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M14 ISHINCA EXCURSION This climbing expedition is put together for climbers, who do not have much climbing experience in the ice but like to tackle some interesting snow-covered peaks in the Cordillera Blanca including a 6000m peak. This 2-week tour is centered around the peaks surrounding the Ishinca valley and involves ascensions to three peaks, Ishinca at 5530m, Urus at 5495 and finally the crowning peak of our excursion, Tocllaraju, 6034m. Acclimatization is an important part and is integrated in the program to achieve that goal. Day 1 Arrival in Huaraz and transfer to a hotel in the provincial capital of Ancash, where we stay for the first few days of our tour. Day 2 We start our excursion by hiking the first 3 days to get well acclimatized. Today we visit archeological sites around Huaraz. We hike to the ruins of Willkawain, some 8 km outside of the capital. Afterwards we visit also Ichiwillkawain and return then to Huaraz. Day 3 Today we visit the Cordillera Negra, the lower mountain range west of the valley. We hike around there for a few hours to get to know the high altitude vegetation. It also gives us great views to the many snow-covered peaks of the Cordillera Blanca. Day 4 We drive today to Nevado Pastoruri, a peak of 5240m. We walk for the first time on its fairly flat glacier to get used to our ice gear. On the way back we visit the valley of Pachacoto, where we get to know the famous Puya de Raimondii plants. These famous plants are the largest member of the bromeliad family and can be found in only a few isolated areas of the Andes. With a little luck we may see the plant flowering as it flowers only once in its life span of several decades and its stalk can reach up to 12 meters in height and is covered with thousands of tiny little flowers. Day 5 Today we leave Huaraz and drive down the river valley till we turn east and drive up to the town of Collon. Here we load our equipment on donkeys and begin our 4hour hike into the upper Ishinca valley. The trek leads through nice mountain flora with quenoal forests interspersed on the hillsides. We set up our tents at around 4300m, which serves us as our base camp for climbing all three peaks in our program. Day 6 Today we put in an easy day with some hiking around in the region to get know this broad and high mountain valley. Day 7 At night we tackle our first peak Ishinca, which has a height of 5530m. Although it is a little bit higher than Urus, it is an easier climb and therefore we do it first. Our aim is to be early on top to enjoy the sunrise and the great views to the other peaks. Afterwards we descend and relax around the camp. Day 8 After yesterday's climb we put in a rest day at the camp. Day 9 We get up again at night and climb Urus, a peak of 5495m. For the most part it is an easy climb like Ishinca but it is a little bit steeper, especially closer to the summit. After enjoying another early morning panoramic view, we descend back to base camp. Day 10 Another rest day in camp, also serves as weather day. Day 11 We hike towards our last challenge, Tocllaraju which is located at the head of the valley. There we have to put up a high camp closer to the summit of the mountain as we cannot climb it in one day from our base camp. Day 12 At night we climb to the top of Tocllaraju, at 6034m. The climb is fairly straightforward in the beginning but becomes steep as we get close to the summit. After admiring the views we return to our high camp and after packing up, return to our base camp in the valley below. Day 13 This day is reserved in case we did not reach the top for a second try. Day 14 We hike out of the valley and drive back to Huaraz where we end our tour.
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