UKC

I'm toying with the idea of climbing in Peru on my way to Patagonia from California next Autumn.

Does anyone know if the weather is stable enough and warm enough to climb there in November time?

Interested in the Cordillera Blanca or Huayhuash, but open to suggestions.

Particularly interested in remote areas that are less frequently visited and have some unclimbed peaks/face.

Cheers,

Tom

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

I suggest you froze your brain on the Cassin, Tom. There is a reason people don't climb in the Blanca or Huayhuash in Nov - rain, snow, crapiness etc.

Why are you even contemplating this? Can you only fly to Lima? Not Santiago or BA? If you want some high-altitude new routes there are loads in the high Andes north and south of Aconcagua, a few hours out of Mendoza. November is an ideal time for the area, particularly snow and ice routes on peaks up to 6000m. Google for pics of 'plomo de olivares' and other peaks east of Santiago. Couloirs in the Cordon del Plata 2hrs from Mendoza. The Cordillera Ansilta west of San Juan.

If you were absolutely set on climbing in Peru in November, maybe look at the desert peaks like Solimana etc. Then go to Argentina anyway.

In reply to Damo:


I was only wondering... the climbing season section in my Blanca guide is pretty vague.

Cheers for the Aconcagua suggestions I will have a google.

Can you only fly to Lima? Not Santiago or BA? If you want some high-altitude new routes there are loads in the high Andes north and south of Aconcagua, a few hours out of Mendoza. November is an ideal time for the area, particularly snow and ice routes on peaks up to 6000m. Google for pics of 'plomo de olivares' and other peaks east of Santiago. Couloirs in the Cordon del Plata 2hrs from Mendoza. The Cordillera Ansilta west of San Juan.
Cheers for the info.

In reply to Damo: Do reckon it would be more productive to go straight to El Chalten?

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Productive? No, unless this summer is anything like last summer, which was once-a-century stuff in terms of no rainfall. I've not climbed around Chalten, but the more time you have the better, in general. Climbing trips there have rarely been 'productive', by historical average

I thought maybe you were trying to combine two types of climbing in one trip - steep tech stuff in Patagonia and higher remote stuff elsewhere. For the high Andes, if time and money are short then the couloirs of the Plata are worth a look - there's a good page on Summitpost I think.

If you have more time then the west face of Mercedario or the south face of Ramada etc might be worth a look, from Argentina, two days walk-in. From Chile, there are some great looking lower but steeper peaks south of Tupungato, in the Rio Olivares, Maipu area etc. Can be done in a few days from Santiago.

Or you could go down to Bariloche and get some granite cracks in before hitting Patagonia, or Arenales, closer to Mendoza.

In reply to Damo:

That is sort of the vague plan/idea.

Leave the UK at the end of August. Climb in California until the end of October... Then spend a week traveling to a new climbing area somewhere in S America. Spend 3 weeks climbing there before spending another week getting sorted and traveling to El Chalten and staying there until early January.

Saying that I'd be perfectly happy to head straight for El Chalten. Spending two months in Patagonia shouldn't be too much of a chore...

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:
Spending two months in Patagonia shouldn't be too much of a chore...

You clearly havn't been yet!
Don't let me put you off though - time buys luck there.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Have you? Any tips?


There is supposed to be great bouldering and sport climbing surrounding El Chalten. All the photos show great weather...

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Go! It's an unbelievably amazing place.
But just be prepared to wait and wait for a weather window (though you might be lucky!). I think the stressful thing about it is that, unlike in the Alps, say, you can't really just relax and take rest days - if the sky suddenly clears, you just have to go for it because the sky might not clear again.


Would you be using up your one day of good weather in a month bouldering or clipping bolts?

In reply to Robert Durran:

How long ago did you go and what did you get done?


I thought the weather was generally quite good in the valley, but always shit in the Mountains?

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Eight years ago. Attempted a few things but the wind and icy cracks from all the bad weather defeated us. the day after I went home there was a long spell of great weather..... Despite the bad weather there is something really compelling about the place, which is presumably why people keep going back. I would if I had the time.


Actually you have a point. When I was there the weather was often fine and all the trekkers in the valleys were very happy, but most of the time, even when the sky was clear, the wind made climbing almost impossible. I don't know how typical this is though. Others will know better than me.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Actually Tom it will depend what you want to do in Patagonia, what kind of routes. Normally the ice routes (Exocet, Ragni, Supercouloir) come into nick in October, rock routes (Franco-Arg, Casarotto) better in January. But the last couple of summers have had long spells of relatively good weather, last summer in particular, and apparently they had a very dry winter this year, looking down the barrel of another dry summer. So things change.

Three weeks somewhere else is really not much, for routes over 5000m elsewhere, so those weeks are probably better buying you some luck around Chalten. Rolo's new guide is out in book format now, so you should track down a copy and decide what you want.

And this guy knows more than any of us: http://colinhaley.blogspot.com.au/2012_12_01_archive.html

In reply to Damo:
I think I might just head down at the start of Nov.

Any idea the best way to book a 3 stop flight? UK - San Fran. San Fran - BA. BA - UK.

Yea I spent a lot of time pestering him for Beta at 14k.