A friend and I are heading down to Peru for five weeks this summer (late May to early July). I just got back from a weeklong trip to the White Mountains where I met a few people who had been to Huaraz/Cordillera Blanca in the past and got lots of good info with some mixed opinions. So, I am looking for some more detailed information.

We are both very experience Hikers having spent a month+ traveling across Colorado among other trips. We both have some rock and ice climbing experience and know rope management, anchors, etc...but have little experience lead climbing (Will hopefully be getting more if it ever gets cold enough for ice to form here in PA). So, at the moment we are debating going with a guide for none, some, or all of the trip. Reading Brad Johnson's guidebook indicates there are definitely peaks that are fairly simple walk-ups (Ishinca, Urus, Pisco, etc). Some others we have looked at are Yanapaccha and Chopi. How technical are these peaks? We would also like to get on some more technical peaks (Tocllaraju, Ranrapalca, Artesonraju, Huandoys etc.), but are not sure whether to go with a guide or attempt them ourselves. I would feel more secure with a guide, but at some point in my life I want to be free to go on my own and I guess it has to start somewhere. We'd both rather go it without a guide, but also want to make it home. Any suggestions?

We have looked into Skyline Adventure School, which it appears some others on here have also used. This past week, however, it was strongly suggested that we use local guides as they are very good and can be much cheaper (budget is very important as we are both students). What are the rates for local porters / guides / cooks and how easy (where) are they to obtain? Are the new Huascaran National Park restrictions (i.e. guide requirement) being enforced now?

Any other tips on Huaraz or climbs are appreciated.

I was in Peru last August, we attempted Alpine Loop in Cord. Huayhuash by ourselves and Artesonraju with a guide. In my opinion one of (if not the most) trustworthy guide agiencies you can find in Huaraz is “Casa De Guias”. Our guide name was Daniel Milla (danieljmll@hotmail.com), he proved himself as very proffessional guide. It is an amazing place, you'll have lots of fun. I am definitly going back.

dioid: If you don't mind me asking, how much did the guide cost you? Was the guide also the cook? Was this prearranged or did you just walk in to the Casa and leave with a guide?

If you plan on doing anything technical you should really go with a guide. If you have very little experience leading than you should not be attempting technical routes without the safety of a guide. Even if you were to gain some more experience on the sharp end before you go, learning multi-pitch climbing on serious mountains in the Cordillera Blanca is a very bad idea. I'd encourage you to go without a guide on the walk-ups but not on technical routes.

On the same note however, as long as you do have a guide, I'd definitely recommend doing a technical route or two because you'd learn a lot from such an experience. And taking a local guide will definitely be cheaper and the local guides in Huaraz are very good. Many have international certs. Also a way to cut down on cost is to hire a guide working his way through his certs. He will charge you much less and will be just as safe (usually).

Yeah, this was my general feeling. But I'm still looking for rate info / easiest way to arrange a local guide. I also don't want to hire a guide for a climb that I could do without. Anyone have an assesment of Yannapaccha or Chopi?

I would suggest that you try to climb some technical routes and then see how you feel about climbing on your own. Yannapaccha is an easy mountain but is seldom climbed these days because the glacier is retracting. Chopi is straightforward except for the summit section which a little bit technical. Be aware of Brad Johnson's pictures (some of them are old) so it gives you a different impresion of the mountain and route. If you need more information email me.

At some point there, we were contemplating between less technical climb (like Pisco or something else at that level) without a guide and something more challenging with a guide. When we decided that we wanted to try Artesonraju we went to Casa and asked if they have a guide for it. Because neither my partner nor I support in general the concept of having a guide we asked for minimum (it was like having more experienced friend in the party). With our food, gear and no porters it was 120$ a day, we paid for 4. It is pretty useful to be able to communicate in Spanish (if you start learning some now, by summer you'll know enough to get along). I think you can get everything done while there if you speak some Spanish. As I said we didn't plan to hire a guide and were completely self reliant. After our plan went not as planed, both because subjective and objective reasons, we turned to that option. All the logistics after we decided to hire a guide took us a day: in the morning we went to casa, the same afternoon the guide came to our hotel to go over gear list, next morning we were on our way.

I spent 2 1/2 months climbing in the C. Blance this summer. Although I did not hire a guide, I did get to know several of them.

I agree with the advice to check with the Casa de Guias. Although guides will be UIAA certified, they will be so only for mountaineering, different than the multi-discipline creds others would need. That said, they are all well trained and well qualified. You can just stop by and get this all done in an afternoon. No need to plan ahead and no need to book all at once... if you do hire someone, do so peak-by-peak, see how it goes and then plan for what ever is next. There are always guides available and ready to go. If you do not go with the
Casa de Guias, you can always check with them to make sure that your guide is certified.

True for most everything else around Huaraz, things are super easy to plan once down there and a ton more ecomonical. Plus, the locals know the area and the mountains better than anyone else.

You should be able to climb Urus, Ishinca, Vallranaju and Pisco without a guide so long as you feel comfortable with self arrest and glacier/rope travel. They are non-technical and can be solo-ed . Otherwise, a certified guide will cost you about $120 / day. An "aspirante" or "guide in training" will cost much less, anywhere from $75 - $90 per day depending on altitude and technical nature of the climb. The Casa de Guias can provide both types of service. Plus, you can dictate what you would like in terms of support, meaning you can get the full monty or pure basics.

As for Chopi as there are two walls to climb that require placing pro (ice screws), steeper ice sections (needing pickets) and some repelling. If you are not praticed in these areas I would recomment hiring a guide. Oh, watch out at morraine camp and getting water... probably the most dangerous part of the mountain due to rock fall.

Huascaran is non-technical although the garganta can be tricky. Ranapalca routes are mostly mixed and would not recommend them without a guide unless you have experience wtih this. Tollcaraju is straight forward although some exposed areas and a bergshung crossing near the summit. Artesonraju is a long day out with ~17-18 pitches. Quitanraju can get some serious snow with avalanche danger so make sure to check conditions. This can be climbed from Alpamayo base camp. Alpamayo normal route (ferrari) had a huge cornice above it and only the French Direct was in. The climb involves about 2 ice walls getting up to high camp and then ~8 70m pitches (2 snow, rest ice). There is some pro and V-threads on the wall (some questionable) but you will still need to cross the bergshung and place pro on the way up and down. Huandoys are subject to ice and rock fall.. north peak is mostly climbed but not as popular as others. I would recommend a guide given what I've read on this post so far.

Hope this info helps and have a great time.

dioid wrote:Because neither my partner nor I support in general the concept of having a guide we asked for minimum (it was like having more experienced friend in the party). With our food, gear and no porters it was 120$ a day, we paid for 4.

This is exactly what I was looking for. I have my own climbing gear/am accumulating, would rather cook for myself, and don't want to walk behind someone who is climbing the mountain...so the 'experienced friend' is exactly what we are looking for. This is far more economical than any pre-planned packages.

sdespins: Thanks for the brief route info. We'll be taking our time in acclimating, as we have five weeks down there, with some trekking and then progressing to some walk-ups before moving to technical climbing. I am competent with rope management, protection, etc. just not leading in the alpine environment. Living in central PA it's hard to get the experience necessary without taking a big trip.

A few other questions: Is it reasonably safe to leave items at a lower camp during summit day without a local 'cook/guard'? Also, will the hotels in Huaraz hold items while you are out climbing? Any accommodation recommendations for Huaraz? Thanks everyone for the info.

Is it reasonably safe to leave items at a lower camp during summit day without a local 'cook/guard'?

Generally speaking, No.

will the hotels in Huaraz hold items while you are out climbing?

Yes.

Any accommodation recommendations for Huaraz?

I liked Olaza's.

As for using guides; without appropriate experience I would generally do it. Many of the routes have crevasses and if you don't know how to deal with that you should have a guide. Also without a good bit of experience, you shouldn't consider Chopi or Yanapaccha without a guide. You probably should consider Artesonraju, Ranrapalca, and the Huandoys out of your league; I think all of them require considerable experience. A cook is a good idea (can also serve as camp guard); guides don't generally cook and they may expect you to provide a cook. When you've got a long day climbing, you don't really want to have to do the cooking too.

I agree with Buz, global warming has taken its toll on the cordillera blanca so there are many crevasses in Pisco and Yanna. Chopi and Arteson are too technical based on you experience. There are many underreported accidents in the cordillera blanca. You only hear of a few accidents every year but believe me there are many, many more.

We obviously wouldn't attempt something where we would be putting ourselves or others at unreasonable risk. As I said in the last post we will definitely hire local guides for harder climbs. The original intent of this post was to gather more info on local guides (rates, arrangements, etc), and I have got a lot of of useful information. I would definitely not consider myself a novice in extreme environments and mountain safety. The thing about 'experience' though is that you can't progress and get more without going beyond your current level. Perhaps my earlier posts were misleading. So it is with internet forums.

Buz suggested that the local guide might also require a cook, however it seems Dioid hired a guide without a cook. We are both pretty particular eaters and would prefer our own food. Was this hard to arrange, Dioid? Also, did you leave a camp set up when you were climbing since it seems you didn't have a cook?

What is a typical rate for a cook/guard? Sorry for all the questions, but as a student budget is the biggest concern here. Are there any other costs that come up?

Olaza's has been recommended to me several times. Is it necessary (or a good idea) to book in advance? If so, how far in advance?

MRoyer4 wrote:

I would definitely not consider myself a novice in extreme environments and mountain safety.

It's not just about extreme environments and mountain safety. Glaciers and crevasses requirte their own sort of experience. Steep ice experience is very beneficial; Yanapaccha has about 500 vertical feet of 50 to 60 degree ice.

The thing about 'experience' though is that you can't progress and get more without going beyond your current level.

Very true, but progress still takes time. Some of the mountains you mentioned, like Artesonraju, require considerable experience. It would probably be foolish to try it without a guide even if you were experienced, just ask the experienced SP member who tried that the summer before last -- Oh, wait; you can't; he fell in a crevasse and died on it.

Some of the better guides probably would require a cook; others might not if you make it clear to them that you (not they) will be doing the cooking. I believe cooks run about $50 a day.

I've always had my reservations made for me so I can't say how far in advance you would need one, but it's not a bad idea to make reservations well in advance. If it comes down to it, there are plenty of economical places to stay.

Just to be clear, I have climbing experience throughout the northeast, in the Rockies, the Appennines and the Alps. I am comfortable on WI4, as well as with crevasses and glaciers. My lack of experience comes in leading big alpine routes, as its not very easy without a big trip for me. My experience in the alps includes instruction in rock, ice, and glacier movement.

If I wasn't clear previously, we will be hiring a guide for climbs such as Arteson or Ranrapalca, etc.

The food question is funny for me now. My partner was really into saving weight, so during the climbs we had one ONE PERSON mountain house package for a day for both of us plus snacks and gu. Also we provided the food for the guide - he had his own package . We brought all the food we needed for climbs. This solution worked for us, but we were there relatively short time - only two weeks.

We did not had to leave our camp unattended cause there was another guy who was in the process of getting a guiding certification and wanted to know the approach (he was Daniel's friend), he accompanied us to the base camp and stayed there on the summit day. We didn't pay for it, actually Daniel even asked us if it was ok. We did not encounter any body above the lake during our climb, so I think it would be ok to leave the camp. I don't know if that could work for other, more frequently visited areas.