Quitaraju snowy mountain is one of the 19 main six thousand mountains of the Cordillera Blanca, it’s located within the Huascaran National Park in the Cordillera Blanca of the Peruvian Andes, this mountain rises above the Santa Cruz massif and is next to the Alpamayo peak.
This mountain has almost the same route as Alpamayo and they share the same col and high camp. Quitaraju peak is one of the classic, beautiful and very frequented mountains because it is «strategically» in front of the beautiful Alpamayo and very close to the majestic Santa Cruz peak.
Quitaraju peak is a technical and demanding mountain, recommended for experienced climbers.
The «Quita», as it is known, is one of the mountains that receives the highest number of visits in season, mountaineers from all over the world make the double climbing: Alpamayo – Quitaraju optimizing the logistical resources of climbing because both mountains are together.
Huaraz (Google Map)
4:00 am (Pick up at your hotel)
Participants must be in good physical condition to join this climb. Andean Raju Expeditions recommends previous and constant preparation as a crucial factor to take on this challenge, then, the physical stress caused by the days of climbing will be minimized.
We strongly advise all participants to have an adequate training plan in gyms, outdoor sports, climbing peaks, bearing weight and long day hikes.
If you would like our advice, we can provide you a training plan after evaluation of your experience in hiking and sporting activity.
You must have knowledge of glacier progression, technical climbing on ice walls
you must have a knowledge of mountain rescue, safety and equipment management. These skills allow you to optimize your safety and generate a collaborative work with our guides during the climb.
Participants should have experience in altitude the last week prior to the start the climbing Alpamayo, which ensures adequate acclimatization and conditioning of the body to the altitude. It is recommended to stay above 5,000 meters above sea level.
We suggest an acclimatization program before your expedition, it can be mountains of the Cordillera Blanca with a minimum of 6 days of anticipation. We recommend acclimatization at Churup lake, then a previous climbing in peaks such as Huarapasca, Yanapaccha or Janyaraju.
Our expedition starts in Huaraz, we will pick you up at your hotel with private transportation. We will go north through the Huaylas valley to Yungay then continue to Huascaran National Park to check in and pass through Llanganuco canyon while visualizing the turquoise lakes Orconcocha and Chinancocha. Then we will go up the road until we reach the beautiful viewpoint Portachuelo Pass, where we will stop to enjoy the visual domain of Huascaran, Chopicalqui, Huandoys, Pisco, and all the turquoise lakes that compose the far Llanganuco valley. Finally, we will continue to Vaquería village, this is the place where we will begin the approach to the Alpamayo mountain. Vaqueria village is where the donkey drivers and donkeys are waiting to assist us with the transfer of logistical equipment to the camp. After about 5 hours of walking, we will arrive at Tucto camp.
Lodging: Mountain tents.
Meals: Box lunch, lunch, tea time and dinner.
Transfer by car: 3 hours
Estimated hiking time: 4 to 5 hours
Elevation: +550 m (3700 masl to 4250 masl)
Distance: 13.5 km
On the second day of the approach hike to Alpamayo mountain, we will go up to Punta Union Pass (4750 m). From this pass we will have an awesome viewpoint of the snowy mountains: Taulliraju (known as the Cathedral of the World), Artesonraju (known as the mountain of the Paramount Picture), Rinrijirca, Paria and Quitaraju. We will go down to the Santa Cruz valley, passing by the Taullipampa camp. We will continue our hike to the Quebrada Arhuay to finally reach our Alpamayo base camp.
Lodging: Mountain tents.
Meals: Breakfast, box lunch, lunch, tea time and dinner.
Estimated hiking time: 4 to 5 hours
Elevation: +50 m (4250 masl to 4300 masl)
Distance: 13 km
This day we will prepare the personal mountain equipment to be carried by the porters. Then, we will hike uphill for about 3 hours on a rocky trail until we reach the Alpamayo moraine camp.
Lodging: Mountain tents.
Meals: Breakfast, box lunch, tea time and dinner.
Estimated hiking time: 6 hours
Elevation: +650 m (4300 masl to 4950 masl)
Distance: 2 km
This day we should arrive at the high camp of Alpamayo. The porters will take care of the transfer of the camping equipment.
We will continue our ascent through morainic sections until we reach the glacier. Once on the glacier, we will equip ourselves with the necessary material: harness, mountain boots, helmet, crampons and ice axe. The guides will be in charge of the safety of the team to arrive safe to our camp. After a traverse across the glacier, we will reach a small climbing wall that will take us to the high camp.
During the sunset we will be able to enjoy awesome views of the sunset and its reflection on the Alpamayo climbing wall.
Finally, we will have dinner, it will be a time to eat and rest to continue with the next day’s climbing.
Lodging: Mountain tents.
Meals: Breakfast, box lunch, tea time and dinner.
Estimated hiking time: 6 hours
Elevation: +450 m (4950 masl to 5400 masl)
Distance: 2 km
The most desired day has come: it is our summit day. We will begin the climb at midnight, after breakfast the guide will rope us up and inspect everything necessary for the climb, then we will cross to the base of the ice wall, the climb begins at 55º, the snow conditions are excellent, and the physical and psychological issues are crucial for the fulfillment of your goal. Depending on the season and the conditions of the mountain, the guide will look for the best route. After approximately 9 hours of constant climbing, we will reach the summit. From this point you will be able to appreciate almost the whole Cordillera Blanca, a 360º view of the most emblematic mountains of Peru: Huandoy, Chopicalqui, Huascaran, Quitaraju, Santa Cruz, Pucajirkas, Rinrijirca, Paron, Caraz, Aguja, Piramide.
We remain at the summit for some time to rest, hydrate and take pictures. Finally we will make the rappels of descent by the same climbing route, we will arrive to our campsite, we will eat and rest.
Depending on the physical condition of the clients and previous coordination with the guide and support team, we may go down the same day to Base Camp.
Lodging: Mountain tents.
Meals: Breakfast, box lunch, lunch and dinner.
Estimated climbing time: 9 hours up and 4 hours down.
Elevation: +640 (5400 masl to 6040 masl)
This day, after breakfast, we begin our descent to base camp. We will make a few rappels and continue with the journey until we reach the moraine and we will continue our descent until we reach the camp. Our cook will be waiting for us with a delicious lunch to replenish energy and then we will rest satisfied for the great feat done.
Lodging: Mountain tents.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, tea time and dinner.
Estimated descent time: 3 to 4 hours.
This day the hike starts uphill from Huayllapa to Tapush Pass, the road is surrounded by vegetation along the way. After 5 hours of walking we will arrive at the Tapush pass, from this point we will enjoy our lunch and the view of the Diablo Mudo Mountain (5350m) and the Susococha lake. We continue downhill until we reach the Gashpapampa camp (4,600m) being this the highest camp of the entire circuit.
Meals: Breakfast.
Estimated hiking time: 5 to 6 hours.
Elevation: -1200 m 50 / -150 m
Distance: 23.5 km
Transfer by car: 3 hours
