On July 31, 1950, the Americans Jim Maxwell and Dave Harrah They manage, for the first time, to be the first mountaineers to set foot on the summit of the 6,634-meter snow-capped Yerupaja.
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY: MD, 60°, 1000 m.
LOCATION: The Yerupajá snow-capped mountain is located in the Huayhuash Mountain Range south of Huaraz – Peru, part of the Andes, it has 6,634 meters (21,768 feet) and is the second highest peak in Peru, and in the Amazon River Basin.
The couple of climbers set out to conquer the summit from camp one that they set up on the hill. They reached the summit at approximately 5:30 in the afternoon, due to the technical difficulties of the cornices that are on the ridge (it is a characteristic of the Andes). During the descent, Dave falls, injures himself and makes the descent difficult. When night comes, he performs an extreme bivouac in a scream; The next day the slow descent continues until leaving the glacier. As a result of the bivouac and the slow descent, Dave loses two toes on one of his feet due to frostbite. When there was news of this ascent, it caused a lot of expectation and sensation in the world of global mountaineering at the time.
The local name of the mountain YERUPAJA comes from two Quechua words YURAQ = WHITE and PAJAJ = DAWN. What WHITE DAWN means to locals.
There have only been a few successful ascents to the summit, as it is one of the high and very technical peaks of the Andes. Many climbers consider Yerupajá to be the most spectacular peak in South America due to its different faces and edges.
CLOSE UP: From the city of Tomas you take the transport to the city of Chiquián (3400 m.), then to the town of Llamac (3300 m.), from here you begin the ascending walk to the base camp located in the Jahuacocha lagoon at 4066 meters.
– Author: Porfirio Cacha –