Partners. We should exchange emails and see if our schedule match for climbs in Ecuador/Bolivia/Chile/Argentina. I'm also interested in Chimborazo. I'll also be attempting Huscaran Sur again as I only got to 19,000' on my last attempt.
I´ve sent you my email, so we can explore further possibilities.
Cheers, Rob