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  1. #26
    Hugh Conway Guest
    thanks. I've been to the Huayhuash (trekking), only heard various things in the past decade that permits/guides might be required for the Blanca. so, it sounds like guides are "required" but they aren't required.

  2. #27
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    E >>> W
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    3,653
    Wow - excellent trip, thanks for sharing!
    Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Natures peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn. - John Muir

    "How long can it last? For fuck sake this isn't heroin -
    suck it up princess" - XXX on getting off mj

    “This is infinity here,” he said. “It could be infinity. We don’t really don’t know. But it could be. It has to be something — but it could be infinity, right?” - Trump, on the vastness of space, man

  3. #28
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    Seattle
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    77
    Great write up, makes me feel so bad sitting in the office.

  4. #29
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    JH/AK/Los Andes
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    2,678
    Dang Lee. Youre making me all antsy in my pantsys.
    "The idea wasnt for me, that I would be the only one that would ever do this. My idea was that everybody should be doing this. At the time nobody was, but this was something thats too much fun to pass up." -Briggs
    Quote Originally Posted by LeeLau View Post
    Wear your climbing harness. Attach a big anodized locker to your belay loop so its in prime position to hit your nuts. Double russian Ti icescrews on your side loops positioned for maximal anal rape when you sit down. Then everyone will know your radness
    More stoke, less shit.

  5. #30
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
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    115
    Quote Originally Posted by _Aaron_ View Post
    Dang Lee. Youre making me all antsy in my pantsys.
    That's just your crabs Aaron.

    Motivational, Lee! Thanks for sharing.

  6. #31
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    gone
    Posts
    1,134
    very nice tr!
    great area, going there is highly recommended!

    Quote Originally Posted by Hugh Conway View Post
    thanks. I've been to the Huayhuash (trekking), only heard various things in the past decade that permits/guides might be required for the Blanca. so, it sounds like guides are "required" but they aren't required.
    they are not required and not required. you are supposed to buy a permit for the parque nacional (~pen 5/day), which you might need to show at some entry points, but also not at others...

    freak~[&]

  7. #32
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    550
    Part 3:


    Having been denied summits twice in a row, we decided to go for a high, but relatively easy peak next: Copa. Copa comes in at 20,302 feet, but is basically a long, glaciated ridge walk all the way to the top. After a day in Huaraz, we were on our way, assisted by donkeys once again.



    Photo courtesy of Summit Post. The ascent / descent on Copa follow the looker’s left ridge. Apologies for the lack of visual stoke at this point, both my video and still camera were both out of commission for the rest of the trip.


    At 1:00am, we awoke to a mixture of stars and clouds, and decided to get started. By the time we reached the glacier, it was snowing. Again. We pushed on through the night, moving in and out of snow and whiteouts, but with a consistent cloud cover overhead. Except for a steep few hundred feet at the beginning, and a short section of ice, the climbing was relatively easy skinning.



    Huandoy, alpenglow.


    However, as the day grew older, and the sun had still yet to make even the slightest appearance, it started to become clear that our summit bid was not meant to be. We passed through some more technical snow bridge crossings, which we doubted we would be able to find again in the whiteout. So, down we went, defeated by weather once again.



    Skinning through clouds on the glacier. Not looking very motivated.


    At this point, morale had really hit a low point. We had been thwarted by weather on our past three peaks, and there wasn’t any real indication that sun was going to start visiting the high peaks more frequently. Also, we had been in and out of the mountains for a month now, and were starting to feel the wear and tear.



    When motivation is low: beer.


    We decided on one last trip, to try for Alpamayo’s more ski – friendly neighbor: Quitaraju. Our approach took us up the well traveled Santa Cruz trek in reverse, from Cashapampa up to Alpamayo’s base camp. This is quite a long approach, covering a similar distance in one day that the tourist trekkers do in three. Luckily, we had a coked-out miniature Peruvian Indiana Jones named Alquiles who sweated as much as he talked to see us on our donkeys through.



    Approaching through the beautiful but touristy Quebrada Santa Cruz, led by our fearless arriero, Alquiles.



    Alpamayo base camp.


    After a long day that went from pleasant to confusing to hilarious to annoying, we arrived in base to camp to – you guessed it – clouds, rain, and snow. We were told it had been raining in base camp and snowing on the mountain for over a week straight now. We were also informed by a group that had tried for the summit the day before that they had been forced back by deep snow and dangerous avalanche conditions. We decided to move towards col camp the next day with extreme caution.



    Photo courtesy of Alexclimb.com. Quitaraju’s beautiful north facing ski line lit up in alpenglow.



    Quitaraju from basecamp. The ski line is on the back. Col camp is just over the ridge on the right side of the photo.


    As we worked through the moraine and up to the glacier the next morning, we saw and heard a couple of soft slab avalanches and serac falls. Upon reaching snow line, we found about a foot of fresh powder. At this point, we decided that even if we could reach col camp safely that morning, the odds of being able to make a safe summit attempt the next day were slim to none. After some quick low angle glacier powder turns, we packed up and headed back for base camp.



    Getting tricky with the skin track, coming over a snow bridge.



    Last turns of the trip.


    After a rest day in Alpamayo base camp, we packed up and headed back to Huaraz.



    New friends in camp. Flaco Guillermo.



    This is not a dried up lake, it is debris from an avalanche that came off Artesonraju’s north face last year. It continues well behind the photographer and also around the corner up valley for a long ways.



    30 seconds of sunlight is enough for a quick dip in glacier fed streams.


    Overall, our trip was a mixed bag of success and failure. We only reached two of our six summits, and struggled with bad weather from start to finish. But, we had an incredible and memorable ski descent on Artesonraju’s SE face, and had managed to ski from high on every peak we tried. More importantly for me, this trip was a fantastic learning experience, and an introduction into another way to travel and ski in mountain ranges around the world. I’m already starting to plan the next ski adventure!



    Next year?
    Photo courtesy of Summit Post.

  8. #33
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    North Vancouver/Whistler
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    13,985
    oh wow - at 0:55 that really showed the exposure

    https://vimeo.com/68347140#at=0

  9. #34
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    812
    So excellent!

    Coming down Ishinca I was lamenting my damnable lack of skis and the people I was with thought that was funny and borderline impossible. I didn't understand why they thought that.

    IT almost makes me want to start climbing mountains again.

  10. #35
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Denver
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    2,624
    Wow! Let me just say that the photos that you included in this thread are just fantastic. I was in Huaraz for a few days back in 2004, but didn't get into the cordillera anything like you did. Still had an amazing time in an amazing place.

  11. #36
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Scotland
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    833
    Classic TGR trip report.
    Enjoyed that.
    Nice ass & write up.

  12. #37
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Ventura Highway in the Sunshine
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    22,431
    Awesome TR. It took me several trys to see it due to slow loading, but it was worth the wait.

    Summiting is great, but getting home is far better. Just to be on such hills makes such a trip worth while. Sounds like you guys made wise choices.

    I agree it is a constitutional right for Americans to be assholes...its just too bad that so many take the opportunity...
    iscariot

  13. #38
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    550
    Would people prefer smaller photos for faster loading? I tried both ways, and decided slow loading was worth it for more detail. But it would be easy to make them smaller.

  14. #39
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Uber Alles California
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    Absolutely Amazing! That just became a goal of mine. Thanks!!!!!

  15. #40
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
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    Salida, CO
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    Another trip of a lifetime for you

  16. #41
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    Feb 2004
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    Eurozone
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    Brilliat. Thx for sharing.

  17. #42
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Vanity Fair
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    very cool, thanks. strong effort.

    large pictures on page one make my old & possibly dying computer freeze. page two loads fine, including shapely backsides!
    Ich bitte dich nur, weck mich nicht.

  18. #43
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    tourin BC
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    2,773
    farking orsum TR !!!

    I normally dont read all the blog stuff but this was truely epic !!!

    2 out of 6 summits aint so bad when talking about 20,000 farkin feet peaks !!!
    We, the RATBAGGERS, formally axcept our duty is to trigger avalaches on all skiers ...

  19. #44
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Eugenio Oregón
    Posts
    8,382
    Bravo man, way to make the time to train fir a trip like this and then take a month to get it done.

    Any trip report that features donkeys, glaciers, and Praxis skis is bound for greatness. You send this to Keith yet?

    Inquiring minds want to know: which of you were in the Yetis, were they stock flex or stiffer, and how did they handle the mixed bag of conditions you inevitably find on massive routes such as the ones you guys skied?
    _______________________________________________
    "Strapping myself to a sitski built with 30lb of metal and fibreglass then trying to water ski in it sounds like a stupid idea to me.

    I'll be there."
    ... Andy Campbell

  20. #45
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    550
    Juan was riding Yetis, stock flex. I think he has been really happy with them, both in Peru and all spring in the Alps. He's a climber who has recently gotten into skiing, and chose a ski that reflects that.

    From my perspective, they looked like a solid setup, and the shape seems really good for skiing and touring through all kinds of variable conditions. If they have a shortcoming for skiing and climbing in Peru, it is that they don't have a long enough effective edge - lots of very firm snow in exposed areas makes you want every mm of edge you can get.

    I will send this along to Keith, thanks.

  21. #46
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
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    SLC
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    3,485
    amazing as always lee. Keep on living the dream!

  22. #47
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Jackson, WY
    Posts
    5,642
    That was Bad Ass, Lee.

    after a long hiatus from the forums, to come back and read through this was awesome. epic adventure and well written. thanks for sharing the experience

  23. #48
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Posts
    677
    Solid work and effort. We went to Alpamayo Col camp in late June and saw tracks (in what looked like it had been pow) on the glacier en route to the col. I'm guessing they were yours. Flaco was even pulling karate moves on me in BASE camp. Our crew summited Quitaraju with ski gear on a beautiful day but still had to rap down the entire thing due to unskiable conditions. Hell of a trip, though.
    or don't

  24. #49
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    London
    Posts
    22
    Cool trip Lee!

  25. #50
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Juxtaposition
    Posts
    5,733
    Screw the mountains. I just want to camp here:



    LL - our local shop owner - who you know - was skiing that mtn range a few weeks ago. You may have just missed him. I told him you had been there. Reply: "Lee likes to ski".
    Life is not lift served.

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