4-day Tocllaraju (6,034m) climb in the Cordillera Blanca, Peruvian Andes

Our expedition starts in Huaraz, we will pick you up at your hotel with private transportation. After pick up we will head north through the Huaylas valley to Paltay village, from this point we will turn off with the transport to the east side by a road towards Pashpa village. Our donkey driver and donkeys will be waiting for us to transfer the logistic equipment to the campsite. To get to Ishinca base camp we will hike through a plain all along the Ishinca canyon, we will be able to observe the vegetation and the glacier river on the trail. After 3 hours of walking we will be able to see the Palcaraju massif and its peaks, then we will continue along the trail until we reach the impressive Tocllaraju snowy mountain.

Finally, after a total of 4 hours of hiking, we will arrive at our campsite.

Lodging: Mountain tents. Meals: Box lunch, lunch and dinner Transfer by car: 2 hours Estimated hiking time: 4 hours. Elevation: +1250 (3100 masl to 4350 masl)

On the second day of the expedition we will start early in the morning to hike along the zigzagging trail that reaches a rocky moraine with accumulated snow sometimes. Finally after 3 hours of hiking we will reach the Tocllaraju high camp.

In the camp we will enjoy a delicious lunch and in the afternoon you could enjoy the wonderful sunset over the Tocllaraju wall.

This day ends with dinner and rest to replenish energy for the next day.

Lodging: Mountain tents. Meals: Breakfast, box lunch and dinner. Estimated hiking time: 2 to 3 hours. Elevation gain: +950 (4350 masl to 5300 masl)

This is the most desired day: the climb to the summit. We start around midnight, we will have breakfast, the guide will make an inspection of everything necessary for the climb, he will rope us and we will go on the adventure, first we will make a traverse through the set overcoming cracks, snow bridges and slopes (30º) up to the shoulder of the NW ridge. We continue along the ridge by climbing sections (45º), overcoming crevasses in the direction of the ice mushroom and rimaya somital. We climb 70 meters in two pitches (70º) setting up an intermediate meeting. We overcome this key section and reach the summit slopes that lead directly to the summit. The summit has an impressive panoramic view, we can appreciate the Cordillera Blanca, the most emblematic mountains of Peru: Palcaraju, Ranrapalca, Ishinca, Urus, Akillpo, Copa, Huantsán, Ocshapalca, Vallunaraju.

We remain on the summit to rest, hydrate and take pictures. Finally we make the descent rappels to get out of the slope and the rimaya, we arrive to our camp, we feed ourselves and continue our descent to the base camp.

Lodging: Mountain tents. Meals: Breakfast, box lunch, lunch and dinner. Estimated climbing time: 10 to 12 hours Elevation: +732 (5300 masl to 6032 masl)

Our expedition has come to an end. After breakfast we dismantle the tent for the return down, the donkey driver and donkeys are ready to carry all the logistic equipment. We hike downhill through the Ishinca canyon until we reach Pashpa village. The transport will be waiting for us at this point to transfer us to Huaraz.

Lodging: Mountain tents. Meals: Breakfast Estimated hiking time: 4 hours Transfer by car: 2 hours back to Huaraz. Elevation: -1250 (4350 masl to 3100 masl)