Day 31-35 in Huaraz
The past 5 day’s have been spent in Huaraz. Alex went to Vallunaraju with other Alex and Hamik while I stayed in Huaraz. I’ve been going for lunches and dinners with people from the hostel, met up with Skyler and Brad a couple times, etc. There was a big street market on Sunday where the whole town was out selling their wares and produce. I started making sandwiches for lunch instead of going out: bread from corn flour, avocado, tomatos, butter, and fried eggs – delicious!
Today I spent getting ready for Huascaran. Brad and I are heading out tomorrow to attempt the shield route of Huascaran. It will be by far the hardest route I’ve ever tried. The whether has been pretty bad the past few days, but it got better today. Hopefully the weather holds for the next week. We spent a decent amount of today looking around at the trekking agencies and renting gear. We ended up renting for each of us: 2 ice tools, plastic boots, a tent, 7 quick draws, and 4 ice screws (Brad already has 5). We paid 470 soles ($170) for everying for 5 days. It was a lot of money, but the equipment is worth well over $1000.
I also sold some gear to Max from Solandino today, since he expressed interest when I met him on Pisco and Yanapaccha. It would have also been difficult to transport it all the way back to Lima and then on the plane. It was very difficult packing my bags when I came over in the first place. Whisperlite International and 650mL fuel bottle ($75), BCA Arsenal shovel (without probe, since I left it in Vancouver) ($65), and 1.1L GSI Soloist pot ($30). Used gear is worth a lot here since it is so hard to obtain. Manufacturers charge a fortune for gear, so agencies typically obtain all their gear from climbers.
| Published on July 1st, 2011 | | Posted by Andrew |