Detail of Pucahirca Norte's West Face
The detail in this photo from Alpamayo's summit allows the West Face of Pucahirca Norte (the right hand peak) to be seen clearly. Our line ascended from the glacial cirque on the left, up to the right rock buttress protruding from the wall. We climbed the center rib of the hanging glacier and continued up to the top of the rock buttress. From the visible bergshrund, we climbed directly up the face, skirting the overhanging ice cliffs and exposed rock on the right.
Thaddeus Josephson on the summit of Pucahirca
Thaddeus raises his arms in joy on the summit of Pucahirca. After a snow storm had pinned us down in an exposed bivouac just beneath the top the night before, we reached the summit in the early morning. We attempted to descend to the glaciers to the East but became blocked by the huge crevasses. We reluctantly re-climbed to the top and began our long, two-day descent back down the West Face we had come up.