Ausangate Circuit (part 1) |
Getting there
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Patchwork work of agricultural plots in the Vilcanota Valley |
Old colonial bridge over the River Pinchimuro Mayo with Ausangate in the background |
Local market - Tinqui |
Peruvian cowboy on the way home |
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The adobe huts and stone walls at our campsite near Huarmisaya |
Mountain caracara |
The mobile craftshop arrives at the tent door |
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We were woken by bright sunlight shining into our tent. It had been a cold night but the morning sun was warm and we enjoyed our first trek breakfast outside with the impressive backdrop of a sunlit Ausangate. While we were eating, our arriero, Silverio, arrived with his daughter, Lydia, and three packhorses to load up our gear. |
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Small group of farmhouses on the plateau north of Ausangate |
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Alpacas scattered on the marshy flats |
The track following one of many water canals |
Crossing the rolling grassy hills |
Stream flowing through the boggy flats |
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Ausangate dogs behaving badly |
Alpaca - proud to be a "rasta" |
Heading towards the glacier on the north-west face of Ausangate ... |
.... under the curious gaze of the locals |
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The thatch-roofed huts of Upis |
Time to soak feet in a hot spring |
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The track took us past some curious llareta wetlands, the bright green of the cushion plants divided by channels of orange-tinted water, an interesting contrast to the clumps of stumpy white-spined cactus growing amongst the rocks on the slopes next to them. Leaving the wetlands, we headed closer to the base of the glacier clinging to the northwest face of Ausangate, its surface buckled under the immense pressure of the ice above. |
Channels in the llareta |
Stumpy high altitude cacti |
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6110m Nevado Collaque Cruz |
Nearing the top of the Arapu Pass |
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Time to chew a few coca leaves on top of the 4760m Arapu Pass |
Apacheta-lined Arapu Pass and the barren polychrome hills of Nevado Queullacocha |
Hanging glaciers high above |
A long traverse above 4700m on the barren ... |
... and eroded sandy hills to the west of Arapu Pass |
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Starting the descent on the wild side of Ausangate |
The brilliant colour and folding of Cerro Ausangate Apacheta |
Laguna Yanacocha and the jagged profile of Nevado Sorimani |
View westward towards Sorimani |
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A cluster of tarns high above the turquoise water of Uchuy Pucacocha |
Campsite in the llama corral at Q'ollapampa |
Nearby a group of vizcachas sported in the rocky outcrops surrounding a small wetland and we relaxed by watching their antics and wandering a short way up the valley to get a closer look at the turquoise waters of Uchuy Pucacocha, set in a bowl beneath an impressive icefall. |
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The icefall above Laguna Uchuy Pucacocha |
Western face of the Ausangate Massif with 5800m Señal Nevado Ausangate Extremo on the right |
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Q'ollapampa to Finaya (14km - 790m ascent - 870m descent) |
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Mist ready to overflow the valley |
Waterfall between the upper and lower lakes |
Heading towards the needle of Sorimani |
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Alpacas grazing in the morning mist |
Mists rising from Uchuy Pucacocha beneath 5800m Extremo Ausangate |
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Nello and Yamil on Pucapunta Pass dwarfed by the maroon ridge of Zanja Punta |
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Alpaca-herder weaving a very long scarf |
Even the horses were tired at the thought of climbing Palomani Pass |
Line of alpacas returning home |
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Alpacas grazing on the slopes near Pucapunta Pass |
The polychrome mountains of Cerro Ausangate Apacheta |
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Seracs at the face of a glacier above Ausangatecocha |
Final stages of the climb up to 5120m Palomani Pass |
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We did not stay long as a cold wind whipped across the pass and the clouds had been building up during our ascent. Once over the other side, a whole new world opened up; new glaciers, new peaks and new valleys. The descent was rapid, first down the barren upper slopes, before cushion plants, mountain daisies and low cacti began to appear and finally eroded pastures and well-trodden tracks - we were back in alpaca country! From a ridge we looked down on the stone building of Ausangate Base Camp, used by mountaineers and ice climbers, before heading off towards the south-east.
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5808m Nevado Santa Catalina and its glacier |
Green ice at the face of glacier |
Colours of the south-eastern side of the Ausangate massif |
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Panorama of the southern faces of Nevados Ausangate (6372m) and Santa Catalina (5808m) |
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