Ishinica Valley Expedition

The Ishinca Valley is located just outside of Huaraz, and is an excellent location to climb a variety of peaks. This trip will ascend a variety of climbs that are great for beginning high altitude climbers wanting to gain high altitude climbing experience. the short approach provides for amaximum amount of time to acclimate and learn galcier, snow and ice climbing skills.

Our main objective will be to gain high altitude climbing experience, alpine snow and ice climbing experience, and glacier travel and crevasse rescue skills. We will attempt 2 - 3 summits on this trip, the highest being Tocllaraju (19,790 ft.). This trip is a great precursor to climbing higher peaks in the range such as Huascaran, Chopiqualqui, or Alpamayo.

Once we arrive in Lima, we travel by bus to Huaraz (9,880 ft.), at the very foot of the Cordillera Blanca. We'll spend two full days here, adjusting to the altitude, exploring the city of Huaraz, and hiking around some of the surrounding foothills. Our training will begin on the Pastoriri Glacier, a short drive from Huaraz. Here, you'll be introduced to the topics of glacier travel and crevasse rescue, as well as modern snow and ice climbing techniques.

We begin the climbing portion of our expedition with a short drive to our trailhead for the Ishinca Valley. We will load our equipment onto burros and make our approach to base camp. We gain a lot of altitude quickly as we enter this magnificent valley, then the hike levels off as we near our camp. The site of our base camp is at the head of the valley and is surrounded by the stunning high peaks of Ranraplaca (20,217 ft.), Palcaraju (20,046 ft.) and Tocllaraju (19,790 ft.). There are also scores of lesser peaks that make great training climbs.

The culmination of the trip will be a climb of Tocllaraju (19,790 ft.) via the Northwest Ridge, but we will also climb Ishinca (18,143 ft.) and Urus (17,979 ft.) in preparation. The routes on Ishinca and Urus are generally characterized by moderate slope angles and interesting glacier travel. The climb of Urus has less glacier travel than Ishinca or Tocllaraju and serves as a great warmup to these climbs.

After our ascents we will descend back down to Huaraz, and ultimately back to Lima and the U.S. For those that are staying to do more climbing, this trip is perfect for training and acclimatization for Southwest Adventures Guides' Huascaran Expedition.

Trip Highlights

• 14 day itinerary maximizes acclimatization and chance for success
• Bi-lingual guides ensure your trip runs smoothly
• Most favorable client-to-guide ratio in the industry
• Visit cultural sites around Huaraz
• Climb Tocllaraju, a 6000 meter peak
• Satellite phone access and pulse oximeters on all trips

Additional Information

Included in cost: An AMGA trained Alpine Guide, all ground transportation, hotels, tents, and food while on the mountain. All group climbing and camping equipment.

Not included in cost: Food and drinks in towns, personal climbing and camping equipment, and international air fare, costs of a personal nature, extra hotels or transportation due to illness, injury, or early return.

Prerequisites: Participants should have prior, basic mountaineering experience. They should be comfortable with self arrest, and walking in crampons. If you do not possess these skills, or need review, we recommend doing a skills course with us in Colorado prior to your Peru trip.

Registration and Cancellation: You will need to fill out an International Expedition Application, cancellation policy agreement, and liability waiver, and send it to us with a 50% deposit 60 days before the trip date. Balance is due 30 days prior to trip departure date. Please click on our Registration/Travel link to access the required forms.