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NEWS - nuestramontana.com
Marjan KOVAC, Pavle KOZJEK, Aritza MONASTERIO: new route in Chacraraju. - cordillera blanca.
We started from Huaraz on Monday 5.7. and established a base camp in the Paria valley on the east side ob Cordillera Blanca. There we spent another day in a bad weather, discovering complicated approach to the N face of Chacraraju. The upper part of the Paria valley is surrounded by glacial walls and exposed to seracs from Chacraraju icefield.
Approach to the base of the wall on wednesday 7.7. took us nine hours. First we had to climb difficult mossy rocks, then find a way across water gullies below icefield, and finally »run« through the icefield, using the only possible line below serac towers .The weather detoriated and we found a place fot tent in a snow storm in the evening.
Nice weather next day was a kind of surprise for us. We started our route left on the buttress, since most of the first rock barier was overhanging ( barier.jpg - photo from descent). There were some old pitons and fixed ropes in the first pitches. After 4 pitches of excellent rock climbing (6a, A1) ( rock1.jpg, rock2.jpg ) we traversed right to the icefield. Conditions there were mostly bad (wet new snow) until the wall became steeper ( ice1.jpg ), but unfortunatelly the first ice gully ends in overhanging mushrooms ( ice2.jpg )
With another traverse ( ice3.jpg ) we reached new gully, and after 10m vertical icefall we reached mixed ground (M4-5) on the ridge. It was already night and we climbed with lights ( night.jpg ). The last rock barier seemed to be a problem: overhanging again, and with no weak points visible in the night... With another traverse, that time to the left, we reached a vertical corner ( last.jpg ), a combination of rock and snow mushrooms. As usually in the Andes, it was a key to the top, but after some dramatical moments we stood at the top at about 10 in the night.
We started to rappel immediately, having some troubles with cold, dehidration and jammed ropes. After 24 hour single-day-and-night push we were in the morning again below the N face, and the same day at midnight at the base4 camp. Next day (9.8), again in t he bad weather, we continued back to Huaraz.
New route The Lord of the Towers (El Senor de las Torres, routes.jpg - red line ) follows the obvious buttres left of the main summit (Chacraraju Oeste, 6112 m) and reaches original Terrray route (1956) on the ridge.
Grade : ED+ (6a A1 AI6 - 90/55-70 st), 800 m, 14h . We couldn'f find any information about old fixed ropes.
Other routes in the face: Terray 1956 (green line), American-Ortenburger 1964 (blue), Czech (Husicka-Hapala, yellow).
Pavle Kozjek
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