Routes as alpine in South America

This route follows the NW Ridge and is a great choice for introduction to climbing in the area. Under normal conditions, boots, crampons and ice ax are needed to climb the final 70m to the summit.

From the cave at Laguna Sucia, get into the glacier and traverse until the base of the snow corridor. 3 pitches, 150m, 50° in snow, until the base of the lower dihedral. 4 pitches, 5.10a. 200m, until the base of the upper dihedral. 3 pitches, 5.10b. 150m, to the summit.

Climb an initial 200m snow and ice ramp average around 55 degrees with a slightly steeper section at the top. Navigate the flat and featureless glacier to the final ramp leading to the summit.

3-5 hours from the bottom of the face to summit in good conditions.

Approach from Laguna Sucia. Head across the glacier and choose your own adventure up to the summit.

Best to conduct this traverse from north to south - the climbing is more interesting and the approach is shorter and less heartbreaking.

Via the northwest slopes and the Garganta. 4-7 days roundtrip from Musho depending on acclimatization.

A classic alpine ridge climb with moderate snow and ice climbing.

In 1970 Ezio Alimonta, Daniele Angeli, Claudio Baldessarri, Carlo Claus and Pietro Vidi opened this new route on the southeast face with the aid of a gas-powered compressor drill. Maestri equipped 350 metres (1,150 ft) of rock with bolts and got to the end of the rocky part of the mountain, just below the ice mushroom. Maestri claimed that "the mushroom is not part of the mountain" and did not continue to the summit. The compressor was left, tied to the last bolts, 100 m below the top. Maestri was heavily criticised for the "unfair" methods he used to climb the mountain.

The route Maestri followed is now known as the Compressor route and was climbed to the summit in 1979 by Jim Bridwell and Steve Brewer. Most parties consider the ascent complete only if they summit the often-difficult ice-rime mushroom.

The first undisputed ascent was made in 1974 by the "Ragni di Lecco" climbers Daniele Chiappa, Mario Conti, Casimiro Ferrari, and Pino Negri.

Source Wikipedia

A classic alpine route that is one of the easiest to any of the granite summits in the massif. Meets with the Comesaña-Fonrouge near the summit block.

2 days roundtrip from base camp, 5-7 hours from high camp to summit.

Climbs the striking red dihedral to easy ground, then 2 pitches at 6a on summit tower.

Via the west face. 4-7 hours from moraine camp.

Via the southeast slopes to east ridge. 5-6 hours from Ishinca base camp.

5-6 hours from base camp, 2-3 hours from the toe of the glacier.

Via the southwest slopes. 3-5 hours from moraine camp.

An alternate entry to the east ridge, accessed from the glacier. Easy snow ramp.

A moderate snow and ice climb with some steeper sections and minor difficulties presented by the bergshrund.

A sustained snow and ice climb, made difficult by complex navigation on the lower glacier and moderate objective hazards presented by multiple serac bands. Start early, the face gets plenty of sun.

5-7 hours from a camp on the glacier plateau.

Massive glacial retreat has changed this route significantly and decreased the overall difficulty. As of 2018, the route involves an easy ascent of the glacier to the base of a couloir with 60-70 degree snow/ice. The second pitch is an easy snow slope to the summit, but opting for one of a few possible lines directly up the rock band will add some spice.

This ridge can climbed instead of the scree/snow slopes to access the start of the Comesaña-Fonrouge.

6-8 hours from the bergshrund.

6-8 hours from base camp, 3-5 hours from Laguna Ishinca.

left up ramp to soaring right facing corner. after 250m head right across snowfield to final 3 pitches.

3-5 hours from bergshrund to summit in good conditions

6-8 hours from glacier camp, 10-12 hours from moraine camp.

3-5 hours from the bottom of the face to summit in good conditions.

A classic route with varied climbing on excellent rock. Meets up with the Comesaña-Fonrouge near the summit block.

An alternate entry to the east ridge, accessed from the glacier. Easy snow ramp.

An alternate entry to the east ridge, accessed from the glacier. Moderate snow ramp with some rock.

Essentially the Normal Route, but with two additional pitches of 5.8-5.9 R on extremely friable rock. Alternative pitches begin just left of the snow traverse of Ruta Normal and form part of the descent.

Minor difficulties can be found gaining the initial ridge where some easy scrambling is required. Once on the glacier, a few crevasses must be negotiated en route to the summit.

An easy, meandering snow climb with a short rock scramble to finish.

Via the southwest ridge. 1-2 days from moraine camp to summit and return.

Up offwidth #6, (ignore guide that says only up to #3) and then chimney, layback corner and ledges. The crack system on upper tier before final crux chimney is superb. Apparently a #4 or 2 is helpful for crux pitch.

pataclimb

A subpeak of Pequeño Alpamayo, this summit must be reached before attempting any of the subsequent routes. Descent from the rocky east face of this summit can be made easier using two bolted anchors if necessary.

8-10 hours from the camp at the bottom of the face.

The Long Run 6c A1 M7, 2100 m, Cerro Torre, new route, following whole SE Ridge of the mountain and summiting two other “cerros” on the way: El Mochito (by a new route, 6a, 250m) and El Mocho (by Benitieres, Anker-Piola, ED-, 6c A1).

2-3 days round trip from Huaraz, 3-5 hours from the camp on slabs past the moraine.

ED 6+ A2 90°

6-10 hours from moraine camp in good conditions

A long but easy climb, complicated by difficult route finding through a heavily crevassed lower glacier.

4-5 days roundtrip from Huaraz.

After the col, an exposed snow traverse leads to the summit block with a short 5.9 pitch on poor rock.

Via the south face. 2-3 days roundtrip from the bottom of the face.

The route follows an extremely logical system of cracks and the pitches flow spectacularly from one to the next… a stand out feature is the overhanging corner in the center of the route marked by a 100m crack and dozens of meters of perfect hand jams! It’s a pitch dreams are made of! The upper section of the route proved somewhat easier but by no means less beautiful.

Source Matteo Della Bordella via planetmountain.com