Advice on Peru

[Conor]

Urus, ishinca and attempt on Tocllaraju. You can do Ishinca or Urus in probably 2 days if you stay at the hut. 3 days would be a much more "vacation" pace. Add day for Tocll, unless you're an animal and really acclimated.

[Scott P]

Any reason in particular you decided to go with Peruvian Mountains?

Good reviews; and they gave us a very good price. I talked to the owner before deciding. The owner was the same person that provided the logistical services to film the movie Touching the Void and has a lot of mountaineering stories to tell.

I also liked the idea of a flexible plan and schedule. Although our trip was technically guided (which was prudent considering that we had two children, my wife had a recent heart surgery, and we were pressed on time), it was a light guided expedition, which means that we, rather than the guide services get to pick what we climb and our schedule. Instead of having a set itinerary/schedule, we made it up as we went along. When we saw a really cool mountain we wanted to climb; we simply climbed it.

For example, on June 28-29, here's a basic synopsis of what when down.

Afternoon of June 28:

Kessler and I to the guides: The girls really like these hot springs. Kessler and I really like the looks of that mountain (Pucaccacca). How about we give it a go tomorrow while the girls hang out at the hot springs?

Guide 1: Sounds good to me. I have never climbed that mountain or heard of anyone climbing it. Let me check with some of the people in the village and see if they know anything.

Kessler and I: Great!

Guide 1: OK, I checked around. The mountain has only been climbed once. It was in 2013. The climbers who climbed it found a route up the east ridge. We only have a 30 piece of climbing rope, so we can't do anything severe. Should we give it a go?

Kessler and I: Yes!

June 29:

Me, while high on the east ridge: This route is loose and dangerous and I don't know if we have enough rope. On the way up I was studying the mountain and spotted a ramp that angled up the cliff to the north side of the mountain to a gully. If we can traverse the north face and get into that gully, there may be a route up that side of the mountain. From camp, the northeast face looks possible higher up.

Guide 1: It is worth a try; let me scout ahead with the other guide to check out the ramp.

Guides: The ramp goes. If we can get up the chute, we might have a shot. We could try and climb the route.

Anyway, the route went and we made the 2nd ascent of Pucaccacca and put up a new route.



If I am going to go guided, this is the kind of trip I like. I wouldn't like a guided trip where the guide service tells you what days you are doing what, what time you will get up, where and what time you will stop for lunch, and what mountains you will climb on each day.

I like the above kind of trip. That's why we went with Peruvian Mountains. It was perfect for us and was what we wanted.

I don't know if I should post the price they gave us, but it was very economical. They fed us well.

I haven't gone on that many guided trips, but Peruvian Mountains is one of the best companies I have come across and one of the best values as well.

I would highly recommend them. I would highly recommend at least talking to them about a price quote. Since their price was so much lower that other ones we got, we were slightly nervous about it, but we didn't need to be. Their guides were top notch and were excellent climbers. The food was great. The mules carried all the gear. We got to decide what to do and climb along the way and it was great.