Chakrarahu

Chakrarahu
Elevation 6,108 m (20,039 ft)[1]
Location
Chakrarahu

Location in Peru

Range Cordillera Blanca, Andes
Coordinates 8°59′36″S 77°36′54″W / 8.993261°S 77.614975°WCoordinates: 8°59′36″S 77°36′54″W / 8.993261°S 77.614975°W
Climbing
First ascent Chakrarahu Oeste: Lionel Terray et al (31 July 1956) - Chakrarahu Este: Lionel Terray et al. 5 August 1962

Chakrarahu (Quechua chakra little farm / field, land sown with seed, rahu snow, ice, mountain with snow,[2][3][4] hispanicized spellings Chacraraju, Chakraraju, Chacrarrajo) is a mountain in the Cordillera Blanca in the Andes range of Peru. The mountain has wo distinctive peaks Chakrarahu Oeste (west summit) and Este (east summit). The west summit has an elevation of 6,108 metres (20,039 ft), the east of 6,001 metres (19,688 ft). Chakrarahu is situated in the Ancash Region, Huaylas Province, Caraz District, and in the Yungay Province, Yungay District.[5] It lies south and southeast of the mountain Pirámide. Parón Lake and the little lake named Chakra (Chacra) lie northwest of the mountain.[6] The peak is accessible from the Pisco base camp at Cebollapampa.[1]

Climbing

Chakrarahu is considered the steepest and the most difficult-to-climb six-thousander in the Andes.[7] Although by no means worked out, the south face of the mountain has a quite staggering number of steep and difficult lines, enough to bear comparison with areas such as the south face of Mont Blanc du Tacul for maturity. The north side bore the brunt maturity of early development but still retains the greatest potential.

A French expedition led by Lionel Terray first climbed the mountain on 31 July 1956 (Chakrarahu Oeste) and on 5 August 1962 (Chakrarahu Este) on what after have become the normal routes (northeast face and northeast ridge). Greg Mortimer was badly injured during a later attempt to climb the mountain.[8]

Some of the routes are amongst the most desperate of the Cordillera Blanca and probably of the entire Andes. All the routes take several days and involve hanging bivouacs. First ascents to the ridge linking the east and west summits are recorded. Not all the parties are able to reach the true summits of Chakrarahu Este and Oeste, because this requires traversing below the cornices and obviously increases the seriousness of the climbs.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 John Biggar (1 January 2005). The Andes: A Guide for Climbers. Andes. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-9536087-2-0. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  2. ↑ Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary)
  3. ↑ lema.rae.es Diccionario de la lengua española, retrieved on October 21, 2013
  4. ↑ babylon.com
  5. ↑ escale.minedu.gob.pe - UGEL map of the Huaylas Province (Ancash Region)
  6. ↑ peruamazingadventures.com MAPS – Cordillera Blanca, Sketch map of the area (Parón valley)
  7. ↑ Cathy Biggar; John Biggar (21 May 2001). The Andes: A Trekking Guide. Andes. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-9536087-1-3. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "Interview with Greg Mortimer (ABC1 Monday 6:30pm)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2012-01-26.