Mountain: Pucahirca Norte
Route: West Face
Country: Peru
Height: 6054 meters
Dates of Expedition: August 2002
Overview of climb: First ascent of the extremely remote West Face of Pucahirca Norte
Team Members: Thaddeus Josephson
Lasting Impression:
This was a complicated and exhausting climb of one of Peru's most remote and beautiful peaks. I had dreamed of climbing Pucahirca since my first sighting of it in 1979 while leading a guided trek around the norther Cordillera Blanca with Jack Miller. Finding access to the face was not obvious and required two separate journeys to the East side if the range. Ultimately, we found a way to access the high glaciers beneath the face by climbing a subsidiary ridge north of the peak and descending into the glacial cirque. We spent nine days from our base camp to the summit and back. Our cook, Alejandro Sainz, alone at Laguna Safuna, was never certain about our progress and worried the entire time.
