The shiny shield on Huascarán Sur

There is a popular but difficult route on Huascarán Sur that follows this massive ice field. Normally, the route starts on the far left, but if you look closely, you'll see that there is no easy access at the bottom. Going to the right instead would mean exposure to a couple of seracs hanging above it. That leaves the longest and hardest option: the middle. I heard of a couple of climbers that had tried the route in 2011, only to find the ice so hard that they could hardly get their screws in it, so they bailed after a couple of meters! We were not even going to try it. Our goal was to climb both Huascarán Norte and Sur, but we would be happy to take the normal route. 9 July 2011.