Ishinca:

Nevado Ishinca is a snow-covered mountain in the Huascaràn National Park. Since 1985 the park is an Unesco Natural Heritage and an entrance pass is needed. Acclimatization is the main reason to climb Ishinca. Experienced climbers us the height for training and acclimatization in order to reach higher altitudes and more difficult paths. Especially from the base camp in the Ishinca valley it is possible to climb to different peaks, such as Urus, Ishinca or Tocllaraju.  The valley belongs to the Cordillera Blanca and the Nevado can be climbed in one day. This is one reason why the mountain is the most famous and frequently climbed routes in the area. Interesting and shocking is the fact, that the glaciers at Coridillera Blanca are, due to global warming, melting faster than the global average.

The tour:

First fo all, to get to the trail you should get from Lima to Huaraz. The city has plenty possibilities to sleep and eat for a stop. From there take a shared car or bus to Collon, where the tour starts. On the way you’ll pass three spectacular monoliths and head towards the glaciers of Tocllaraju and Palcaraju. There are actually three different routes, which are able to climb. The North-East Ridge, South-West Ridge and the North-West Slopes. Close to the base camp is also the Refugio Ishinca, which provides sleeping places for rent and some meals. It is a 1.200 m altitude difference from the Refugio or base camp to the summit of Ishinca. The climb consists of glaciers and easier rocky sections. Especially the approach to the mountain is long and requires a good physical condition. In terms of technical difficulties, the tour is still on the easier side and considered moderate. Although there is a tricky area with crevasses in the upper part. All in all, the roundtrip to Ishinca summit and back to the base camp will take about 8 – 10 hours.

Consequently, if you want to acclimatize and climb some of the high mountains in the are, contact andean summit adventure for more information.