A Tropical Glacier
Huaytapallana (why-tahp-ay-ana) is the highest peak in the Andes mountain range of Peru. The summit reaches over 5600 meters (18,000 ft) and it has a very notable glacier at the top. The glacier is known for it's incredibly fast melting rate; it shrank 50% from 1986-2006! We saw this glacier on our little adventure with Franćois last weekend and planned on hiking it as a group this weekend.
We Were Warned
The feedback from everyone who has done this hike is this it's horrible but worth it. Why? The hike begins at 4100 meters (13,500 ft) and ends around 5600 meters (18,000 ft)!! That's a 1500 m (4,600 FT) increase! Also it takes about 5-6 hours of mostly vertical trekking to complete the hike.
The suggestions we were given were to: buy the alpaca gloves (for snowballs on the glacier), pack light, and wear several lightweight layers since it gets warm as you hike. With all this in mind, David and Elena's houses prepared for a tough hike but nothing could have prepared us for what lay ahead...
Gloomy Day
We woke up to a slightly overcast morning but it looked like it might clear up once the sun rose. As we traveled up through the mountain towns it became apparent that the foggy clouds were here to stay. (Compare this picture to the first one from last weekend, both show the front side of the glacier)
I was a little disappointed since the pictures wouldn't be as good but I figured it would be a fun adventure regardless. We unloaded at the small restaurant and bought our alpaca gloves and hats. It was a little colder than expected but it was still early in the morning and it always warmed up during the day. 15 of us started the adventure determined to make it to the glacier!
Slowly but surely we made our way up the first set of mountains. We had to go up and over one range to get into the next one where the glacier is located.
Snow in July!!
We were half way up the first kilometer (which is the hardest) when we started to notice snow falling! They were pretty small flakes that just barely stuck. The snow made me feel better about it being overcast bc at least there was a reason for the clouds covering everything... Mistake #1
The more we climbed, the more I realized how problematic these snow flakes would be. The kept getting larger in size and soon turned into hail. Getting pelted as we climbed up a 45 degree mountain side was not ideal.
We finally made it to top of the 1st kilometer and took a break to let everyone catch up... Mistake #2. As we were waiting (and losing body heat) we saw some locals in their alpaca blankets who were giving thanks to the mountains. Apparently they come every weekend and stay all day regardless of the weather.
Blizzard Snow in July...
After sitting around for 20 minutes the last few people in our group (a Peruvian couple) made it to the top of the first ridge. It had started to really snow hard by now and we were only 1 hour into our 3 hour hike to the glacier. Everyone was feeling a little cold at this point but we had to keep moving! That would warm us back up and besides it couldn't get much colder, right? Mistake #3
Words can't really describe the next 2 hours of hiking. We were trekking across the Andes in search of a glacier that no one could see. The "path" started to get lost by the snow and our guide was way far ahead. We ventured onward into the white abyss hoping we were going the right way...
After 3 long hours of hiking, we finally found the glacier!! We couldn't see much of it but the parts we did see were pretty spectacular. I'm so proud that all 15 of us made it to the glacier!! This is quite the accomplishment considering other groups track records.
Sub-Zero Temperatures Blizzard Snow in July?!?!
There were many mixed emotions about finding the glacier... It was exciting to be there but also terrifying to know that we had 3 hours of hiking ahead of us before we got back to warmth. By this point I could no longer feel my toes and my fingers were starting to go. No one had dressed for this cold of weather and we later learned that it was sub-zero at this altitude!
We had the choice of climbing onto the glacier or heading back to the starting point asap. Naturally I couldn't pass up the option of climbing onto the glacier so I decided to delay my return to warmth by another 45 minutes. Mistake #4
Readers Digest: I thought I was going to die
The Long Way Home
Our guide was still on the glacier making snow angels with the Peruvian couple so we decided to head back on our own. He had let 4 other girls go back by themselves so we didn't think much about it. Mistake #5.
As we were walking down the clearly marked path we heard our guide yell for us to stop. He caught up with us and told us we were taking the long way home. There were two paths: his way was 1.5 hours and the path we were on was 2.5 hours. As he was explaining this, two Americans appeared walking towards us on the 2.5 hour path. They had run into our 4 friends who left earlier a ways down the path. Decision time... Do we take the shorter way or do we take the longer way in case our friends need our help? We chose the longer path. Good choice #1 (kinda)
We started down this unknown longer path hoping it was pretty well marked. I thought our guide was following but he decided to take the Peruvian couple on the shorter path and left 8 Americans to fend for themselves. Cool. The path took us by the emerald lakes (which were covered by fog) and on the ridge between a couple mountain ranges. It would've been really cool had I not started to lose feeling in all appendages.
Survival Mode
As you may have noticed, there are no pictures from this portion of the adventure because I couldn't move my arms or hands and the cold had killed all of my batteries. Also I think my brain started to freeze because I couldn't form sentences and kept seeing things if I looked into the fog. We had only been walking for an hour and still had 1.5 hours to go according to the guide.
One of the boys in our group of 8 is in the Air Force and just finished his survival guide training so I knew we'd be okay but I honestly wasn't sure if I would have all 10 fingers and toes by the time we made it back. Several times I swore we were lost bc the path kept taking us further and further to the left. We also had to keep hiking up mountains which was concerning since we should've been descending from the summit...
THANK GOD we decided to go the long way because about 1.5 hours into the return hike we found the 4 girls in hysterics on the side of the path. One of the girls had a panic attack that they wouldn't make it back. They all freaked out and tried calling for help but couldn't get service. It was a shit-show to say the least but we got everyone calmed down and kept walking. Turns out we were only 15 minutes away from the starting point.
Am I Alive?
Our group of 8 did a 2.5 hour hike back in 1.75 hours since we were so cold and wanted to get back to warmth. "Warmth" was 4.7 degrees Celsius inside the small restaurant. Outside the temperature read 1.4 degrees Celsius which felt a little warm compared to the last 6 hours of hiking. We ordered some coffee and attempted to warm up our cold tired bodies. Somehow I was able to survive this horror wearing several lightweight layers on top (tank top, athletic shirt, long sleeve shirt, and extremely lightweight jacket) and only leggings on the bottom. I do not know how but I am alive with all 10 fingers and toes.
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