Journey Return

Sunday, May 25
Start: Surine Cocha 15,768′ (4806m)
Via: Abra Warmisaya Pass 16,184′ (5018m)
Via: Ausangate Camp/Residence ~15,300′ (4663m)
Via: Abra Palomani Pass 16,761′ (5109m)
Stop: Local Residence 15,207′ (4635m)
8.81 miles
2,414′ ascent
3,001′ descent
Average O2 84%
55% acclimated to 15,207′, fully acclimated to 9,514′

I fall asleep before 9 pm and crunch through the snowy hail layer to the toilet tent about midnight. 4:30 am wake-up for 5:30 am breakfast. The cold must be slowing us down because we don’t start hiking until about 6:20 am. Despite the impending ascent and the warmth which that generates, I keep my alpaca layer on.

We point ourselves toward Warmisaya Pass and start up the icy trail. I’m very grateful for the added traction provided by my trekking poles but also pay the price with frozen hands. Despite wearing gloves, I can’t feel my fingers. I just bear with the pain knowing that it will eventually kindle into warmth. There’s a couple hikers that approach us on the trail and it looks a lot harder to be going down than up. We top the pass about 7:15 am and there’s a light dusting of hail on the other side too.

Above: Apu Takusiri and Ausangate covered in clouds this morning.
Below: After descent, looking back towards Warmisaya Pass with Mountain Gods Peru team approaching

The red Alcatauri Gorge stretches far and wide below us as I feel a momentary beam of warmth from the sun. Just before 8 am, we stop at the bathrooms from yesterday and there are some people camped nearby. The ladies, who seem to be making their first trip out of their tents for the day, comment that we must have started early.

We hike far above alpaca farms where circular pens made out of rocks sit adjacent to small homes.

Left: Alpaca pen made out of rocks.
Right: Looking back up Alcatauri Gorge towards Apu Takusiri and Warmisaya Pass.

About 9:30 am, Ronnie and I stop in the middle of the vast Alcatauri Gorge. The hillside is filled with what must be alpaca trails and some of them form a flat ledge which makes a perfect spot to sit for a break. Any hope for the sun has diminished and the cloudy cold hangs around us. We hike another 15 minutes before the trail curves left around the hillside and we point ourselves back towards Apu Ausangate and up a new valley.

This valley is also filled with homes and alpaca farms with rock pens and roaming alpaca. I can hear a dirt bike traveling along the road cut on the far side of the valley. If you live here in the vicinity of Ausangate you are an alpaca farmer. The trail follows the contour and is fairly flat as we tread closer towards Ausangate. We hike through an alpaca herd so I hope you can handle some more adorable photos.

Above: Looking back from where we have just come, Alcatauri Gorge.
Below: Looking forward towards the massive Ausangate and our lunch location.

We reach the lunch location about 10:45 am and hike cross-country to our mess tent that sits adjacent to a house. I drop my pack on the blue tarp. I grab a few items before I walk back in the direction from which we’ve just come for the bathrooms. There’s one other group with tents set up at this location. Even though it’s still cloudy and cold, I sit outside on my sitpad next to the blue tarp until plates of food come streaming out of the house and into the mess tent. Ronnie and I eat lunch together as the crew helps carry food and empty platters back and forth.

About 12:15 pm, we depart and start the climb towards Abra Palomani. The terrain is still covered with yesterday’s hail although the trail is mostly clear. Within a half hour we come up on a viscacha couple making the most of the overcast day.

We slowly make our way up above Ausangate Lake on a sort of switchback trail. Ronnie comments about the danger if there is a large rock fall or glacier calving into the lake which would displace a deadly amount of water onto the small community where we just had lunch. The Mountain Gods Peru team approaches and passes us at about 1 pm. Wow, they are super fast on the clean-up and repacking!

As we climb past 16,000 feet, the cold presses in on me. Slowly but surely we plod up the muddy trail taking plenty of time to admire the views. About 2 pm, the windy tug of Palomani Pass starts to ripple my sleeves. We crest 16,761 ft. Abra Palomani about 2:20 pm and the frigid wind is really ripping. I immediately add my patagonia wind jacket and a buff around my head and neck.

The environment is piercing and painful and so I do not linger. I take a few quick photos before starting the descent. Aptly named, Laguna de Chocolate which is fed by a large sediment-filled glacier, is a dirty brown color. The wind eases as we descend into the valley full of fascinating geologic features, outcrops of wool cactus Austrocylindropuntia floccosa and more herds of alpaca and llama.

We make quick tracks downhill and as we approach the bottom of the valley, we pass near another herd of alpaca with a few llama too.

About 3:40 pm we roll into our home for the night, which is a personal residence and farm. There are cool natural building structures or adobe and even an outdoor bathroom with a flush toilet.

After getting things sorted in my tent I head over to the bathroom. It’s pitch dark inside with no light so I opt to just leave the bathroom door open. While sitting there, I notice a bird flying around inside the house just downhill from me (the house pictured on the left with a face). I knock on the door and peer in the windows but it seems that no one is inside. I’m able to open the door and push my way in. The bird is weary and I capture it at a window. I carry it outside and I’m happy to watch it successfully fly off.

I head over to the main building for happy hour popcorn and hot chocolate as darkness descends. Ronnie and I sit at a table near the door and we shiver from the cold that blows in when the front door opens. Ronnie tells me that there is a lot of snow expected tonight and I ask at what point would it not be possible to hike out tomorrow. I also make a comment about how we all could sleep inside this house if there’s a chance the snow might collapse our tents. Next thing I know, Ronnie asks me to pack up the stuff inside my tent and bring it inside the house. I complete the task and then am surprised when they start to haul my whole tent inside the house. Next through the door is Ronnie’s tent. The table we were first sitting at is pushed aside to make room for all the gear. I move my gear back into my tent and organize once again.

We move into another room in the house where there’s a bed but where dinner is also being cooked. Ronnie and I sit at a small table that we try balancing by putting rocks under the legs. As dinner is prepared and an old man comes in as sits on the bed. At first, I’m worried that we’ve invaded his bedroom but then I understand that he lives in one of the other houses and will have some food with us. It seems he is all alone here with his animals. Perhaps his children have left and made a life for themselves in the city.