Alpamayo Expedition News 25th July 2009

Alpamayo Expedition News 25th July 2009.

The Team Leader : Stu Peacock

The Team: Ken Boardman, Jim Griffiths, Peter Knight, Angela Hunter , Jason Owen, David Sandham

13th August – ‘We arrived back in Huaraz last night after a successful summit of Alpamayo. Only Jason didn´t summit; he still felt tired after the two days ascent from base camp so decided not to go for it. Once again we struck lucky with the weather as the day after summit day there was a dump of snow and the only other groups hoping to attempt the summit abandoned their bids and came back down to base camp. The weather on our summit day was not great, with cloud consuming the mountain for most of the night and day, however the top was clear´ísh and in the evening the mountain did completely clear so we managed to get some decent pictures before we headed back down to base camp. We are celebrating this afternoon by having what´s called a Pachamanca, which is a Peruvian traditional way of cooking food in an earth and stone oven, along with a couple of celebratory drinks. We head back to Lima tomorrow afternoon and all depart Peru on the 15th.

See you soon, Stu.’

5th August – ‘ We leave for Alpamayo this morning at 7am. We have a 2 day trek to BC from which we are planning to have a rest day before heading up to Moraine Camp (4900m) on the 8th. Depending on the weather our first opportunity to summit will be the 10th Aug.’ Stu

3rd August – ‘A quick update to say that everyone except Jason reached the summit of Ishinca today. Jason wanted an extra rest day so didn’t attempt the mountain. We set off at 2.10am and reached the summit in 6.5 hours. Cloud had been building all day but Ishinca stayed cloud free. We had a spot of rain on our arrival back to BC. We head back to Huaraz tomorrow for one night before setting off for Alpamayo.’Regards,Stu.

2nd August – ‘ We arrived at Ishinca Base camp (4350m) yesterday after having a few days acclimatizing around Huaraz. We are having a rest day today so just a short bimble up to a high point (4600m) above Laguna Ishinca. Tomorrow we aim to climb Urus; an impressive range of peaks running along the Western flank of the Ishinca valley. We plan to leave around 3.30am and all being well will reach the summit at around 9am. We will then have a skills day before atttempting Ishinca.Yesterday we celebrated Peter Knight’s birthday by climbing Urus (5450m), as well as a birthday cake made by the cook, and a bottle of red wine. The night was finished off with a bottle of one of Peter’s favourite whiskeys. Ange was still feeling under the weather so decided not to attempt the summit, but felt good enough by the evening to partake in the celebrations. All the team are looking forward to Ishinca tomorrow. Today we have a rest/skills day, so time to catch up with a spot of washing.’Regards, Stu.

30th July – ‘Completed our walk to Laguna Chirup today, reaching a height of 4450m. The views were spectacular and we had a nice rest and some lunch before heading back down to Huaraz. Stu would like to apologise to all those Guinea Pig owners out there, as he fully enjoyed his half a Guinea Pig and potatoes last night… and you guessed it, it tastes of chicken!’  Stu

29th July – ‘All the team arrived in Peru without too much delay, except for Ken’s bag with all his climbing kit, which we are informed arrived yesterday afternoon in Lima and should be with us today.We had our sightseeing day in Lima on the 26th.  Lima is big city and very spread out.  We were staying in Barranco, which apparently is home to the wealthy of Peru and is situated on the Pacific coastline.  The coastal area of Peru is quite misty and grey at this time of year and it is only when you head into the mountains you get the clear blue skies.Yesterday we took the 8 hour luxury coach ride to Huaraz, a little bit like a flight in that you get a lunch provided by a stewardess. There was a bit of excitement en-route when a group of kids on the roadside fired a catapult at the coach and smashed one of the windows.Strangely it was all managed professionally and quickly and we were soon on our way again after about 20 minutes. We arrived in Huaraz last night at 9.30pm and taken to our hotel which is in a nice location just out of town, owned by a mountain guide. It ‘s a fantastic set up for us to relax and get prepared for our first journey into the hills.Today we’ll have a short walk out of town onto some local hills.   We can feel the effects of altitude already at this height of 3100m, but nobody is suffering. Everyone is going to take it nice and steady for the next couple of days.Tomorrow, we we have a 6 hour walk up to Laguna Chirup which will take us to the height of 4400m.

On the 30th July we will depart Huaraz for Ishinca Base Camp.

Ken & Jim would like to say a big hello to Peter Brittleton and say “wish you were here” the sun is shining and the views are spectacular.’    Stu

21st June – The group will depart the UK on the 25th July.