August edition 2017 Huaraz Telegraph by The Huaraz Telegraph

THE HUARAZ TELEGRAPH

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August 2017

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Hotel Colomba´s history

¨The lack of fresh water will also affect tourism in Huaraz in the future¨

page 20

page 18

Luis Antonio Maguiña Valenzuela (photo), is the great-grandson of Mr. Carlos Maguiña Herrera and is the current owner and administrator of Hotel Colomba. The Huaraz Telegraph dug into the history of the soft drinks and syrups company El Fénix, as well as the Huascarán Brewery which, all form part of Hotel Colomba´s past and present.

Girl power in the mountains

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Yvonne Antonieta Mejía Romero, locally and in the Peruvian mountaineering world better known as ´Tana´ Mejía stands for girl power in the mountains. In 1979 she became the first ever Peruvian woman to set foot on the Huascarán and conquered numerous mountains in the Himalayas, Alps, Andes and the United States.Tana caused a shock in Huaraz´s Jr. San Martin 1213 Huaraz mountaineering world between 1988 and 1989 when she became the first president of the Technical High Mountain Commission. In the 80s, she founded the Regional Association of Practical Tourism Guides and was also president of the Club Andinismo Cordillera Blanca in Huaraz. Additionally, she has led and participated in multiple international conferences and seminars all around the world. We interviewed Tana Mejía and got to know a Pizzaría lot more on female mountaineering in the Av. Centenario 351 - Independencia 80s, her point of view on the city and the real reason of returning to Huaraz. Tel: 221542 or 943627749

Our editor had an interesting conversation with César Portocarrero Rodríguez who shared his point of view on the importance of water in the 21st century, the possible threat of Laguna Palcacocha and his great friendship with the American paleoclimatologist and distinguished university professor at the School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University, Dr Lonnie G. Thompson.

The Editorial

The Huaraz Telegraph freely available! The Huaraz Telegraph is available for free at the following hostels and hotels in Huaraz. We do not recommend any hostel in particular as we are completely neutral. We have, however, only listed those hostels where our target audience is able to read our paper and thus we are very proud to announce that around 50 lodging services in and around Huaraz are happy to provide its guests with multiple editions of The Huaraz Telegraph.

The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017

Between threats and praises, we´ll just keep walking our own path Every now and then, at my part-time job at Cable Andino, I am asked how a gringo got to present the local 7 o´clock news on live television. With a modest smile, I normally show them the latest edition of The Huaraz Telegraph. It´s true that my boss is one of my biggest fans, but, on the other hand, he could have sacked me long ago because of my millions of mispronunciations and mistakes. Indeed, I know my place; nevertheless, I have improved a lot, or so I have been told. I can talk endlessly about our paper and why making it is so interesting. Believe it or not, most people immediately tell me that we are doing a great job and that Huaraz is blessed to have our product. It´s nice to get praise for a job that takes up so much time. Along with the praise, there is also criticism, as not everyone believes we´re doing such a great job. Last week, someone told me that if no one reacted or people couldn’t be bothered reading our paper, then it would be better if we stopped publishing it, and I believe this is spot on. The fact that readers write to us to give us feedback on the articles, and that a world-renowned guidebook contacts us for information on specific topics shows that we´re on the right track. Most owners and administrators of local hostels, hotels and restaurants are delighted to receive free copies for their clients and guests. It´s nice to know that visitors to Huaraz read our articles, either in our print edition or online. On another note, someone suggested that I should not to pay too much attention to the new concessionaire of Hatun Machay, I would like to ignore this suggestion on this occasion. Last month´s article (The Piteous Downfall of Hatun Machay) has brought some interesting feedback, but psychologist Rosario Obregón Domínguez tops the pile with her threat to lynch me. I have received threats before (anonymous phone calls, burnt copies of THT on the doorstep) when writing about the touts at the bus stations in Huaraz, but these were from uneducated people. Here we´re talking about a supposedly educated woman that works in a private clinic and a public college as a psychologist. A professional that said, in an online interview, that she hears voices, how interesting and very concerning is that! Well, as you will read in this edition, we will not stop (see page 6) writing about Hatun Machay, nor will we stop giving recommendations to our readers regarding trekking, hiking or climbing. At The Huaraz Telegraph, we have a very important task: making sure present and future visitors of our city have an enjoyable and unforgettable stay (for the right reasons!) and we intend to honour that commitment. Rex Broekman (Founder and editor in chief) Would you like to join our team or fancy sharing your story, or maybe you would like to help us expand, please feel free to contact us for more information. Taking all the above into account, please do me a huge favour and visit the businesses that have put their trust in our hands by buying an advertisement. Try to read our newspaper at those places so the owner will know that their purchase is having an effect. My gratitude will be immense.

Para propietarios de hoteles y hostales en nuestra ciudad: En el caso que hemos excluido su establecimiento, nuestras disculpas. Por favor, póngase en contacto con el Huaraz Telegraph para asegurarse que sea mencionada en la próxima edición de nuestro periódico gratuito. About the editor of The Huaraz Telegraph Rex Broekman (34) was born in the Netherlands and is living in Huaraz since 2007. During this time he has taught English at the Language Centre of the National University of UNASAM, and to psychology, computer information systems´, civil engineering and architecture students at the San Pedro University in Huaraz. He holds a degree in marketing and is about to finish an additional degree in education at the San Marcos University in Lima. Mr. Broekman founded the newspaper in 2012, and since March 2014 he also works as news anchor of the programme El Informativo at channel three (Mon-Fri 7pm) at Cable Andino in Huaraz. Derecho de autor y deposito legal (esp.)

Descargo de responsabilidad (esp.)

Telegraph® es una marca registrada en el INDECOPI. Todos los artículos actuales y anteriores son propiedad y son reclamados por The Huaraz Telegraph y no pueden ser reproducidas por ningún medio sin permiso escrito del Telegraph®. Derecho de autor general sobre todos los contenidos, composición y diseño por The Huaraz Telegraph, Huaraz, Perú - © 2012 – 2017. Hecho el depósito legal: 2013-007727

Nosotros nos sentimos muy orgullosos de comunicar que los artículos publicados son escritos por nosotros o por nuestros lectores. En comparación, existen muchas revistas en circulación en la ciudad y ellas no sobresalen en originalidad porque la gran mayoría de sus artículos vienen de línea recta del internet. Nuestros artículos son originales y con temas interesantes tratamos de llamar la atención del lector. Los textos publicados en The Huaraz Telegraph tienen una finalidad meramente informativa y entretenida. Los artículos publicados en esta edición de ninguna manera tienen la intención de molestar o herir a nadie y simplemente reflejan la opinión de los autores sobre sus experiencias (profesionales) en ciertos eventos, a ciertos comportamientos o hábitos de nuestra sociedad. En el caso que tiene dudas o preguntas, puede dirigirse directamente a nuestro editor.

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The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017

Mountaineering

Girl power in the mountains

About a month ago, we were informed of the return of Yvonne Antonieta Mejía Romero, known locally and in the Peruvian mountaineering world as Tana Mejía. Tana is a true pioneer in female mountaineering, becoming the first Peruvian woman to set foot on the Huascaran, in 1979. She has since conquered numerous mountains in the Himalayas, Alps, Andes and the United States. Tana is an honorary member of the mountaineering club of the Autonomous University of Mexico and her list of merits in international mountaineering is extensive and very impressive. In 1982, she became the first Peruvian woman to attempt the South East Edge of Ranrapallca, she conquered the South-West Edge of Oxshapalca and opened a new route on the North-West Face of Chopicallqui. She became the first Peruvian woman to reach the top of Europe´s highest mountain, Mont Blanc.

A dream place in the heart of the Andes

As well as having worked as a university lecturer and having published books on environmental education, she is also an international consultant in education, environment, ecology and tourism and a trekking and exploration guide. Tana shocked the Huaraz mountaineering world between 1988 and 1989 when she became the first president of the Technical High Mountain Commission. In the 80s, she founded the Regional Association of Practical Tourism Guides and was president of the Club Andinismo Cordillera Blanca in Huaraz. Additionally, she has led and participated in multiple international conferences and seminars all around the world. The Huaraz Telegraph became very curious when we were first told about this woman, and during our interview, we got to know about female mountaineering in the 80s, her views on the city of Huaraz and the reason she has finally returned home. Because of my enthusiasm, I wanted to become a professional mountain guide; however, the Swiss-Peruvian convention didn’t allow me to. I just kept climbing, although I did always get invited to training courses for safety reasons. When I returned to Chopicalpi to open another route, our team was hit by an avalanche. I was injured badly and while back home recovering Martine Rolland visited me. At that time she was the second best female mountaineer in the world, the first being Wanda Rutkiewicz (1943 – 1992). For four years, Martine had been preparing to climb the virgin route I had opened on Chopicalpi. However, upon arrival in Lima she was informed that a local girl from Huaraz had just done it. Martine went on to climb it.

The Huaraz Telegraph Tana Mejía after conquering Aconcagua

Thanks a lot for your time Tana, please share with our readers how you got involved in mountaineering and some of your major achievements Well, when I was still an adolescent, I had always liked mountaineering and started to practice it at the oldest mountaineering club of Peru, the Club Andinista Cordillera Blanca. I got obsessed by the mountains and mountaineering became my reason of existence and in just a couple of years, I became the first woman to conquer the Huascaran. I was named president of a mountaineering club and organised thousands of activities, and one of those activities concerned a fellowship of mountain clubs and we went on to climb the Huascaran, which is how I became the first ever female to summit the Huascaran. My passion for mountaineering grew, and I started to climb more technical mountains and mountains over 6,000 metres. I opened a new route on the North-East Face of Chopicalpi (6,354 m) in 1982 and a year before that I summited the East Edge of Ranrapalca.

What´s interesting is that I had finally met someone who understood me. We talked about mountaineering and a friendship was created. Later on, in that same year, I received a scholarship from the Ecole Nationale de Ski et d’Alpinisme in Chamonix, Mont Blanc, France and I believe this was a gift from Martine. I enjoyed being in Chamonix, and trained very hard to become better and better, and managed to conquer the highest peaks of France including the Mont Blanc. After having climbed mountains in Switzerland and having studied a postgraduate course in tourism, I finally returned to Peru. While back in Peru, I was eager to promote female mountaineering so Peruvian women had better opportunities to develop themselves and their technical capabilities. Peru is such a rich country in terms of mountains and maybe I had become a little tired of going to the mountains with only boys. I talked about this idea with a couple of Chilean mountaineers and they thought it was an excellent idea. The Chilean Mountaineers Federation liked the idea of promoting female mountaineering and forming an organisation for women. At the time, we had no idea that any female mountaineering clubs existed around the world and this Continue reading on page 4

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Mountaineering

The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017 I did this for about 10 years and as a result I didn’t climb as much; however, on holidays in the States I was still able to climb a couple of mountains such as Mount Baker and Mount Teton in 1992 and Mount Hood in 1993. In 1997, I got stuck with some friends in a heavy storm while attempting Mount Denali (also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name). It was a great time. As time passed by, I lost contact with my fellow mountaineers, but I went back to Peru almost every year in June, July and August to climb and guide in the Huayhuash. I also managed to summit the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro during a holiday. Maybe this is more a touristic activity instead of a mountaineering achievement but still, it´s Africa´s highest mountain.

Continuation of page 5

would be the first one. Although the general level of female mountaineering in South America wasn’t very high, Chile and also Argentina participated. In 1986, Chile finally organised the first ever allfemale expedition with participation of 12 women from Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Chile and we set foot on the Nevado Ojos del Salado. We also went to Bolivia to climb Chearocko and Sajama. Some expedition members were lacking a bit of experience and had a hard time, but, in general, it was a very successful mountaineering expedition. Afterwards we went climbing in Argentina and a 14-strong female team climbed Aconcagua. Having summited Aconcagua by the normal route, we left a bikini at the top of Aconcagua as evidence that women had conquered this mountain! The year after, our team headed to Ecuador where we climbed the Chimborazo, Cotopaxi and Tungurahua. The less experienced climbers were improving and getting better all the time. After Ecuador, in 1988, it was Peru´s turn, and we had to conquer the highest tropical peak in the world. Our expedition team was expanding as we received climbers from Brazil and Guatemala, for example. We even received messages from girls in Spain who were wondering why they weren’t invited to our expeditions. Besides the Huascaran, we also managed to conquer Vallunaraju. All the girls were motivated and started to look for other girls in their home countries that would be interested in mountaineering too.

of bad weather. There were just four of us on the expedition team, two of us representing 16 South American women and two Japanese. Luckily, we were able to escape and get off the mountain; however, that same year on K2 many other mountaineers were killed. I felt sad because we had to turn around, despite being in great conditions. We were so close on summiting Broad Peak; however, this is how mountaineering works, if the mountain doesn’t cooperate, than you simply can´t make it.

In 1989, thanks to friendships and having conquered Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl and the Pico de Orizaba in 1981, I was invited to be a member of the very first LatinAmerican expedition to the Himalayas and Broad Peak in Karakorum, Pakistan. Here I had a terrible experience because

In 1992, I went on my own to Nepal to Everest Base Camp where I reunited with many friends I had made in Chamonix and some climbers I had met during my expeditions in Peru. A couple of these friends told me they were going to climb Everest the following day, and I was invited

The Huaraz Telegraph Tana Mejía accompanied by the Yanac brothers (left, Guido and Pedro on the right), the first summitteers of Huascaran and Aconcagua together with Teobaldo Sierra (third from the left)

to join their expedition. Sadly, I didn’t bring enough money to realise this kind of expedition and barely had a return ticket to the States and Peru. I returned home. I hoped to return to Nepal soon, but this sadly never happened. That is where my mountaineering career in the Himalayas ended. On my return to the United States, I dreamt of studying environmental sciences, a career that wasn’t available in Peru at that time. I was accepted to the Huxley College of Environment – Western Washington University. Environmental issues were very important to me, in particular in the Huascaran National Park. When I graduated, I got a job related to biodiversity conservation in the Amazon area thanks to a private agreement between Peru and the United States.

The Huaraz Telegraph A smiling Tana Mejía (fourth on the bottom left) together with female expedition members after submitting Huascarán

I have never received any help, and was an isolated as female climber. Maybe Peru wasn’t ready for female mountaineering or they looked at it like mountaineering was a man´s sport. If you look at the Peruvian male mountaineers, they have received awards and credits for their feats; however, I never got any invitation, no thank you, nothing. Maybe this is part of our Peruvian culture, but I was too busy to worry about that. On another occasion, I had the opportunity to visit Egypt to study the pyramids, but I couldn’t afford to travel as much, and I lost the opportunity to climb. One thing I regret is not having taken more photographs of my mountaineering career. I only have a few. Why and when did you return to Huaraz, and, after having been abroad for so long and having travelled to almost every corner of the world, what´s your opinion on the city? I mainly returned for family reasons, especially my mother and sisters––no matter how much I have travelled and all the places I have been to, I have always had a strong bond with my family. Although I returned to Huaraz last October, I have been hiding a little. I feel frustrated and demoralised with my city. Huaraz used to be a small city, but it has grown a lot and without any urban planning so it seems. I am worried to be honest, in terms of environmental management, lack of urban planning, lack of organisation and development. Instead of moving forward, I believe my city has deteriorated, principally in education and culture. In the 80s, a group of local youngsters would voluntarily organise cleaning campaigns, for example, to collect garbage that littered the nearby mountains. Between 1981 and 1982, and together with other local climbers, I remember having collected tons of garbage. Sadly, it has got worse and this kind of initiative is not taken anymore. The national park should really react and do something about the garbage problem. I believe all entrance fee incomes are directly sent to Lima and this should be changed. On the other hand, it seems that the local university that has an environmental engineering course, isn’t doing much either. Garbage and the lack of hygiene are clearly affecting tourism in Huaraz and this is alarming. I remember having addressed this topic to the local authorities on many occasions but they

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The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017 are visibly not interested or have other priorities. The authorities are staying way behind, especially regarding the noise pollution. This problem is frightening in Huaraz! The mines, for example, are also contributing to the pollution a lot. Part of the problem is the rural migration of people from the mountains to the city. Lima faces the same problem in many districts.

Mountaineering When you used to climb, female mountaineering was almost considered a taboo in Peru, has this changed? I believe it has. The sport has evolved and offered integration between men and women. The role of women has changed as well, on all levels around the world. Peru has some great female athletes in different disciplines. In terms of mountaineering, there are definitely more women climbing compared to the 80s. However, more dissemination, incentives and promotion is required. On a social level, greater progress and development is visible, sadly this is not visible in our sport. I would like to meet Silvia VásquezLavado who conquered Mount Everest in 2016, and later this year I am hoping to meet Flor Cuenca Blas who summited Cho Oyu together with Víctor Rimac last year. I know her brother and although she is living in Germany, I believe she will visit Huaraz later this year.

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What needs to be done to improve mountaineering in Huaraz and Peru?

The Huaraz Telegraph A French newspaper clipping

Was mountaineering different in the 80s compared to nowadays? Well, I believe that in the 80s there were more groups, clubs and more interest in general in mountaineering. On the other hand, now there are more agencies and people working in tourism and adventure tourism, but not so much in mountaineering. Rock climbing has become popular, I believe, but I don’t know if many youngsters in Huaraz are interested in mountaineering. This makes me sad, and I am surprised that the sport mountaineering in Huaraz has not grown. Maybe the sport should be promoted more on a local level. There are some good Peruvian representatives that have managed to conquer some of the most important mountains around the world. When I was young, we were playing tennis, volleyball, climbing trees or playing in the mountains; the current youngsters aren’t doing anything. They´re playing videogames. If you would look at Mexico, there are over 400 mountaineering clubs, but the country only has four mountains. In Cusco and Arequipa, there are some things happening, but in Huaraz, which should be the capital of mountaineering, not much is going on. It gives the impression that mountaineering isn’t considered as interesting or important for the authorities either. Football and basketball are important but climbing and mountaineering aren’t. This is not how it should be.

Promotion and attention. In the 80s it wasn’t much different and it took much effort to get it off the ground but with the help of the media, we managed to get some attention. Authorities weren’t interested back then and they don’t seem interested now. It´s a tough battle and some mountaineering clubs helped definitely but it´s sad to see that there isn’t enough interest. I fought for 13 years and finally got tired, although in 1992 the Peruvian Sports Federation of Andinismo and Winter Sports was founded. However, they aren’t doing much either so it seems. What we need are a group of capable people, ready to fight for mountaineering.

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Rounding up the interview, what are your short-term plans Tana? Well, maybe I will re-establish my mountaineering club. Clubs are needed to promote the sport. However, this is a team effort and should not depend on one person. More and better communication between other mountaineering clubs is needed in order to promote the sport. It makes me sad thinking about this idea because it didn’t really work 30 years ago, but who knows. Maybe with new people, times have changed. People in Lima and Cusco were interested when I suggested the idea. It´s a great opportunity in which I would like to involve the members of Mujer Montaña in. I met some of them yesterday at an event in Huaraz and I understand they are setting of to Mount Pisco and Vallunaraju in the next couple of days. I have seen a good spirit and when they return from their adventure, I hope to sit down with them and see what we can do together. I actually wasn’t planning to work on promoting mountaineering as a sport again because it has cost much energy and left scares too; however, seems like I have to. We´ll see. Tana´s achievements and adventures were previously published in a number of international magazines such as The Planet (USA), Alpinisme et Randonnee (Fra), Geomundo (Per), Viajes y Turismo (Mex) and nationwide newspapers such as La Prensa, Expreso, Correo and El Comercio.

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Reader Feedback

The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017

THT editor threatened to be lynched after publishing on Hatun Machay In our July edition we ran an interesting article on Hatun Machay, which has caused a number of reactions from readers. A mere two years ago, Hatun Machay, a rock forest located in the Cordillera Negra between Huaraz and Lake Conococha, used to be a very popular rock climbing, hiking, historical and cultural paradise. However, because of disputes between the local community and the Argentine former administrator, the place is now considered unsafe for tourists. To make matters worse, a new dispute has now emerged. Rosario Pilar Obregón Domínguez, a female psychologist from Huaraz declared to the local press three months ago to be the new concessionaire despite the fact that the site faces legal problems. On top of this, some Huaraz community members were declared persona non grata and as a result, these people have been permanently denied access to Hatun Machay. Additionally, these people also have received numerous written threats through Facebook. In particular our editor, as stated in this edition´s foreword. On the 19th of last month we received written feedback from a reader who said to be a frequent visitor to Huaraz. This is what he wrote us: I read with interest your article on Hatun Machay in the July printed edition of The Huaraz Telegraph and visited the site a couple of days later. The article is very negative and contains information that is out of date. I think it is unfair and misleading to make a blanket statement the place is ‘unsafe for tourists’. This accusation seems based on the state of bolts on climbing routes. I did notice some bolts missing on a couple of routes, but there were plenty of routes fully bolted. I did not climb myself, but a group of rock climbers told me that they had climbed routes that were safe. In any case, many tourists go there for hiking or bouldering, so the state of bolts is not relevant. It is sad that there is so much politics involved with the site, as highlighted in the article, but this does not make the site ‘unsafe for tourists’. I get the impression that the article was written in a negative way because of personal differences between the editor and the current administrator. To clarify a few points that were out of date in the article: The toilet block is now working. Entrance fee is 10 soles for a day, which was collected by people from the local community. They did not charge me for parking or for the driver. Day entry is the same for locals and foreigners, but to stay overnight is cheaper for Peruvians. Charges are clearly displayed on a sign at the entrance. The campsite was popular, with half a dozen tents there when I visited. The refuge is not being used, so the former administrator has no reason to complain that it is being used for profit. Hatun Machay a big asset for Huaraz tourism. The site should be encouraged to overcome its difficulties and attract tourists. I hope that The Huaraz Telegraph send another climber who knows the site to make a full assessment of bolted routes. I hope a more accurate, impartial and balanced article can be published in the August edition highlighting any improvements found since the last article, as well as encouraging further

article gets approved in our newspaper, there might still be two weeks before the article is published in the printed edition. Therefore, at the time of finishing the article, all was up to date; however in a week or 10 days, a lot can happen. Especially during the high season, when tourists arrive and in a place such as Hatun Machay, where a lot has been happening for over a year now. We are very happy to hear that the toilet block is working again, let´s hope it stays this way.

Screenshots of just a few of Rosario Obregón Domínguez´s many entertaining but absolutely despicable comments regarding to our publishing on Hatun Machay

improvements. A positive article will help Hatun Machay recover, which in turn will help Huaraz Tourism.

We will also share our reply to our readers so here is what our editor answered back: To start, I would like to thank you for your detailed review on one of our articles. Feedback is very important for us as you will understand. Please allow us to share our point of view on a couple of things. You´re not the first person to react on our latest HM article; however, you’re the first who thinks it´s (too) negative. Other foreign readers have informed us that they thought the article was a bit provocative, though very helpful and accurate. We believe that the article sums up a couple of happenings from 2006 until last month and all these facts are relevant to understand the complex situation the site finds itself in. We don’t believe that the article is negative at all, although if you would state that it doesn´t promote the site very much, we agree.

other people, some who are not experts in this field, and as a result the routes are not being bolted correctly from a safety point of view. This has been commented to us by various climbers who visited the site recently and found the routes badly bolted. The second problem is that the continuous unbolting and rebolting causes damage to the rock, as more and more holes are drilled into it. 3. Because the site is in a vicious legal dispute between the former and current administrator and various visitors from different nationalities have reported having had bad experiences with both administrators in the past and present. Although some tourists might go to HM for hiking or bouldering, the great majority of visitors go there for sport climbing and as such the state of the bolts and anchors is extremely relevant. And, of course the safety of visitors in general is equally important.

2. Safety concerns of the climbing routes. Some bolts have been cut halfway and might be loose and come off at any given time, which could cause some serious accidents; and some bolts are missing. Another factor concerning the safety of routes, is that routes are continually being unbolted and rebolted and this poses two major problems. First given that the new concessionaire appears to have little knowledge about bolting routes, she is asking help from

We would appreciate it if you could give us the latest updates on fees, it would be great if you had an actual photo of the sign displaying them. You state that the refuge is not currently being used, and that does not surprise us at all because it has been so badly damaged by fire that it is obviously no longer usable. What you may not know is that before the refuge was burned so badly the new concessionaire did attempt to use the refuge, this was clearly demonstrated by the fact that she published a list of prices that included staying inside the refuge. So it is clear that her initial intention was to use the refuge for profit, even though she had no legal rights over it. We believe that this was wrong and only added to the ongoing feud. Please understand that our assessment was based on the detailed information we received from a professional mountain guide and climber who is an expert in this field and made a personal visit to Hatun Machay to assess the state of the routes. He subsequently made a video of it and considered the site unsafe, stating that under no circumstances he would send his customers to climb there.

We have come to the conclusion that HM is unsafe for tourists for three main reasons: 1. A month ago a hut located next to the refuge was set on fire by an unknown person while French tourists were staying in an adjacent hut overnight and other tourists were camping. The incident was filmed by the French tourists and it is clear from the commentary in the video, that the person who set the hut on fire did not check beforehand if anybody was staying inside and as a result the French tourists and other tourists staying at the site at the time were extremely scared, especially given that if some tourists had not gone to wake up the French tourists sleeping in the hut and got them out, who knows what would have happened to them.

Regarding the fees, they have been changed numerous times under the new administration and unfortunately changes to the fees being charged are not being communicated to anyone, so one just finds out the latest fee when visiting the site. Regarding drivers being charged, we received information from two different groups of people that drivers had been charged S/15 soles, so were cooks and even some guides. This policy might have been changed since our article was published.

What we find very worrying is that the new administration has made no statement whatsoever on the state of the routes, when we consider this should be her priority, given that if you charge people for climbing, you should then in the least ensure their safety.

Hatun Machay and the refuge in 2015

What is least relevant, we agree, is what our editor thinks about the new concessionaire. We are sorry if you got the impression that some of our writing is based on personal feelings, but we can assure you that it is not the case, everything we write is purely based on facts. We have no personal preference between the former or current administrator, we are just interested in reporting facts. We appreciate the updates that you have sent us. Please understand that when an

Please take into account that whatever we write in our newspaper comes from direct sources and is thoroughly checked before printing. We are very much planning to keep on publishing articles on HM and appreciate any input and update we receive from our readers, so that we can deliver accurate, impartial and balanced articles. We are in agreement that it is in Huaraz´s best interest that the site comes alive again; however, the legal dispute should be resolved first and any potential dangers to visitors should be communicated to them, so that they can make an informed decision on whether to visit the site or not.

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The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017

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Have you already visited us? We´re to be found at Parque de Ginebra near the Plaza de Armas and offer all kinds of services like great food and local made craft beer Trece Búhos offers a unique type of homemade brew, but it doesn’t stop there. As far as we know, Lucho´s Beers are the only beers in South America served in swingtop bottles apart from imported beers like Dutch Grolsch. The classic swingtop was invented by Nicolai Fritzner in Germany in 1875. It quickly became the main bottle top for beer bottles worldwide. After only 30 years, the swing-top started to be replaced by the Crown Cap, which was invented by an American called William Painter (1892). The most functional feature of the swing-top bottle is it can be resealed, so the beer inside stays fresh. Another interesting fact is that swing-top bottles are recyclable, energy saving and sustainable.

Trece Búhos opens in the early morning, especially now people are taking advantage of the dry season and using the terrace in front of our establishment, ordering a coffee, waffles with ice-cream, or a good old English cup of tea. But historically 13 has gained its credits and fame for being the most popular night spot in Huaraz, not in the least because it is open seven days a week. Nowadays 13 Búhos is a fantastic place to spend your evenings or late nights. Four years ago we moved to a new location and now we are able to offer an even bigger set of opportunities during a famous night at 13 Búhos. If you’re sitting in your hostel and reading this at around 11 p.m. don’t hesitate, put on your shoes and come along! The best nights out aren’t planned they just happen! Yours truthfully, Lucho © photos: Eva Valenzuela

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Expat in Áncash

The Peruvian dream

According to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (I.N.E.I) 12,187 foreigners entered Peru in 2012 and stayed for over a year. The Huaraz Telegraph is wondering whether these visitors came to see the wonders of Peru, or were they looking for the Peruvian dream? If the American dream is the idea that success is possible for every individual, does the Peruvian dream exist? And if so, can you reach for those ideals on the Latin American continent being an expat? It is fairly easy to spot a tourist in Hua- a year, after one year gringos are considraz, with their tiny day-sacks and camera ered immigrants in the Republic of Peru, around their necks, whereas expats blend be it legal or illegal. in; they adapt to the local way of life. But what motivates a person to uproot their en- There is no denying that the number of tire lives, and leave their family and friends immigrants has increased over the years to go and live on another continent? Over and between 2007 and 2012 there were the course of the season The Huaraz Tele- 55,616 immigrants representing 62.3% of graph will endeavour to interview expats all registered immigrants in the analysis living in Huaraz, to give the readers an period of 1994 to 2012. To make a small insight into why they decided to do just comparison, in the last six years measured that. But first let’s look at some interesting concern over 50.0% of the immigrants statistics. Although the following national from the period of analysis. The period bestats are accurate there is no statistical in- tween the years 2001 – 2006 represented formation on how many foreigners live in 18,499 incoming foreigners representing the Áncash region. 20.7% of all registered immigrants during the study period, while the years 1994 to In the period from 1994 to 2012, there 2000 represent 17.0% of total registered were 89,320 registered foreigners resid- immigrants. The number of foreign immiing in Peru that did not leave the country. grants in Peru has a greater dynamism Between 1994 and 2004 the number of in the last years of the study. Until 2003 foreigners entering Peru did not exceed foreign immigrants did not exceed 20,000, 3,500, and between 2004 and 2006 the this number doubles in 2007 becoming number of foreigners living in Peru did 40,446, and in 2012 the number of foreign not exceed 5000. From 2007 the number immigrants in Peru rose to 89,320. increased to over 6,000 and in 2012 that number had risen to a staggering 12,187. Dividing the entry of foreign immigrants It´s important to mention that, even though into different periods (in years) and having Peru has a law stating that visitors can the estadisticas de la emigración internationly stay up to a maximum of 183 days cional de peruanos e inmigración de ex-

The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017

tranjeros 1990-2012 in hand, one can see that the average annual immigration per period is becoming a growing trend during the last three periods, except from 2001 to 2003. On average, only 2,357 people crossed the border into Peru between 2001 and 2003. Between 1994 and 2012 the annual average is 4,701 surpassing this in the last two periods 2007-2009 and 2010-2012, reaching average immigration figures from 7,420 and 11,118 respectively, the latter being six times higher than the average income of foreign immigrants of the first period (1994-1997). When analysing the gender of the newcomers it´s remarkable that the population of males is by far bigger than the opposite sex. Men represent 66.8% of the immigrants while only 29,636 (33.2%) are female. Since 1994, men have represented more than 60% of the immigration population, but in 2012 they reached 70.9%. In the document found on the I.N.E.I website the distribution of foreign migrants is also represented by age group. A chart shows that the predominant age group is the 30 to 34 year-olds representing 12.2 % of all immigrants. Immigrants from 35 to 39 years of age characterise 12.1 % during the period from 1994 to 2012. This is followed by the 40 to 44 years old with 11.2%, continued by the group of 25 – 29 years old (10.7%). On the other hand, the highest percentage of immigrants are aged from 15 to 49, representing 68.2 % of all immigrants. Looking at the gender population pyramid, the concentration is in the middle, being narrower at the base and that there is an increase in the first and last group. Immi-

grants aged under 15 count for 6.8% and are distributed almost evenly between men (3.7 %) and women (3.1%). People older than 59 years of age represent 10.3% and are distributed between 6.3% men and 4.0% women. Of the total number of 83,628 immigrants over 14 years of age, 33.7% are declared to be single whereas 199 people are said to be widowed, and 98 are divorced. Between 1994 and 2012, 89,320 foreigners were considered to be new residents of Peru without any migration movement noticed and just before the document starts to talk about the country of origin, it mentions that 69,277 people (representing 77.6%) have come to Peru by air, entering the country at Jorge Chavez National Airport. A small 8.6% entered from the south in Tacna (Santa Rosa), 2.3% from Bolivia (Desaguadero), and a 1.4% came from the north, crossing the border from Ecuador at Aguas Verdes. A total of 3,378 (3.7%) arrived at the harbour of Callao (probably shipwrecked and unable to return home). The authors of the report declare that there exists a strong concentration of regional immigrants referring to 31.6% of foreigners coming from Latin American countries such as Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Americans (from the USA) with 12.4% are the biggest group of newcomers, followed by the Chinese with 9.3% and Bolivians with 7.8%. As you just have read, you will need to stay in Peru for over a year to qualify for the status of immigrant. This is also the main condition for our interviewee plus the fact that he or she should live in Áncash. In our twentieth version of the Peruvian Dream we have interviewed a very enthusiastic and energetic person from the United States. Although she admitted to be retired, she might be even busier than ever before. If you would like to meet her, your best chance is at Casa de Guías where she can be found from Monday to Friday. You might also take your chances on improving your Spanish a little bit. This is the story of Martha Weston. 1. Who are you? My name is Martha Weston, and I am originally from Rochester in New Hampshire, in the US. I have two children, Kyle and Juliana, and a grandson called Tyler. In fact, my daughter and grandson came to this area a couple of years ago and had a great time. 2. What’s your profession and how old are you Martha?

All statistics on Peruvian international emigration and foreign immigation by the I.N.E.I on: http://www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1102/libro.pdf

This October will be turning 72 years old. I am a retired teacher, but I teach English in Huaraz, and I am very dedicated and try to do the best I can. I work at Casa de Guías, but I have some private students too. I am recognised by some people because Continue reading on page 10

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The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017

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Heinrich Bosshard is in his sixties and a heavy equipment mechanic, but in Huaraz he is known at El Tío Enrique. El Tio Enrique is a brand-new establishment selling all sorts of different chorizos (sausages), Swiss chocolates, authentic Swiss knives and Glühwein (mulled wine). His huge and fantastic fridge filled with imported European beers make Enrique´s secondfloor place a must visit after you have conquered some peaks in the Andes. El Tío Enrique is open from 5p.m. and offers you a whole variety of Belgian, German, English and even Peruvian beers, such as London Pride, Old Speckled Hen, Paulaner, Erdinger, La Guillotine, Duvel, and Lima´s craft beer Barbarian. Check our beer list on the right-hand side of this page and make sure you come and try those malt liquors that are specially imported for tourists in Huaraz.

The specialty of the former titleholder of the former Monte Rosa Inca Pub is without a doubt his delicious sausages but, there is a lot more on offer. Another dish not to miss is Argentine beef. Those wanting something lighter before boarding their bus could choose the antipasto. Antipasto literally means “before the meal”, and is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal. The dish served at El Tio Enrique includes cured meats, olives, fresh cheese and sausages.

such as Disaronno Originale (28% abv), which is made in Italy. It is amaretto-flavored, with a characteristic bittersweet almond taste. How about Jägermeister? This is a German digestif made with 56 herbs and spices and is 35% alcohol by volume. For those who prefer nonalcoholic beverages, there is also coffee, tea, cappuccino and espresso coffee. El Tío Enrique recommends in every edition two exclusively imported foreign beers. The two beers you will find at the bottom of this page however are not in the list that is on the right hand side of the page. These are two new beers that are just recently available in Huaraz. Take your changes because if you´re going north after Huaraz, there is no other place in Peru where you can find such an exclusive artisanal of beers. Sláinte!

El Tío Enrique is located only two blocks from bus companies such as Línea Transportes and Cruz del Sur, and is around the corner from Nova Plaza. The central location makes it a convenient stop during a night out at the surrounding discothèques or bars. While enjoying your beer, don’t forget to ask about Carne seca (dried meat, in Spanish), which is a kind of dried beef and ideal to take with you while heading out for the mountains. When you meet Elena, ask her about her pudding desserts, absolutely sweet and recommended after a cheese fondue, for In terms of drinks, apart from a spectacular beer menu, example. There is also literature for visitors. the second-floor establishment offers different Chilean, Argentinian and Peruvian wines, but the specialty of the Make sure you´re hungry and thirsty when house is Glühwein (mulled wine). Also worth a shot (or a visiting us and we´ll make sure that you will have a wonderfull evening at a very special place. glass in this case) are some specially imported liqueurs

The ambercoloured Piraat has a full foam head and overwhelms with an aroma of bitter, spicy, malty and alcoholic scents. What follows is a perfect combination of malty, sweet and hopbitter tastes, semisweet after taste with bitter undertone

Gulden Draak (Dutch for Golden Dragon) is a dark Belgian beer with high alcohol by volume (10.5%), brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge in Ertvelde, East Flanders. It is named after the golden dragon at the top of the belfry in Ghent

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Expat in Áncash

10 Continuation of page 8

Casa de Guías ran a commercial on local television and people enthusiastically come to me to say that I must teach them English. Additionally, I work for an editorial company in Lima where I do some correction and translation work. This includes correcting children´s books and recording children’s songs and chants. 3. How long have you been living in Huaraz? I have been living in Huaraz for over four years now, but I have been coming to the Huaraz area for over 20 years. The first ever time I came to Huaraz was back in 1971 as a backpacker! It was the year after the earthquake. 4. What brought you to Huaraz? It was a dare. At the time women wouldn’t travel, and I was told that I wasn’t ever going to Peru, and people informed me that I would get killed and that kind of stuff. However, I still went and, being in my 20s, had the best time of my life. In the 1980s, I started bringing high school students to this area, as I was teaching Spanish back then. This is when I started thinking that I could maybe do something here, like helping kids or something. I was getting to know another reality. It´s funny because a while ago I had this discussion with some lady who´s in her 80s, and she said, “You don´t know what my reality is!” And I thought, yes, that´s exactly true. 5. How has your life changed over the years? Oh my goodness, it´s incredible. You know, when I was in the States, my blood pressure was really high and doctors said, if you don´t slow down, you’ll drop down one day. And I replied, if that´s what it is then that´s what it is. However, maybe a month after my retirement party I said, I love my children and grandson to death, but want to do something. Help people instead of watching stupid TV shows or CNN, and that´s when I decided to move to Peru. I was 68 and you know, I was so excited, and looking back, I think I am in the best shape that I have been in for years. I feel like I am in my 50s again, my blood pressure is down and I am doing things that I really love to do. I am an adventurer, and if I want to travel somewhere, I go. I can work if I want to, and this has changed my mode of thinking. I think I am teaching okay and helping children. Before, my life was tremendously stressful, and for a long time I have been a single mother, running around all the time. Having numerous of jobs, but I wasn’t really happy. Maybe people didn’t think the same way as I did so I am glad I took that decision.

The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017

I have my coffee at Trivio because I like their chocolate cake. I also have coffee at Trece Búhos. I guess the parks are my favourite hangout spots. There is a variety of places I like to go to. I like Manka a lot and Pastelería Kawsay. I try not to go to the same places all the times, but frequently Eddy and I [Martha´s partner Edward] go to Campo Base because it´s around the corner from Casa de Guías. I like to try different places. Honestly, I don’t hang out that much because I still work a lot. In the morning, I have classes, in the afternoon as well and then I am dead tired. 7. What is it you miss the most from back home? Definitely my kids, I miss my kids. In terms of products, I was missing cinnamon rolls but Pastelería Kawsay is making them and they are great! Maybe some creams too but I don’t really miss home. I go home maybe once a year to see my kids. Although recently I have decided to meet my kids in different places like in Mexico City, for example. Bringing them to, for example, Argentina. What am I going to do in San Diego? Not that I don’t like San Diego, but there´s nothing for me to do. I still have friends there, but I’d rather visit different and new places to open up my grandson´s eyes. The US with their videogames and phones, there is nothing for me there, except my kids and family. 8. What is it you like most about Huaraz? That I can see the mountains from my window. I like that very much. I also have a lot of friends here and people that greet me when they walk by. The informality of

The number of immigrants in Peru is growing by the year (I.N.E.I. stats)

it, and the fact that I can walk anywhere I want to. I think I like the closeness. Seeing students and former students on the street and having a little chat with them. 9. What’s your opinion of the tourist business in Huaraz? Well, to start, I would like to make clear that tourists should stop bargaining. I believe it´s insulting. The guides, for example, work so hard, but before they set off, they have to haggle with tourists that are always looking for the cheapest deal. I can understand it in one sense, as they are probably travelling for a longer time; however, they should respect the people that are here and are trying to make a living. Tourists should enjoy their stay trying to get to know the locals. That upsets

The second point is that times have changed; it´s not like the 80s anymore. It´s a different generation and this might be the mentality. In order to get more tourism, they should start changing some things around here. Another thing I’d like to mention is the great number of new hotels, how do people finance these buildings? Where are they coming from, I would like to know that. There is too much competition and there´s no regulation. Moreover, let me add that the tour guides need to learn English! Some tourists will tip a good guide that speaks their language. 10. What sites or activities do you recommend (or not) to our readers?

6. What are your favourite hangout spots in Huaraz? Do you want me to be extremely honest?

me, maybe they don’t realise, how insulting this can be. People should read more about the country they´re coming to. On the other hand, Peruvians shouldn’t take advantage of the situation either. It´s fun time for both. It´s embarrassing to me and I don´t like their attitude sometimes.

The Huaraz Telegraph

Well this is not in Huaraz, but I like Chachapoyas in the north. And also the Gocta Falls [Spanish: Catarata del Gocta], just the trip there is great, and Lunahuaná, a small village in the Cañete Province. They have great food there, and people should hire a 4 x 4 vehicle and visit the vineyards too. That´s really cool. I would recommend the off-the-beaten-tracks. I know everybody goes to Cusco and Puno, but what about the road that goes towards Chacas? I believe Iquitos has changed a lot, but a trip on the Amazon is awesome. People should be adventurous and look for less-visited places, experience the Peruvian culture and enjoy it. Locally, and it makes me sad sharing this, the Huayhuash. Do you remember Victorino Bacilio Huaranga, the 75-year-old guide that got killed in May last year when he suffered a deadly fall? He once invited me to Pueblo Viejo in Huayhuash. He wanted to take me there, but the Huayhuash in general is exhilarating.

Martha is living a happy ´retired´ life in the city of Huaraz

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The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017 11. If you were to become the Mayor of Huaraz one day, what would you do or change? You mean, without paying everyone off [laughing]? I would be very truthful and completely honest about what I will do or change. To start, I would clean up the main street Luzuriaga. This street is really disgusting. It has potholes all over the place. What is the problem with the current mayor? Another problem to address would be the stray dogs. I don’t mean by killing them but they´re suffering a lot. People buy little puppies on the street but after a while they stop taking care of them. It´s horrendous, these poor and hungry dogs are just walking about on the streets. It seems that people don’t care about anything! I would focus on education too; give the indigenous people a chance. Teachers should be more dedicated, not teaching for money, but teaching to offer chances and possibilities. If they´re not, they shouldn’t teach!

“

I would like to make

clear that tourists should stop bargaining. I believe it´s insulting. The guides,

for

example,

work so hard, but before they set off, they have to haggle with tourists that are always looking for the cheapest deal. Martha Weston on tourism in Huaraz

Another point I’d like to mention are the discothèques. Oh my God! Is there really nothing else these youngsters can do these days besides getting drunk? There is one below my apartment, and all I see is people getting drunk and fighting with each other. There should be some control of these enterprises. Two months ago a young kid was killed by his best friend, just a block from where I live. Thanks to a new ordinance, at three o´clock the noise stops and it´s forbidden to sell alcohol. Thank God, I can sleep now from three in the morning. Let´s hope it stays that way. You know, I am an old lady and I need to sleep. It´s like a demon possesses them and they get crazy. I have talked to some of them actually and have asked them, why they keep going to those places. This was an engineer who was missing a couple of teeth but said he goes there every night, every night! I was wondering when he studied and worked. Another in-

Expat in Áncash

teresting thing in Huaraz is the huge number of chicken places; people only seem to copy each other. There are already 42 chicken restaurants and they just opened up another one, same with the karaoke. It makes me cry, they should do something positive, instead of opening up another gambling place. There should be more activities in the Cultural Centre too, involve the students, the youngsters so they could do some acting and get involved. Something that could get them on the right path and help them with their careers. Youngsters should focus on one decent career, not having a ton of them and not doing anything good. There isn’t even a cinema in Huaraz. Have you noticed that in three years you can become a doctor in Peru? In the States it takes forever to get that degree, here people look at the Internet for three years and they´re doctors! Maybe more athletics at school would be something to wish for, more sports I think. Being the mayor of Huaraz I would start with a think tank and try to involve youngsters. Not just deciding what would be a good thing according to my point of view, but include them in the decision making. What would help the community? I would bring in some student leaders and get them involved. They are very savvy and smart so that´s what I would do. 12. Are you living the Peruvian dream (explain)? Am I living the dream? I think, ever since I was a little kid, I have always been a dreamer. I wanted to become a missionary at one point, but… I think… I don’t´ know. I like the exoticness of Peru and South America. It´s fun for me. I don’t know if it´s a dream or not but I believe it´s a pretty ending of a happy life for me. My dream has always been helping other people and that´s what I am doing. Caring for and loving people is important to me. I don’t want to be selfish and teach them American values. I want them to be able to realise their own dreams. It´s not so much about my dreams, that´s what I feel in my heart. 13. How do you see your future in Peru? Doing what I am doing now, you know, being retired is so exiting. I am doing more and more things; the world is so open for me. I am not restrained by anyone or anything and can do what I really like to do. As long as my health holds up, I want to keep learning new things. You know, I don’t see myself as old. I don’t have an old mentality, and, honestly, I believe that Peruvians who are retired should help other people. They should not sit down and start thinking; OK, I am dead already. They should do something positive and help others, come on! You don’t always have to be paid for it. There has to be a dialogue going. I love it here, I like the people here a lot; I like Huaraz.

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Reader´s Contribution

The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017

Huascarán of 1974; by William ´Bill´ Katra

One of the greatest joys of this 71-yearold climber is to revisit the scene of former exploits. So there we were in Huaraz, Peru, in October 2016, for five days of tourism and investigation. Only 30 km. away was Huascarán, the highest peak of Peru (at 6768 m, or 22,208 ft.)i and the gem of the country’s Cordillera Blanca.

airplane weight restrictions prohibited us from bringing common mountain foods, such as sugar drinks, chocolate, gorp, granola or candy bars). Wisely, we did pack about four days worth of freeze-dried meals that, in our wisdom, we saved for the long six-day traverse of Huascarán. But for the rest of the trip: heavy decisions. The first involved dinners, i.e. food with protein, which would have to come from local stores. Sardine cans, OK. Cheeze: OK for the first few days out. Hmmm. Other protein sources? As it turned out, the main source available to us was canned fish, a Peruvian staple, so we dutifully but not enthusiastically obliged. Dinner after dinner. Can’t remember any other protein sources at this temporal distance.

Every step along the streets of Huaraz, and during the day-long hike out of Shilla, my mind echoed the wonderful memories of the seven or so weeks I had spent with my two climbing buddies between June and July of 1974 going up routes in the northern range and culminating with six exhilarating days on the East Face of Huascarán Sur. Chronological order? Jim Milne and I met in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he, of New Zealand origins, was an assistant professor of Math, and I a graduate student beginning my doctoral thesis in Spanish/ Latin American Studies. I ignore or have forgotten what brought us together, but there are few serious climbers anywhere in the Midwest, so perhaps our encounter was eventual. After frustrated attempts to interest another pair of climbers through our contacts in the USA, a desperate Jim wrote to a Kiwi, Mike Andrews, who was mentioned in some climbing magazine, and who was currently residing in Peru. Surprise of surprises, the letter made it to his hands and he answered affirmatively, under the condition that we would bring for him an ice axe and a pair of crampons. Arriving at Lima’s international airport, there was Mike waiting for us, with a beard, wool Peruvian cap, and smelling like a llama. Jim deserves most of the credit for researching the Cordillera Blanca and our possible routes, and for contacting H. Adams Carter, of the American Alpine Club. Carter and AAJ’s 1971 and 1972 issues provided us with the only maps we were able to obtain. Following the latter’s advice we decided to spend most of our time in the northern part of the range, near the much-photographed Nevada Alpamayo, where we would attempt only first ascents. Then, we would return to Huaraz for R & R before culminating our Peruvian trip with an attempt at the second ascent of the ANZUSii route on Huascarán Sur’s mighty, 2-km-long East Face. As it turned out, our freedom from health problems (almost all the international parties during that climbing season reported serious cases of hepatitis), good planning and weather, and the good-will of the mountain gods, made so that we were able to accomplish almost everything we attempted––and in magnificent style. Over the first two weeks spent coming and going out of Huaraz that were necessary for acclimation, we made three important

The Huaraz Telegraph Young kids sitting on a stone wall, the impressive Huascarán in the back (Photo Bill Katra)

decisions that were to impact favourably upon our plans for the rest of the trip. First, in an early excursion to a south-facing glacier, I, in a roped horizontal lead, routinely thrust my ice axe shaft downward before taking the next step, and received the shock of my life: visual evidence that perhaps two of us were standing on the fragile surface of a bottomless cavern that was totally unmarked by the usual surface-level indicators. From that moment on we made the (possibly life-saving) decision to avoid or at least limit whenever possible any glacier travel. Period. That meant our future routes would have to follow perilous ridges and very steep (with irregular snow-ice consistency) south faces. At least in the latter two cases we would be able to see and therefore rationally assess the objective dangers. The second fortunate pre-climbing decision involved our stoves. In the three years of climbing experience since the near fiasco on Aconcagua, I had come to the conclusion that only stoves burning white gas, or an equivalent, could produce the necessary heat intensity for the long drawn out task of snow melting at high-altitudes. Adams Carter had informed us that via John Ricker, residing in Huaraz, we would be able to obtain our needed supply. So from the USA we brought with us two stoves: my trusty white-gas burning primus, and a new multifuel burning MRI, which (Jim believed) would serve our needs in Peru. Zzzttt the latter: on our second day of using regular gasoline, the MRI never again would stay ignited. So that meant that the success of all our climbing endeavors over the next six weeks would depend entirely on the proper function of my ol’ trustworthy Primus.

Trustworthy it proved to be. Climb after climb. However, only I, knowing its idiosyncrasies, was able to light it (I had become expert in lighting a few gas-whetted scraps of toilet paper on its tank top that succeeded in pressurizing it sufficiently so that it would send forth a minimum stream of vaporized gas. Old faithful, at least up until our last, and hardest, climb up Huascarán. About 30 minutes into every cooking episode (always involving the endless melt of water), the fuel cap, which doubles as the pressure-safety switch, would begin to fail, and hot ignited gas would begin to shoot forth in a plume. For a few days a hard breath would extinguish it for us to continue the tedious task of snow melting. But half-way into the climb our puffs proved insufficient, and we wisely chose, after 15 minutes of operation, to cool down the stove by turning it off for another quarter hour. By the last day even this was insufficient. Luckily, we had a surplus of gas. We would light the stove and place it at the bottom of a 50-cm-deep hole in the snow (certainly 5 m from the tent) and cook or melt over both the regular flame and ever-growing plume of ignited gasses sizzing out of the safety valve until the liquid gas inside the stove tank was depleted. Luckily, we suffered no explosion, but we finished the descent ravenous for any liquid to quench our throats. (Lesson: on any future extended climb, pack and carry an extra small [1” diameter] pressure cap for the Primus fuel tank.) Three other pre-climbing decisions (all proving to be fortuitous) were about food. Jim, Mike and I knew (either vicariously or through previous experience) about the nauseas experienced by ravenous climbers at high altitudes. This problem was compounded in Peru because of the impossibility of obtaining some foods (and

Carbs? Of course we planned for a few dinners with spaghetti noodles that are available everywhere except on the moon. Specific to the Andean nations was sun-dried potatoes, available in the form of hard granola-sized kernels or flakes. Soaking in water for a day, they proved to be easy to pack, inexpensive, and tasty. Forget the available bread that came in 1”-thick, 6”-diameter disks: none of us liked it fresh, and after a day--even in a plastic bag, it turned hard and unappetizing. Nowhere in Huaraz did we find the equivalent of Wonder or “bubble” bread, even if we had desired it. Experienced trekkers and climbers will instantly recognise what could become a major problem: what to eat for lunches. Here the Mountain Gods (and Mike) once again smiled on us. From the Monterrey Hotel kitchen we borrowed the largest metal pot they had (it must have measured 24” across and the same from top to bottom). Following Mike’s recipe, we purchased flour, raisins, sesame seeds, honey, dried milk (and who knows what else, a small quantity of baking power?) I recollect no peanuts and very few other “nuts”. Using milk, we mixed it all into a stiff dough. Then we located a bakery that would rent to us their wood-heated oven for four morning hours (they almost always bake their bread at night). So there we were, to the utter amazement of the oven owners and workers, patty-cake, patty-cake, shaping about 200 wallet-sized rounded, flattened, biscuits, then sliding them into the oven on 4-meter-long wooden spatulas, then out and piling our hot masterpieces into two half-full gunny sacks. Over the entire next six weeks these biscuits proved to be magnificent. Their relative hardness meant no wrapping or squishing while packed. Even when high-altitude nausea rejected every other available food, gnawing on one was always a pleasant experience. I have to conclude: the success of our climbing endeavours was due mainly to these makedo, home-made, biscuits. Thank you Mike, eternally, for your inspiration.

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The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017 Our last food choice, equally memorable, but only for me, involved breakfast. It was a one-minute decision because majority ruled: the two Kiwis have known only one breakfast throughout their lives: porridge. Do Americans, do your readers, really know what porridge consists of? Not much: runny, water-boiled oats. No sugar, no salt, no milk, no raisins. For me: ugggh! Thankfully, my two companions fudged with our strict group rules, and let me carry, throughout the trip, a tennis-ballsized plastic bag of sugar to help me get my share of the breakfast down the hatch. Our first objective, following Adams Carter’s advice, was new routes up peaks in the northern part of the range. (I am a fluent Spanish speaker, so throughout the trip we would have no problem whatever with transportation issues or obtaining food/fuel/information.) We hired a man with a small pick-up (two of us rode in back on top of the equipment) for the 18-hour trip north from Huaraz, around the top of the range, and then south to the Safuna Basiniii via a dirt/bog road. When our driver proved unwilling to proceed the last kilometre over dubious terrain, we lucked out locating a local farmer, whose mules carried our equipment and three weeks’ of food the rest of the way. All this proved so uncomfortable and inconvenient that we determined to walk in the end. We had only one definite goal, Pucarashta Este, at 5550 metres (18,209 ft.).iv John Richer at that time busy helping to organise the future national park and writing his irreplaceable guide book, had given it the distinction of being one of the last unclimbed peaks in the whole range, which meant that previous parties had considered it either too hard or too unimpressive to climb. The latter seemed to be the case, and its appearance from our camp 1000 feet above Laguna Pucacocha earned it the nickname Pucabumpa. So confident were we that when we left next morning, we were carrying gear more suitable for an easy day in the Alps. To our dismay our route from the west turned out to be the typical Andean ridge, a very sharp rock formation covered by metres and metres of unstable snow. Our progress involved bulldozing up unconsolidated white mushrooms and removing huge quantities of snow to cut a path up a four-metre vertical wall. The final part of the ridge maintained the excitement by slab-avalanching on the south and being heavily corniced on the north. All in all, a slow, dangerous and spectacular climb.v Darkness caught us about 40 m. below the summit. On a relatively flat place we kicked out a small shelf, popped down two sleeping pills apiece, and drowsed into a 12-hour shiver. The monotony of the long cold night was broken only by Jim sleepwalking into a crevasse a few meters below, but luckily self-arresting himself with the ice axe he had had the good sense to grab. All this taught us a lesson: the size of the mountains, the shortness of the days,

Reader´s Contribution and our reluctance to move before being warmed by the rays of the morning sun, meant that never again we would climb without taking light sleeping bags and bivouac tents with us. The Andes Gods, in their turn, were kind to us: we never lacked for a good bivy site. A case in point, after 6½ hours of hard climbing on the Taypapampa’s north face (5674 m or 18,618ft.) we found a large, perfect, horizontal shelf about 15 m. west of the summit. A second example: after nine hours on Pucahirca Norte III’s north face, we stumbled upon a bergschrund only 20 m. from the top that provided protection and space for our three tired bodies. Virtually the same would occur three weeks later when the fading light would surprise us with yet another small crevasse high on the scary 70-degree East Face of Huascarán Sur: a perfect dream-creation of night-time accommodations for three desperate climbers. Yes. Definitely. The Andes Gods had willed for us to succeed. Our base camp for those first three weeks was a cabin maintained by the governmental agency in charge of controlling the water level of the high-altitude Safuna Lake. This was of particular concern because four years earlier an earthquake was the trigger for a huge mass of water from a nearby lake to shoot down a valley and completely destroy the town of Yungay and its 20,000 residents. Aided by my fluent Spanish, I developed a friendship with one of the employees stationed there, who shared information about that disaster. I eagerly listened to his explanations of the social changes then occurring in his agrarian community under the guiding hand of the country’s progressive president, Juan Velasco Alvarado. To this day I regret not having been able to make the 10-hour horse ride to visit his home in order to observe first hand his and his neighbours’ experience with the historical agrarian reform. In another essay I have provided technical details about what we climbed.vi Luckily, we were in rhythm with the weather: when dismal, we were holed up comfortably in the Electro-Peru cabin; and when decent we were putting up new exciting routes. Mostly, it was going up 70-degree flutings, that is, channels of hard snow, on southern faces. Being that the Cordillera Blanca is “one of few ice-clad regions within the tropics” (Ricker), it’s short, hot days melt snow surfaces and the long cold nights freeze it hard. So in our climbing, if one fluting became bare ice, we simply had to move to another three metres away to find a more desirable snow consistency. As a rule, we practiced simul climbing, with our rope protected at any one moment by two pickets (we carried about a dozen of these 90 mm. aluminium 1¼”-diameter pipes) and an occasional ice screw. The single thrust of a Chouinard ice hammer would provide instant, and nearly bomb-proof, protection. In the other hand, each of us carried an old-style ice axe: fortunately,

the occasions were few when we had to rely on its pick for solid protection. Experienced ice climbers today would shudder if they had to rely on these tools, but, truth be told, at no time did we experience significant fear or face undue danger. On the contrary, every day offered magnificent new challenges. As I explained in the AAJ article about one of our best but certainly not atypical nights: “Every good climb deserves a bivouac such as this. After the intense physical challenge and mental absorption of the climb, we were able to relax, suspended in the darkness near the top of our face, and meditate. It was a marvellous night, too special to pass away in sleep, as I intentionally woke myself at times in order to gaze out over the vertical landscape, reminding myself that I was really and fully alive.” Being that our time was running out for the northern segment of our Cordillera Blanca visit, we made plans to hike out. Our path would take us about four km due south from the Laguna Safuna cabins, down and then up over the pass between Pukarashta and Alpamayo (moderately difficult), then another six km down the Quebrada Arwei gocha to the stream at the base of the huge Quebrada Santa Cruz (moderate-easy). Then, we would walk west down the latter for some 19 km., through thigh-deep bogs, slippery-surfaced stream beds, and any sort of rocky terrain (easy but tedious). Remember: no adequate maps yet existed. The distances I have just written are estimates taken from the map, now in front of me as I write, that was probably drawn (probably by Ricker himself) several years after our visit. In the days before our departure, our friends at the Electro-Peru cabin had estimated that our total distance would be about 10 km. or about eight hours. (We should have doubted their feigned certainty being that we had even better maps than they.) But we took their word on faith. Accordingly, we accepted their offer to make radio contact so that a taxi from Huaraz would be waiting for us at 6:00 p.m. at the nearest road. We gifted all the remaining food to our Electro-Peru friends, and early in the morning we set off carrying packs full of our equipment. All was straightforward until the Quebrada (valley) Santa Cruz. Walking through the bogs, my water-filled double layered boots became so heavy that I removed the outer shells and tied them to the outside of my pack. For the remainder of the long hike they flopped with every step, driving home the certainty that the leather-sown inner boots I continued to wear would suffer irreparable damage. But the main problem was time. The endless and trail-less quebrada offered no real obstacles. We knew we had to hurry, so rest stops were out of the question. By 6:00 p.m. there was no sign of human presence, so we knew we were still far away. Continuing our speedy hike, we convinced ourselves that the taxi would wait for at least a few more hours. By eight

15 we fantasised that we would soon arrive. By 10 we were walking in near darkness. By 11 we would periodically hear the barking of dogs, which meant that we were passing by darkened homesteads. Fatigue and hunger played with my mind: I convinced myself that faint cattle or llama paths were actually human trails. By now the three of us were spread out and unable to communicate. By midnight, we were still blistering on down, now hearing the barking of dogs as we passed by our first (to us, invisible) rural houses. By one, I was deliriously convincing myself that mine was the shortest path. About two, I simply gave up with the idea of arriving. Almost sleepwalking, and with near rigor-mortis legs, I felt a furrow with my foot, spread out the plastic cloth, crawled into my summer-light REI bag, and instantly fell asleep. A few hours later it was the smell of the fresh cow dung directly under my head that awoke me, along with the first glow of the morning. An hour later we three were together in the town’s plaza. We had ample time to relax. There, I tried my first drink of home-made chica (a fermented corn drink). Discretely, my encrusted fingers removed two floating dead flies and, the rest of the afternoon, I fretted awaiting the first indication of “the runs”. By three, I knew I had escaped, as we boarded an open truck to stand alongside a dozen other passengers, or to sit on bags of potatoes and chicken cages that carried us to Huaraz’ central market. Now R & R for three days before we would set off for the mighty East Face of Huascarán. How was I to know that this would be (second to an attempt at crossing a swollen glacier-melt stream on Aconcagua) one of the closest calls I have ever had in a lifetime of mountaineering? There we were, unshaven and zombie-bronzed (i.e., with white eye sockets), and jump-walking as if we were on the surface of the moon. I have to add: saliva must have been dripping from our mouths because we were ravenous for beef. I personally had experienced a wet dream the first night back in a real bed, which had been fuelled not by thoughts of female, but of juicy steak. Loaded down with breakfast, we were on the streets. I eagerly stopped at the first chifa in order to consume a Chinese sizzle-fry. Thirty minutes later, pounding the pavement again, I oozed over the intoxicating smell of yet more meat fumes. I was not able to resist, in spite of my stuffed stomach. Three, four, five hours later I was still bloated, and now miserable. What with all that canned fish we had consumed for three weeks in the Safuna refuge, had my system lost the ability to digest beef? It is an understatement to say that I spent a horrible night. By morning, I was faint as I crawled to the Hotel Monterrey kitchen seeking a jar of mustard. My induced Continue reading on page 16

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Reader´s Contribution

16 Continuation of page 15

vomit nearly filled a three-litre pot! I could barely move as my two buddies went out to purchase the supplies we would need for a week on Huascarán. Next morning I remained miserable, but, bent-over, I dutifully followed my two comrades. A taxi carried us two km. past Shilla to Llipta. (The fine road continuing up the Quebrada Ulta, passing Punta Olímpica and on to Pompey on the eastern side of the Cordillera, did not yet exist). The first hours on the trail were sheer misery. Then, the Gods sent us a huge tractor that carried us for a half-hour, before we descended and hiked north towards the Matará Glacier. We passed by three young girls in felt hats, sitting on a low stone fence, whom I eternalised in a prize photo. By this time I was beginning to feel OK. By dinner, I was my ol’ self. Long live the Spartan conditions of the wilds. The cure for any of my ailments: just get near a climbing wall. We experienced astonishment glazing out at the long, imposing East Face that cannot be captured in a single photo. There in the centre, in spite of the distance, we could eye-follow our route whose upper third was a right-bending snow strip that ended just below the rocky summit crest. The first indication of our streak of luck: without retracing a step we successfully threaded our way through the maze of crevasses to the avalanche cone. The second: in the waning light we hustled our butts safely up that. The third: goose-stepping down onto the flat bottom of a huge crevasse we found a bivy site that totally protected us from falling rock or ice. On the morrow we easily walked out the other side of the crevasse to continue up the same type of 70-degree ice flutings that we had come to know over the past month. Up and away, the whole day long. Our fourth lucky find (already mentioned above): the crevasse, high on the East Wall (just before the start of the right-slanting ice strip), that provided for another perfect bivouac. The next morning, summit day, I put myself on belay to protect my two buddies who had to perform a scary, front-pointing horizontal traverse, before resuming an upward direction. Then the equally scary diagonal traverse on the right-bearing crescent-shaped band. Then, our exit onto dangerous loose rock, still roped up. I went first since I would be the least likely of us three to dislodge a loose rock. We were now in the shadows. Where had the hours gone? No time to rest. Nearing the top of the shit-rock, the wind picked up. Even though the cold began to bite, there was no stopping to put on our jackets. We did that only as dusk was falling and when we reached the snow. After another 40 minutes, and in the glow of the sun’s last rays, we emerged onto the summit ridge. I can’t think of too many enjoyable sum-

mits, and this was not one. High winds lifted our ropes in the air, and we had to lean against them. Caray! There was Huascarán’s shadow stretching towards the horizon! Darkness was rapidly snuffing out the red glow. I distinctly remember snapping my summit photo in near darkness, but as I saw weeks later, the wide aperture setting and slow trigger magically added sufficient light so that my two companions came out in royal colour. We had to get out of the high wind, and fast. Again, the Mountain Gods looked down on us with sympathy. In near total darkness we plodded for only five minutes to discover a flat protected spot where we eagerly got into our bivy gear to pass a welcome, but hungry, night. The only victim was Mike, who suffered a mild case of frostbite on some fingers. The next morning, I’m not sure whether we even roped up to wander down the easy slopes of the south summit, heading for the top of the Garganta. We arrived at a point where, high above, and with perfect visibility, we were able to peer at the gentle-sloping glacier far below that was speckled with perhaps 40 tents housing a hoard of international climbers. Between us and them: the dangerous ice fall. All those people down below must have been patiently waiting for their hired guides to complete fixing the ropes that they would use to get up the (normally) problematical ice blocks. How long have they been waiting, days, weeks? Our first reaction: “Oh God, they don’t have it set, so how are we going to get down? (suppress panic). A second reaction: We, the three of us, are the first to reach the summit this season! A third reaction: Could they, down below, see us? Is anyone looking up and wondering how we made it to here? Present tense. Here, in my study, the year is 2017. I read in the two guide books open before me that many parties ascending the East Face have had to spend yet another bivouac right here, above the ice fall because of the inevitable difficulties and high danger involved in its descent. But fortunately (and all hail to the Mountain Gods) that was not necessary for us in 1975. There I was studying the steep topography below me. Would it be possible? On the north side of the ice fall? Did I see a continuous line? Two-dozen guides down below had not seen it, so I was probably mistaken: from our perspective I could not see what to them must be an obvious, impassable, cliff or a crevasse gap too wide to cross. But was it just possibly a go? Gads, we would have to descend half the distance just to find out and, after seeing the obstacle, ascend back up here again, with these exhausted and famished bodies. Jim and Mike, initially, were not even interested. Squint. Squint. It’s just possible. I start out. “I think it will go.” Will my buddies follow me? I keep descending. They’re still not moving. I’m 50 metres

ahead and keep moving down un-roped. Drop-stepping into ideal snow, I thread my way here and there, following the possible path. No obstacle visible…yet. I yell back at my companions: “Follow me, it seems to be OK.” They begin to move. I continue. Not even dangerous enough to rope up. They’re moving behind me. We proceed. IT GOES. In the short period of 15 minutes, or was it 90 minutes? we are standing on the safe surface of the glacier, and the highest of the tents are just ahead. WE MADE IT. Hard to believe. The three of us kept walking on down. Passing the multitude of tents, I don’t remember speaking to anyone. (Were they all inside, asleep or bored to slumber?) Not even a friendly hello. Perhaps not a person even saw us descending our own safe and easy route to the right (looking up) of the ice fall. I don’t remember looking up to see if a guide or a team of guides was treading carefully in crampons, attempting to drive yet another screw for fastening yet another rope across and up the broken ice blocks. Of course, we were hardly of the disposition to socialise. So we kept pressing on down. Now the path over the glacier was easy to follow. Then the trail, then hours before nightfall, what must have been the village of Musho. We were down and out. Fast forward to October 2016, Huaraz, Peru. My wife and I had just spent five wonderful days in Huari (about five hours away, on the eastern edge of the Huascarán National Park). Now, we had three to four days for my primary, if not only, mission: to get up to date about the Cordillera Blanca range, and in particular the queen mountain, Huascarán Sur, but especially its East Face routes. I made the rounds of the different guide agencies that were most visible. (Remember, I speak excellent Spanish.) In every case, I came away with the impression that for any of them and their associated guides the East Face of Huascarán didn’t even exist. Understandably, they didn’t advertise their guide services for such hard and demanding routes. I heard several anecdotes about the extreme avalanche dangers of the regular, south-west Garganta Route. But nowhere, including the most famous “mountaineering” restaurants and equipment agencies, and even the headquarters of the Huascarán National Park, did I see even one photo of that mountain’s mighty East Face (in spite of the road passing underneath it, as alluded to above, that would make any afternoon jaunt up to the toe of the Matará Glacier easy to accomplish). An ego-padding anecdote: at the Huascarán National Park headquarters they must have believed that I was some sort of personaje (celebrity) because its director interviewed me for a half-hour and then gifted me a precious 150-paged, full-colour, book that commemorates the 40th anniversary of the park’s founding.

The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017 Interestingly, all the photos in it that hail from before about 1980 are in mediocre black and white. I instantly realised that stored in my La Crosse basement is a treasure-trove of perfectly preserved kodakrome slides of our seven weeks climbing and visiting in and around Huaraz. Already I have begun the tedious operation of digitalising many of them to share with the dedicated staff at the national park. I’m sure they will appreciate them. In and around Huaraz, I was also super interested in learning about the existing maps of the range. Nowhere did I see, either posted or stored in drawers, a copy of the very decent Richer maps of 1977.vii In most of the guide agencies good maps were almost nonexistent. In one equipment store I viewed under protective glass a copy of what the employee defended as the best map available, that was of German (?) manufacture.viii I left with the distinct impression that tourist-level climbers or trekkers make do with the one-page Xeroxed diagrams given to them by the agencies, and that serious international climbers arrive with their own maps, which I assume they have no problem obtaining.ix The last few paragraphs suggest the major disconnects existing between climbing communities, but especially between the climbing scene in Huaraz and the different climbing networks in the northern hemisphere. The first example: for every significant Cordillera Blanca route the Richter guide makes reference to first-ascent information published in perhaps 25 different regional or national alpine publications, and in dozens of languages (pp. 131-132), eternal thanks is due to the author for this outstanding research effort. This means that only the most diligent of the young German climbers in the 1970s might have been informed of what their climbing colleagues from Italy or Harvard might have accomplished in previous years. A second example: in my recent visit to Huaraz, I met no one who was familiar with, or had access to, the American Alpine Journal, whose yearly volumes contain accounts of the most important first ascents in this range. (Perhaps the last will and testament of a generous northern-hemisphere climber can designate the library of the Huascarán National Park headquarters as recipient for a complete AAJ collection.) And of course, while in Huaraz, I inquired about the ANZUS route, and any other lines, up the East Face of Huascarán Sur. In equipment store after store, in guiding agency after agency, I learned nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was as if that mighty East Face didn’t even exist. Of course, experienced guides there would not be interested in taking clients up such difficult and dangerous routes. This means that serious international climbers would still be making their arrangements completely independent of the different local agencies. No surprise there: we had done the same 40-some years ago (and we didn’t want any extraneous third person to come

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The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017 along and tell us “NO” to any, even the most minimum, detail of our distance-concocted plans. Here was, potentially, yet another of the existing disconnects. Other East Face routes? Both Richter and Sharmon describe three: the 1971 ascent up the SE ridge (TD--very difficult); the ANZUS route I have described earlier, for which we did the second ascent (TD+); and the 1972 Austrian line up “a great sweeping icefield” perhaps a hundred metres to the north of the ANZUS (ED, that is, extremely difficult). Sharmon includes two others: the “Spanish” line up the NE ridge (TD+), and the desperate 1979 “Austrian direct” line (ED) that begins between the ANZUS and the Austrian routes. All routes require multiple days and bivouacs, steep ice technique and gear, and ascending dangerous loose rock near the summit. Were I to return to climb, I would definitely choose the same line we had selected 42 years earlier. But after my short 2016 visit to Huaraz, I remain with the nagging question: does the very substantial melting of permanent snow/ice fields over the past 30 years (as I discuss below) mean the disappearance of much of the climbable steep ice and, therefore, an increase in the distance over which a party would have to go up dangerous, and largely unprotectable, loose rock? A derivative question: are the Austrian and ANZUS lines even climbable still? Perhaps an informed reader of these words will provide me with relevant information. The disappearance of ice and snow in the region has alarmed all informed individuals. One source reports that glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca have receded, between about 1980 and 2010, some 37%.x A specialist visiting the Huaraz region, recently reported that all the Cordillera Blanca glaciers are melting “at an alarming rate”, and that some are now smaller than they have been for the last 6000 years. He predicts that the Pastoruri Glacier will probably disappear within 10 years.xi This phenomenon could have dramatic, if not tragic, consequences for all of Peru, and especially for the millions of indigenous people, residing in mountainous areas, who will face a growing scarcity of water for their life-sustaining agriculture. For now, a related question is: how has this alarming aspect of global climate change affected the climbing routes on Huasarán and the other Cordillera Blanca peaks? David M. Sharman, Climbs of the Cordillera Blanca of Peru (Lima: Dolphin Creative, 1995), 122. John F. Ricker, Yuraq Janka: Guide to the Peruvian Andes. Part I: Cordilleras Blanca and Rosko (Banff: The Alpine Club of Canada; New York: The American Alpine Club, 1977, 1981), 82, gives the height of 6654 m. ii There is hardly any agreement as to this route’s name. One member of the first-ascent team, publishing in the 1972 issues of both the NZAJ and AAJ, calls i

Reader´s Contribution it the ANZUS route, a name derived from the three nationalities of members of the first-ascent team: Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. Ricker, Yuraq Janka, 84, calls it simply the “1971 traverse, route B.” Sharman, Climbs, 59, provides a good route description and for some unknown reason calls it the “ANZAC route.” During my 2016 visit to Huaraz, I talked with a half-dozen guides, none of whom had specific knowledge, nor maps, nor photos, of any routes up Huascarán Sur’s east face. iii Ricker, Yuraq Janka, on the map of the northern part of the Cordillera Blanca that accompanies his book, marks this “Ln [laguna, or lake] Sajuna.” iv Ricker, Yuraq Janka, 68, provides this name for the peak which at the time of its first ascent, was unnamed. Sharman, Climbs, 29, gives its altitude 5700 m. v I have “pirated” much of this paragraph--as I will with several others here-from my own William Katra [with corrections and additions by James Milne], “Northern Cordillera Blanca,” American Alpine Journal (New York: The American Alpine Club, 1975), 94-100 (with two accompanying photographs on unnumbered pages). vi Ibid. vii Both identical printings of the Richter guide --dated 1977 and 1981-- come with four excellent 30 X 90 cm. fold-out maps (two two-sided sheets). viii Here is what I copied from that map: “Mapa de Cordillera Blanca / Herausgegeben im Rahmen . . . vorn Oestereichischer Alpenverein / 2000 / Kartagraphische Bearbeiting. ix An early climbing account by C. G. Egeler [in co-operation with T. de Booy, trans.[from Dutch] W. E. James, The Untrodden Andes: Climbing Adventures in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru (London: Faber and Faber, n.d.), narrates about his 1952 expedition, accompanied by famous French alpinist Lionel Terray, that put up new routes on the Pongos Massif and Nevado Huantsán. He mentions their use of a “particularly fine topographical map . . . scaled 1: 100,000” (p. 16), and adds that their party made a new “geological map of terrain covering roughly 1,000 square kilometers . . . . most of it above the 13,000-ft.level (p. 199). x Karla Bardales Farroñay, “Casi la mitad del hielo en los glaciares ha desapaarecido,” El Comercio (Lima: 25 de marzo de 2012), a20. xi [Rex Broekman], “Interview: Lonnie G. Thompson: “The Pastoruri Glacier will probably disappear within ten years,” The Huaraz Telegraph (Huaraz: August 2016), 4-6. For the past five years Mr. Broekman (from the Netherlands) has almost single-handedly written and published this fine English-language monthly newspaper. See (www.thehuaraztelegraph.com).

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Environment

The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017

¨The lack of fresh water will also affect tourism in Huaraz in the future¨ The Huaraz Telegraph interviewed César Augusto Portocarrero Rodríguez who shared his thoughts on the importance of water in the 21st century, the possible threat of Laguna Palcacocha and his great friendship with the American paleoclimatologist and distinguished university professor at the School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University, Dr Lonnie G. Thompson.

even lived in his house for a while when I was in the United States. I know his wife and his daughter, who would always laugh when I tried to pronounce the word chicken in English. During the era of terrorism in Huaraz, I received many treats, and Lonny managed to get me a US visa, but I couldn’t leave my family. Luckily, things calmed down, but I will never forget his generosity.

Before we get to that, first a small summery of Portocarrero’s lengthy career and some of the awards he was won. Engineer Portocarrero Rodríguez was born in 1947, in the old Inca neighbourhood of T’ococachi, today known as San Blas in the city of Cusco. He studied at Salesiano School and the Gran Unidad Escolar Inca Garcilaso de la Vega in Cusco and would later graduate in civil engineering at the National University of San Antonio Abad in Cusco in 1971. Additionally, he has studied glaciology, geomorphology, water resources, and the El Niño phenomenon at the IRI (Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory) in New York in 1981 and 1995-1996.

So how does a civil engineer get involved in glaciology and what are you working on at the moment?

Portocarrero Rodríguez started his professional career working on the Itahuanía-Manu road in Madre de Dios, the Sanitation Corporation of Arequipa, the Reconstruction and Development Corporation of Cusco, the Commission for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of the Ancash area, which was affected by the earthquake of 1970, especially in the provinces of Pomabamba, Mariscal Lujzuriaga, Sihuas, Corongo and Huaylas. In addition, he directed water and sewage sanitation projects in Caraz and Marcará after the earthquake. Later on, Portocarrero worked in the Glaciology and Water Resources Unit of Electroperú, developing security projects related to dangerous lakes of glacial origin in the Cordilleras Blanca and Huaytapallana. He has also participated in the fieldwork and paleoclimatic research cabinet, a project led by Dr Thompson of the Polar Byrd and Climate Research Center of the University of Ohio between 1978 and 2007. Portocarrero was the first-ever Manager of Natural Resources of the Ancash Region in 2003 and 2004. Portocarrero Rodríguez has received a number of awards, including being declared a mountain hero by the Mountain Institute at the National Geographic Auditorium in Washington, in 2011. His work has been recognised by the National Water Authority of Peru and College of Engineers in Huaraz. In December 2016, Portocarrero received the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal, which is the world’s most prestigious award for mountain advocacy, created to recognise people who have completed a remarkable service in the conservation of culture and nature in mountainous regions. Portocar-

The Huaraz Telegraph Will tourists still come to Huaraz when the mountains have lost their snow and ice?

rero currently serves as an independent consultant in disaster risk management and water resources management. We met César Augusto Portocarrero Rodríguez at his home in Huaraz and asked him about his friendship with Dr Thompson, who we interviewed last year. Mr Portocarrero, we understand that you share a long friendship with the American paleoclimatologist and distinguished university professor Dr Thompson. Do you think his work in Peru is appreciated and valued by Peruvians? Dr Thompson and I met in 1978 when he started to drill at the Quelccaya ice cap in southern Peru. At the time, many people, including many geologists, didn’t want to work with him because they had to spend three months over 5,000 metres for research reasons. I volunteered to join him, even though I had never touched snow before. I remember that in Lima people told me to bring my equipment; however, I had no idea what this meant. I brought sweaters, pants and many shirts, but no mountaineering equipment. Our friendship began on my first day with him. I have since accompanied Lonny on most of his expeditions in Peru from 1978 until 2007. I believe that in September this year he wants to go again, although I won´t be able to join him because of ill health. What I would like to share about Dr Thompson is that his initial project to drill in the Quelccaya ice cap was originally rejected. Most important glaciologists were European, and, although Dr Thompson wanted to go to Peru, the project was cancelled because it was believed that drilling over 5,000 metres was impossible. Luckily for Dr Thompson, while drilling on Antarctica in 1973, he was offered U$ 7,000,

and he left for Peru in the summer of the following year. Dr Thompson was very dedicated and capable researcher, and did what he could at the time. The first drilling didn’t prove to be very successful because the pilots of the helicopter that took the drill didn’t want to land, but Dr Thompson would not give up easily. At the same time, a student from Nebraska offered to produce a much lighter drill that would work on solar energy. I believe that in 1983 he managed to accomplish the first ever drilling at an altitude of above 5,000 metres. This is how his great career started. In 2003, I joined him on an expedition; however, I suffered an accident and almost died. During some explosions, a projectile hit me in my chest just below the shoulder. What is interesting is that Dr Thompson has now drilled in more than 18 countries around the world, and maybe the most remarkable country on that list is China. At the time, China would not let foreigners in, but they offered Lonny a visa on the condition that it would be him alone. Off he went. He told me that he didn’t like the food very much, and that he was only allowed to walk at night because the Chinese didn’t want a foreigner to see the area during the day. This shows his great strength and work spirit. Now times have changed, and he is an honoured member of the Chinese Glaciology Unit. Many years ago, in Cusco, Dr Thompson gave many interesting lectures and speeches; however, people weren’t very interested. In Lima, his work has been recognised, but not officially; he hasn’t been offered the rewards he deserves for his work in Peru. Although now in Cusco, he has received the recognition he absolutely deserves. We share a great friendship, and I have

Well, this is thanks to Dr Thompson, and the fact that I asked too so many questions! I have always participated in congresses abroad, and I remember that when I was still a very young and unexperienced engineer, a group of geologists from Lima were going to the hydropower tunnel of Machu Picchu. I went to the secretary and asked her to put my name on the list of people that were going the day after. Logically, I was never going to be invited; however, I wanted to go because I thought that this was an interesting opportunity. Maybe 15 minutes later, I got a call from the manager who asked why my name was on that list. I told him that I thought I had to, because shutting down the hydropower tunnel of Machu Picchu didn’t happen that often. The manager applauded my initiative and said that I was the only volunteer that had taken that initiative and that I could go. This initiative has brought me to Italy and Austria; however, it started with Dr Thompson. Now, I work independently on high mountain risk management projects, although I have also worked as a civil engineer when the glaciology unit was shut down in 1996. I have created dams and supervised waterworks all over Peru. Being a waterworks expert, do you consider that Palcacocha is a threat for Huaraz or is this just a fairy tale? Palcacocha forms a latent danger for our city, and two things should be realised. Firstly, the water volume should be lowered, being Palcacocha is a glacial lake, this should be realised with complementary hydraulic works. Secondly, an early warning system is required. Because of climate change, this system is necessary and should be installed according to international standards. Palcachocha doesn’t currently have such a system because of the lack of political willingness. The main political authorities, apparently, do not see the importance. Many people in Huaraz say Palcacocha, Cuchillacocha and Tulparaju form no danger at all. These people have no idea what they are talking about. Let me give you an ex-

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The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017 ample. When I hear people saying this, I remember that in January 1962 the town of Ranrahirca was destroyed by an aluvión. After this aluvión, a couple of experts from Lima came to the area and ascended the Huascaran. On their way down, they noticed a huge crack, with rocks and ice on top of it. The experts warned the authorities and population and predicted an aluvión three times as devastating to the previous one. This was published in September that same year in Lima´s newspaper Diario Expreso. When the article came out, locals were told that this was all a lie. I believe they even threatened to put the authors behind bars. Eight years later, we all know what happened. So, people saying that there is no problem with Palcacocha, this is because of a lack of knowledge. To be or not to be, that is the question. I believe that there is absolutely a danger and the reasons are well explained. From ice it´s a small step to water, how do you see the future of mankind in relation to glaciers and water accessibility? The United Nations have declared that the water crisis will commence in 2030. Why? Because the demand for water has increased about 30-40%, and the current production of water isn’t enough. Speaking in terms of civilization, the impacts of climate change may cause the collapse of world´s civilization in 2040. Investigative journalist Dr Nafeez Ahmed predicted this. He ran an investigation from a social-political point of view, and came to the conclusion that the world´s civilization could collapse in 2040 due to catastrophic food shortages and environmental disaster. Ahmed indicates four main reasons for this: climate change, water shortage, globalization process and the increase of political instability around the world. At the moment, in Lima, they´re having an interesting congress called Yaku 2017 (Perú: Encuentro Nacional por el Agua: Yaku 2017). Yesterday I was listening to one of the exponents who was saying that, on a national level, Peru´s government isn’t addressing the water problems. You should realise that the demand for fresh water has increased over the past twenty years. It´s still increasing because the quality of life in Peru has increased. Until maybe 50 years ago, people would take a shower once a week; however, nowadays, people can shower quickly, and a couple of times a day. It´s said that when a population doubles its size, the fresh water use is tripled or quadrupled. More people means more water use. If this problem isn’t managed the way it should be, the world will face serious problems. I don’t have to mention the fresh water crisis that Africa is suffering, but this will probably spread worldwide. The Amazon is the most important water source in the world, but eventually we will have to carry water from the jungle to the coast. I remember that engineer Guido Muñoz from Cajamarca in Peru once presented a project to the government to bring water from the Marañón River to the coast. However, our penultimate

Environment

government cancelled the project. I believe it was a great project. Bolivian hydrologist Carlos Fernandez-Jauregui once said that water should not be a reason for division; it should be a motive for solidarity. It´s key that we start working on the efficient use of fresh water. Last year you received a medal in Nepal, how did this happen? I worked on a project concerning Imja Tsho (or Imja Lake) in Nepal. This glacial lake was created after meltwater began collecting at the foot of the Imja and it is one of the fastest-growing meltwater lakes in the Himalayas. It´s considered as the second most dangerous lake in the Himalaya. Because of my contribution to this project, members of the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Foundation asked for my personal details and I was awarded the medal later that year. I remember having read on many occasions the stories of Sir Edmund Percival ¨Ed¨ Hillary and his Everest adventures. When I was a child, I could only have dreamt of visiting Nepal, but I have been there now many times. I am very grateful for having had the opportunity to work in Nepal.

WWW.CHURUP.COM / INFO@CHURUP.COM TEL: 043-424200 JIRON AMADEO FIGUEROA 1257 LA SOLEDAD - HUARAZ

Returning to the topic of water, which country is best prepared to face the water crises you mentioned earlier? There are a couple of countries that are better prepared, for instance some European countries and the United States, but Israel is the country that is farthest ahead. Israel converts seawater in to fresh water, a great example of efficient water use. Something interesting I read published by Dr David James Molden of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), said that to create successful water management, we should first analyse how the water is used in agriculture. Particularly in Peru, agriculture uses 89% of all the water that´s available. Of this 89%, 60% is used incorrectly, and is wasted. This is something we should address. Agriculturists should be helped by the state because if not, Peru will face serious problems in the near future. Ten years ago, in Lima, no one would talk about water shortage. However, the Sedapal Water Company now announces almost daily that the water pressure will drop and that people should expect water cuts. These are signals and indicators that Peru is already facing water problems. A renowned Canadian water expert recently said in a study that in seven of nine subwatersheds in the Cordillera Blanca, the water level is lowering dramatically. The lack of fresh water will also affect tourism in Huaraz in the future. Why do tourists visit our city? Because of its scenic beauty, of course. This fantastic contrast of colours will disappear when the mountains lose their snow and ice. I believe that we should start thinking about water management. I hope that my children and grandchildren will still be able to enjoy the scenic beauty of the Callejón the Huaylas.

La Casa de Maruja B&B

Las Esmeraldas 146, Huaraz 043-222538

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History

The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017

A visit to hotel Colomba in search of nostalgia, history, soft drinks and beer Huaraz has hundreds of hotels, but not many of them have been part of Huaraz´ history for over a century. First built in 1903 by Mr Carlos Maguiña Herrera (1882 – 1962), owner of copper and silver mines Huancaramá, the building that is now the Hotel Colomba once housed the soft drinks and syrups company El Fénix (1909 – 1990 ), a factory for sweets, chocolates and biscuits (1928 – 1959), as well as the El Huascarán Brewery (1932 – 1961). The hotel, built on a solid stone structure, has resisted the onslaught of nature: the flood of 1941 and the devastating earthquake of 1970, which caused no damage to the property. It is said that not only has it resisted nature and the passage of time but also the local district authorities that have tried to divide the land with the purpose of building a road, without assessing its history and the conservation of the interior. Today, the hotel has been completely remodelled with a comfortable and modern interior, and boasts excellent quality of services within its ample green areas. The hotel offers games for children, a squash and basketball court, restaurant and cafeteria services, room service, free parking, a gym and a laundry. The Huaraz Telegraph paid a visit to the hotel to see what´s left of the former factory and brewery. We met with Luis Antonio Maguiña Valenzuela, great-grandson of Carlos Maguiña Herrera and current owner and administrator of the hotel. Luis spoke passionately and with pride about the past. Mr Maguiña, please tell us the history of your hotel It all started thanks to my greatgrandfather, Carlos Maguiña Herrera, who was the founder of the soft drinks and syrups factory El Fenix, a family business that started in 1903 in the mansion that still stands on the corner of Jirón Fransisco de Zela with Jirón Víctor Velez. The soft drinks and syrups factory operated until 1990. The brewery was started in 1932 and shut down in 1961. It produced a couple of beers including Cebú, which was a dark beer; Pilsen Huaraz was a blond beer and Cerveza Huascarán, the company´s best quality beer. Unfortunately, in 1954, the German brew master left Huaraz for Cusco and my grandfather wasn’t able to produce the correct formula, so he continued with the soft drinks factory. The soft drinks were sold in the Callejón de Huaylas, from Catac to Caraz, including its neighbouring villages and settlements in the Cordillera Negra and Blanca. People liked it a lot, and I remember that people drank it together with some bread. The factory produced different flavoured drinks including raspberry, strawberry, orange,

and pineapple, and the bottles were one of a kind. In the beginning, the bottles were recycled and reused after being washed by hand in a fountain that remains in the front yard. Originally, the bottles were sealed with a cork and later on with a small round glass ball that was placed inside the bottle neck. In 1970, the company purchased a Barnett and Foster bottling and cleaning machine. This made production a lot more efficient, as the cleaning machine was able to handle 48 bottles per minute. The machine also had inbuilt quality checks to ensure the bottles were thoroughly clean. The clean bottles were passed to the automatic carbonator, which added carbonic gas with flavoured water . After that, the bottles were capped, quality checked and shipped out to distributors and shops. The shipping boxes were interesting too. Nowadays, most global companies use bottle crates that fit 24 bottles; however, we used crates that had room for three dozen––one dozen on each side separated by a piece of wood, the third dozen went upside down.

The Huaraz Telegraph Employees working in the factory (all pictures private archive Mr. Luis Maguiña Valenzuela)

Our soft drinks were very popular and were commonly known as La Huaracina or La Colombita in memory of my grandmother Sr Colomba Maguiña. After the earthquake of 1970, other soft drinks were introduced to the Huaraz market such as Concordia, Coca Cola, Inka Cola and Pepsi Cola, etc. Our market share decreased; however, in the rural areas, people kept buying Fenix. Our beer was popular in Huaraz. Older people will definitely remember Pilsen Huaraz and Cebú, which was so good it was sold in the Crillón in our capital. The beer was shipped out of Huaraz on mules to Casma, where the beer was taken to Lima by boat. My great-grandmother was very enterprising, and in 1947 she brought the first truck to Huaraz to transport the soft drinks and beers. The truck was brought to Huaraz completely dismantled and transported by mules, which was the only way to get it here. When they received the chassis and motor in Huaraz, they had to put all the pieces together. However, they soon realised that it was too big to fit down the narrow streets, and so it was dismantled and returned by mules to Casma. My great-grandparents were illustrious people, and my great-grandfather is mentioned in the first edition of the biographical dictionary of Peru of 1943. He has also been ad honorem mayor of Huaraz and my grandfather Federico Maguiña too between 1946 and 1947. My great-grandmother has also done many things for the Huaraz population and it makes me sad that not many people remember this.

The Huaraz Telegraph Front view of the mansion on the corner of Jirón Fransisco de Zela with Jirón Víctor Velez

The original buildings of the factories were made of adobe bricks, but with the introduction of the reforma agraria peruana [The Agrarian Reform was a social political process executed worldwide, following the guidelines of the new world order of the time, expropriating many land owners of over nine million hectares of land ], we decided to build the hotel in order to avoid

the government taking our land. The hotel was opened in 1972. What has been your role in the company before becoming the current hotel manager? I arrived in Huaraz in 1983 and my grandfather, who was a smart and experienced person, let me observe the entire production process for over a week, that´s all I did. After that, I helped in the production process, and I went into town with the distributors, where I talked with the costumers and got to know the market a lot better. One day I had to drive the distribution truck and visit all little villages in the Callejón de Huaylas.

The Huaraz Telegraph Cebú Beer logo, sadly no longer available

When my grandparents had to go to Lima because of health reasons, I was left in charge of the soft drinks factory. We treated our employees very well they received breakfast and lunch in the factory. In the 70s, we had between 10 and 15 people working for us, and we had two Ford trucks, two Dodge trucks and three tricycles. By the 80s, we only had two trucks and each truck had a driver and two helpers.

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The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017 How did the flood of 1941 and the terrible earthquake of 1970 affect the company? The flood of ‘41 inundated the property with mud a metre high, but it did not destroy the buildings. It did however stop the production of our factories because we had to clean up and reinstall the production process. If you look at our property now, you can see lot unevenness. This is because of the aluvión. The main part of the rocks are still in our yard and underneath the new buildings because they´re so big, it would take much effort to get rid of them. Some have been destroyed

The Huaraz Telegraph An original bottle of Fenix soft drink

with dynamite, for example where we constructed our garage. Did you know that the district of Independencia is far safer compared to the Huaraz part? Crossing the bridge from the Rio Quillcay, the soil becomes very rocky, whereas the Huaraz part is unstable because of subterranean water streams.

The Huaraz Telegraph Mr Federico Maguiña Cóndor and his wife

The earthquake of 1970 didn’t destroy as much in Independencia compared to Huaraz. This is because the movement of the earth in Independencia was horizontal. In Huaraz, the movement was vertical like small waves. The subterranean water streams will cause Huaraz problems in the future because in the past, water beds were to be found at one metre and 80 cm, nowadays if you dig a hole, water can be found at just over half a metre. Can you image what this means for the seven-, eight- and nine-storey buildings?

History

This might bother some people, but Independencia (Independencia is a district that is part of Huaraz, basically crossing the bridge towards the north) is the best place to build. After the earthquake, production had to be stopped. Apart from natural disasters, we have also fought battles with the authorities of Independencia. A former mayor, who is a colleague of yours as he works on television, tried to lay a street through our property. This caused a trial which we won, but lasted until 1999. Can we try the beer and soft drinks, and have you ever tried or thought to relaunch one of the products? Sadly, no one can. All that´s left are empty bottles, pictures and memories, the fountain I mentioned earlier and a mill. I have absolutely considered making a home brew beer, but it would only have been for guests staying at our hotel. My children and wife live abroad, and I am tired. Maybe my enthusiasm has ebbed away. In the past, I have actually worked for Coca Cola and for Pilsen Trujillo and Cusqueña, and I have seen how these companies can react. The market has changed too, the consumers of the 40s, 50s and 60s don’t exist anymore, and don’t forget, tastes and customs have changed as well. For different reasons, local people from Huaraz would prefer a beverage from the capital, instead of a product from their own land. Start-up costs, publicity and competition do not make it likely we will re-establish a brewery. Many people have suggested it in the past and we have done some market research, but there was not sufficient interest. Kola Real and Coca Cola are very competitive because of the massive volumes they can produce. It would be mission impossible. It´s nostalgia, that´s it. Are locals interested in the history of the hotel and your great-grandparents at all? No. If you walk out the door, you will see that Independencia has a boulevard named after a folk singer, it also has her statue. In Huaraz, the cultural centre carries the same for one of its former mayors. I am not against that, but Francisco Sotelo [creator of Radio Huascarán] or maybe Armando Moreno [entrepreneur and creator of daily Prensa Regional], Victor Valenzuela Guardia [main drive behind the creation of the National University of Ancash Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo] and my great-grandfather were all part of the history of Huaraz. A mayor needs to comply with his job and that´s it. There are no streets named after Francisco Sotelo, Armando Moreno, Víctor Valenzuela Guardia nor my great-grandfather. There is a whole bunch of streets in Indepencia called, Caraz, Jungay, Pomabamba [villages in the Callejón de Huaylas and Conchucos area] etc., but I believe that these streets should carry the names of illustrious people who have contributed to society. Have any members of the municipality ever visited the hotel and offered to sit down and discuss this idea? No. They only knock our door if they need a free room [laughing].

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Tourist Information

The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017

All you should know about day trips, trekking, mountaineering and rock climbing The Cordillera Blanca offers countless opportunities for trekkers and climbers, as well as for people not so keen on physical activities. The wonderful lakes and glaciers of the White Range are easily accessible from the town of Huaraz. Here is a quick guide to the best activities around Huaraz. DAY TRIPS Daily sightseeing tours These tours are great for those of you who are not so active, or who need to acclimatise before heading out into the mountains. LLANGANUCO – This tour visits the villages in the Huaylas Valley (Carhuaz, Yungay, Caraz), and the beautiful Llanganuco Lake. Be aware that you will only spend from 40 minutes to one hour at the lake and spend much time at places of little interest. Departs every day. Alternatively you can visit the lakes independently, taking a taxi from Yungay, that way you can take full advantage of the lakes. CHAVIN DE HUANTAR – This tour takes you to Chavin, a village situated on the other side of the Cordillera Blanca in the Conchucos Valley. Here you can visit the Chavin de Huantar UNESCO World Heritage site, featuring some of the oldest and most significant pre-Inca ruins in Peru, as well as the Chavin National Museum, which has recently been completely refurbished and is very much worth a visit. You also make a stop at the lovely Lake Querococha along the way. Departs every day except Mondays. PASTORURI – This tour visits the southern section of the Cordillera Blanca, with the amazing Pastoruri glacier, which is still well worth a visit despite having lost 40% of its ice in recent years. You can’t help but be impressed by the huge ice cliffs and the Puya Raimondii – a rare 12m high bromeliad plant which you visit on the way to the glacier. Make sure you become acclimatised before going on this tour as the glacier is at 5000m. Departs every day. Day hikes These hikes are perfect for those needing to acclimatise before a trek, or for those with limited time. LAKE WILCACOCHA, 3750m – This is the best hike to start your activities with if coming from sea level, as it is not above 4000m. It can be done in half a day and for those with some hiking experience it can easily be done independently using public transport. The trailhead is a mere 15-minute drive away at Chiwipampa, the hike up to the lake, located in the Cordillera Negra, takes approximately two hours. From the lake, you are rewarded with amazing panoramic views of the Cordillera Blanca. LAKE CHURUP, 4485m – This is one of the closest and most easily accessible hike from Huaraz, leading to a very beautiful turquoise/emerald green coloured glacial lake. It can be quite challenging as there are some steep sections and there is a rock wall before the lake, which you need

to scramble up to, there are wires to help you up. It can be tricky in the rainy season when the rock is wet and incredibly slippery, so be careful. It is recommended not to hike alone, but for experienced hikers a guide is not necessary as the path is easy to find. For those of you with limited hiking experience, it is advisable to go with a guide, as he will help you go up and down the rock wall safely. The trailhead at Llupa or Pitec can be easily reached by public transport. LAKE 69, 4600m – This is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful hikes in the Cordillera Blanca. Located in the northern section of the national park, from Huaraz it’s roughly a 3 -hour drive to the trailhead (Cebollapampa), but the journey is incredibly scenic with great views of Mount Huascaran and the Llanganuco Lakes. The hike is of moderate difficulty, but can be challenging for those with limited acclimatisation. You can reach the trailhead by public transport easily, but finding transport to get back can prove very difficult, so it is recommended to hire private transport from Huaraz. For those with hiking experience, a guide is not necessary as the path is clear, but make sure you are already a little acclimatised to the high altitude before setting off (if coming from sea level this is not recommended for a first hike), otherwise you may have some serious problems with altitude sickness, which is why some agencies prefer to send a guide with their groups so that they can keep an eye on any potential problems. The lake is totally stunning, not only its pristine blue colour, but also its fantastic location at the foot of the mighty Mount Chacraraju. You are rewarded with awesome views of the Cordillera Blanca’s highest summits during the hike. LAKE PARON, 4140m – This lake is located in the northern section of the national park. You need to first go to the town of Caraz before ascending towards the Cordillera Blanca, a long but scenic journey going through the Paron Valley, where huge granite cliffs tower high on all sides. You can go all the way to the lake by private transport, then those who wish can follow the path that skirts the northern shores of the lake and that leads to the Artesonraju Base Camp, or/and can hike up to the viewpoint. This is the largest and one of the most beautiful lakes in the range, as it is surrounded by many impressive snow-capped peaks. Group departures to this lake are not daily, but more or less once or twice a week when there is enough demand. LAKE AGUAC, 4580m – This is another lake located close to Huaraz. The trail starts at the ruins of Wilcahuain and is fairly easy to find. It is quite a long hike (approx. 4 hours to reach the lake, less to come back down) and the altitude can make it challenging. The lake doesn’t have a special colour, but there are some great mountain views around. TREKKING Easy to moderate treks SANTA CRUZ TREK (four days) – Undoubtedly the Cordillera Blanca’s most famous and popular trek. It is suitable for novice hikers, but good acclimatisation is essential before starting the trek. This trek

deserves its fame; offering varied scenery and endless views of majestic snowcapped peaks, jewelled glacial lakes and gorgeous Andean valleys. For those with ample experience of trekking at high altitude, this trek is doable without a guide, but be sure to follow the national park rules especially to carry all your rubbish out of the park. Ask in town for directions before heading out, as although easy to follow, the path is not signposted. Departures for this trek in an all-inclusive organised group run daily in high season, but standards vary from one company to the next. The trek can be completed in three or four days, but if you do it in three days you will miss the side trip to the Alpamayo base camp and Lake Arhuaycocha, which is undoubtedly one of the trek’s highlights. OLLEROS – CHAVIN TREK also known as LLAMA TREK (three days) – A less popular trek, it mainly crosses vast expanses of puna, following ancient preInca and Inca paths that lead to the village of Chavin. There are no glacial lakes and few snow-capped mountain views during this trek, but you will come across isolated communities. Moderate to challenging treks AKILPO – ISHINCA TREK (three days) – This trek is similar in difficulty to the Quilcayhuanca trek, although donkeys can be used (they do not go over the pass but go back and around). The pass is very high at 5050m and the path leading up to it is steep and not well marked, the descent from the pass is very difficult and potentially dangerous if you go the wrong way. The trek starts at the pre-Inca ruins of Honcopampa, and then goes up the Akilpo Valley through beautiful forests of local quenual trees, before reaching the superb Lake Akilpo just before the pass. Then you go down to the Ishinca Valley. This trek is perfect for fit, experienced hikers looking for an alternative to the Santa Cruz trek. Good acclimatisation is essential before starting the trek. QUILCAYHUANCA – COJUP TREK (three days) – A stunning trek which goes through some less-visited, but none the less stunning valleys of the Cordillera Blanca. It is a much tougher trek than the Santa Cruz for two reasons. First there are no donkeys to carry all the equipment, so you will have to carry a backpack weighing around 15kg (the weight depends on the number of porters accompanying the group). Second, because the pass is much higher. At 5050m the path leading up to it is very steep, rocky and generally not well trodden. The way down from the pass is even steeper and more challenging. This trek is perfect for fit, experienced hikers who wish to experience peace and tranquillity. Good acclimatisation is essential before starting the trek. Note that some agencies haven taken the habit of doing the trek in reverse, starting in Cojup, in order to avoid the national park control point in Pitec and send uncertified guides. Doing the trek this way is not recommendable as the ascent to the pass from the Cojup side is too challenging for most people. Challenging treks HUAYHUASH TREK (eight to twelve days) – The Huayhuash full circuit trek

is considered as one of the world’s most beautiful. It is a trek that requires good physical condition and acclimatisation, because it crosses many high passes (eight passes minimum ranging from 4650m to 5050m) and the campsites are all above 4100m. Trekkers are rewarded with endless breath-taking views of stunning glacial lakes, pristine valleys and icy peaks, which can be extremely close. There are many alternatives possible for the itinerary, but the most common group departures are for the eight day and ten day treks. Those with more time and wishing to explore less visited valleys of the range can do the trek in as many as 15 days, and take the more challenging high trail. Those with limited time can do the four day Mini Huayhuash trek, which visits one of the range’s most beautiful locations: the Lake Jahuacocha area. CEDROS – ALPAMAYO TREK (seven to ten days) – This trek is less popular than the Huayhuash trek, and also very different, although not less beautiful. It is probably a bit more challenging too, even though the passes are not as high (eight passes on the full circuit ranging from 4400m to 4850m), but the trails leading up to the passes are much steeper. You are unlikely to meet many trekkers and will come across several isolated Quechua communities who still follow a traditional lifestyle. The highlight of this trek is undoubtedly the view from Jancarurish of Mount Alpamayo, known as the World’s most Beautiful Mountain thanks to its near perfect pyramid of ice. You will not see as many glacial lakes and close-up views of glaciers on this trek as on the Huayhuash trek, but the landscape is much more varied and the isolation a real bonus. The trek can be done in seven days starting in Hualcayan or Huancarhuas and finishing in Pomabamba, allowing one worthwhile rest day in Jancarurish, but take into account that you need a full day to travel back to Huaraz from Pomabamba (night buses are not recommended due to frequent robberies on this route). For those with more time, you can add extra days by joining on to the Santa Cruz trek at the end, making it a ten or 11 day itinerary if finishing in Cashapampa, or a nine day itinerary if finishing in Vaqueria. The trek can be done in reverse, but it is tougher. MOUNTAINEERING Keep in mind that glacier conditions change from year to year, so what was an easy walk across a glacier one year may be a difficult passage through crevasses the following year. So make sure to check the latest conditions in town before setting out on any of these expeditions. Non-technical climbs These expeditions are suitable for people with no previous mountaineering experience; however, even though they are often referred to as trekking peaks these expeditions, although not technical, are harder than a trek, due to the fact that you wake up at midnight, walk in the dark and use heavy equipment such as mountain boots and crampons. If you are fit and have experience of trekking at high altitude and want to experience being on a glacier, then one of these peaks is for you.

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The Huaraz Telegraph August 2017 MOUNT PISCO, 5752m (three days) – This expedition offers some of the best summit views of any peak of the Cordillera Blanca, and for that reason is very popular. Crossing the moraine takes two to three hours and is considered the most challenging part of the expedition. It is possible to include a hike to Lake 69 on the last day. MOUNT VALLUNARAJU, 5686m (two days) – This expedition can be quite challenging, because no donkeys can be used, you have to carry roughly a 15kg backpack up a steep path to moraine camp on day 1. It is very popular due to its proximity to Huaraz making it a short expedition. At the moment the main summit is not being climbed because it is completely full of crevasses, which make the ascent much longer than before and also much more intimidating, therefore not suitable for beginners. For that reason most expeditions now climb the South summit, which at 5675m is only 11 metres lower than the North summit. MOUNT ISHINCA, 5530m (three days) – This peak is mostly used as an acclimatisation peak for those wanting to climb the higher and more technical Mount Tocllaraju, which is situated in the same valley. MOUNT MATEO 5150m, (one day) – This peak, which is part of the Contrahierbas Massif, is the only one that can be climbed in a single day, leaving Huaraz at 4am and coming back some time in the afternoon. Despite often being described as an easy climb, it remains a mountaineering expedition that should be undertaken with a qualified guide and all the necessary safety equipment. Intermediate level climbs These expeditions are suitable for people with some mountaineering experience. It is recommended to climb a 5000m+ peak before starting any of these expeditions in order not to suffer from altitude sickness. MOUNT TOCLLARAJU, 6034m (four days) – This expedition is perfect for those who have climbed a non-technical summit previously and want to take the next step in the mountaineering world by trying something more technical. It includes the ascent of two 60m high ice walls requiring the use of ice axes. The relatively short summit ascent makes it a perfect first 6000m+ peak. MOUNT CHOPICALQUI, 6354m (four days) – This expedition has the same technical difficulty level as Mount Tocllaraju, but it is a more difficult climb due to the much longer summit route and higher altitude. It includes the ascent of two 60m high ice walls requiring the use of ice axes. It offers one of the Cordillera Blanca’s most beautiful ascent routes along its southwest ridge. MOUNT HUASCARAN SOUTH 6768m, (seven days) – Although not very difficult from a technical point a view, this is an extremely tough expedition suitable only for mountaineers with plenty of experience, due to the difficult climbing conditions (crevasses, risk of avalanche, extreme cold and altitude). Do not underestimate the difficulty of this climb. Technical climbs

Tourist Information These expeditions are suitable for people with plenty of technical mountaineering experience. It is recommended to climb a 5000m+ peak before starting any of these expeditions in order not to suffer from altitude sickness. MOUNT ALPAMAYO, 5947m (seven days) – This is a serious and technically challenging expedition requiring the ascent of a 470m high ice wall. Excellent crampon and ice axe techniques are essential. Please note that the ascent from base camp to high camp is particularly challenging, given that you need to climb up a 60m high ice wall (at a 55 degree incline), carrying your backpack. Known as the World’s Most Beautiful Mountain, each year Alpamayo attracts many mountaineers from the world over. MOUNT ARTESONRAJU, 6025m (five days) – This is a mentally, physically and technically demanding climb requiring the ascent of a 600m high ice wall, at an incline of 50 degrees. Excellent crampon and ice axe techniques are essential, as well as an excellent physical condition. Two ascent routes are possible, either from Lake Paron or from the Santa Cruz Valley.

WARNING FOR TOURISTS: AVOID THE RATAQUENUA CROSS AND DON´T HIKE FROM THE RUINS OF WILCAHUAIN TOWARDS THE BAÑOS TERMALES IN MONTERREY BECAUSE OF ARMED ROBBERIES ON TOURISTS now under new management that charges visitors S/15 soles per day or S/25 soles per night, yet offering no facilities. Given that none of the issues mentioned above have been resolved, we do not recommend anyone visiting Hatun Machay at present (for more information visit our website: www.thehuaraztelegraph.com). THE SPHINX – Also known as The Colossus of the Andes or ‘La Esfinge’ in Spanish, it is situated 90km northeast of Huaraz in the Paron Valley and is considered to be one of the most

amazing granite rock walls in South America, offering a variety of traditional climbing routes with superb views of the snow-capped summits of the Cordillera Blanca surrounding it. Given its extreme altitude (5325m), it is essential to be well acclimatised before setting off on this climb and to have sufficient experience in traditional climbing. It takes an average of three to four days to complete the climb. The tourist Information is provided by assistant manager Marie Timmermans from Belgium of tour agency Quechuandes

ROCK CLIMBING & BOULDERING Rock climbing and bouldering spots are plentiful around Huaraz. All types of climbing, all levels, many different types of rock, fantastic views, no chance to get bored! Check with local climbers or travel agencies specialising in rock climbing for a detailed list of the necessary equipment and help with logistics, or buy the brand new Huaraz - The Climbing Guide, which features all the region’s best climbing sites - some 23 sites and over 1,000 routes in total. LOS OLIVOS – This is the closest climbing spot to Huaraz, situated only three kilometres from the town centre. It features a large number of equipped sport climbing routes in five different sectors, as well as several boulders, suitable for climbers of all levels. From here you get an amazing panoramic view of the town of Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca. ANTACOCHA – Situated 35km south of Huaraz in the Cordillera Negra it is one of the few places in the area offering long routes with a variety of difficulty levels, suitable for climbers with limited or a lot of experience alike. The 180m high wall towers high above Lake Antacocha. This place offers a magnificent vantage point of the Cordillera Blanca, especially at sunset. INKA WAQANQA – Situated along the main road to Lima, just past Lake Conococha, this site offers quality rock climbing and bouldering and now counts with some 50 bolted sport climbing routes of all levels. It is the perfect alternative to Hatun Machay, where you can climb safely, in peace and for free!

Trekking and staying overnight in one of our mountain refuges

HATUN MACHAY – Located 69km south of Huaraz at 4300m high in the Cordillera Negra, this stunning rocks forest used to be a paradise for rock climbing and bouldering. Unfortunately, since May 2016 the place has been engulfed in a legal conflict between the community that owns the land and the ex-concessionaire, which resulted in many climbing routes being unbolted and the refuge and adjacent buildings being burned down. The place is

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Writers Wanted

We are looking for people with some spare time who would like to contribute by writing an article for The Huaraz Telegraph to be published in 2017. Contact us by email and become part of the team! Like in the previous editions of The Huaraz Te l e g r a p h , we will share the better jokes found on Facebook and the Internet. If you found some you like, send them to us so we can share them with our readers in the next edition of this paper.

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