Salcantay

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Salcantay
Elevation 6,271 metres (20,574 ft)[1]
Location Cusco Region, Peru
Range Cordillera Vilcabamba, Andes
Prominence 2,540 metres (8,330 ft)[2]
Coordinates 13°20′09″S, 72°32′57″W
First ascent August 4, 1952 by Fred D. Ayres, David Michael, Jr., W. V. Graham Matthews, George I. Bell, Claude Kogan, M. Bernard Pierre

Salcantay is the highest peak of the Cordillera Vilcabamba, part of the Andes, in Peru. It is located in the Cusco Region. It is the 38th highest peak in the Andes, and the twelfth highest in Peru. However, as a range highpoint in deeply incised terrain, it is the second most topographically prominent peak in the country, after Huascarán.

Salcantay is a large, steep peak, "the most spectacular peak of the region,"[3] with great vertical relief, particularly above the low valleys to the north, which are tributaries of the Amazon River.

Salcantay was first climbed in 1952 by a French-American expedition comprising Fred D. Ayres, David Michael, Jr., John C. Oberlin, W. V. Graham Matthews, Austen F. Riggs, George I. Bell, Claude Kogan, M. Bernard Pierre, and Jean Guillemin. All except Oberlin, Riggs, and Guillemin made the summit.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ This elevation is from a Peruvian military survey, quoted in the American Alpine Journal, 1973. The elevation is also given as 6,264 metres (20,551 ft), see peaklist.org.
  2. ^ Peru ultra-prominent peaks on peaklist.org
  3. ^ a b John C. Oberlin and W. V. Graham Matthews, "The First Ascent of Mount Salcantay", American Alpine Journal, 1953, pp. 387-396.
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