UKC

Hi All,
Looks like im going to have about 4-7ish weeks free in mid august on wards next year and I'm considering dabbling in my first bit of expedition climbing. Looking at technical stuff around the 6000 meter mark and there's plenty of amazing looking stuff that fits the bill in the Cordillera Huayhuash.

So is it possible to ;

A. get decent Ice and mixed conditions/ weather at that time of year? and

B. would 5 weeks be enough time for an objective such as i mentioned above?


Cheers.

( I have a feeling this may be exactly the wrong time of year in the southern hemisphere, but worth a punt eh?)

In reply to Ginger McGrath:

I think that the weather might break towards the end of your seven weeks but that early on you should be good to go; it is definitely not the worst time of year - just late in the season

In reply to Ginger McGrath:

August and early Sept should be ok but it starts to deteriorate as September progresses. If you can hang on booking flights long enough it would be worthwhile waiting to see if its an El Nino year as that tends to play havoc with the weather. I think you normally know by early new year but it would be worth doing a bit of research on it.

In reply to pec:


I think this should be the main overriding factor in whether to go to the Peruvian or Bolivian Andes in any year. It can ruin a whole season.

They called an El Nino for this year, but a fairly late one - not hitting until July or so. But I don't know that it really eventuated. It causes havoc here in Australia too - severe drought conditions, as in California - so everyone watches it here. It seems it might only be starting up now, so it could be over by next Andean season.

You really need to check with someone in-country to see how much snow is/has fallen around March-April or so, which will give an indication of snow/ice coverage on the mountains. A dry rainy season (as in a La Nina) followed by a dry summer means everything is bare and falling apart for climbing. A bad El Nino means too much snowfall and rain during the season. You can always get something done, but it's far from ideal.

People usually climb earlier in the season in the Huayhuash, like late May to early July, but it's always a gamble.

In reply to Ginger McGrath:

I've been to the Huaywash in mid August, although a while ago (2007), you can get an idea of what conditions were like here: vimeo.com/15435994

we had quite good weather then, although it was actually better later in the month in the Cordileera Blanca. In the Huaywash we did experience high winds and minor storms at times, but enough good weather to get stuff done.

As others have mentioned, earlier will usually be better for snow and ice coverage, and I suspect ice cove be less extensive than in 2007, when conditions were already more difficult than in the (then new) guidebook. Again El Nino or La Nina is an important consideration.

In reply to everyone:

Cheers all, some good food for thought.

In reply to Ginger McGrath:

As many others have said its nearing the end of the season. The weather was bizzarely reliable when i was there. It was always sunny and clear until midafternoon and then the clouds would roll in and it would start to rain. It did this everyday for a month!