Into the mountains

I spent Easter week exploring yet another area of Peru's geographical diversity: Ancash. Ancash is a mountainous region of the country located just north of Lima - similar to my home turf of Cajamarca, but with much higher mountains. The nevados (snow-capped peaks) of the Cordillera Blanca section of the Andes make the region a mecca for international mountaineers, and make for some amazing views and fun trekking for any outdoor enthusiast.

Nydelis and Steve in the plaza of Huaraz, Ancash's regional capital

While my coast-living companions were acclimatizing to the altitude, we took a day trip to see some local sights. First stop: slopes home to Puya Raimondi, a plant in the pineapple family that only grows at elevations between 12,000-14,000 feet, and now only in Peru and Bolivia. Quite a quirky plant, both in looks and growing patterns, that seems like it belongs in a Dr. Seuss book.

Then we headed up to Pastoruri glacier, at over 16,400 feet. Some not-so-fun facts about glaciers in Peru: Peru is home to 71% of the world's tropical glaciers, but 22% of their surface area has disappeared in the past 30 years. Pastoruri is unfortunately expected to disappear within ten years, having already melted to half its former size in two decades. It's not only sad to watch this beautiful ice drip away, but every inch that melts also intensifies Peru's already extreme water shortage - not good.

Pastoruri, and the lakes created by its melting waters

The next day began the week's main adventure: the Santa Cruz trek, a 3-day overnight through the high mountains (between 9,500 and 15,600 feet!), known for its breath-taking views - literally and figuratively - and exposure to a variety of the sierra's microclimates. Day one started with a long but beautiful drive deep into the mountains, with views of nevados including Peru's highest peak (Huascarán, 22,205 feet), and teal-bright glacial lakes.

Midway through the drive, looking back on the road we'd traveled

Once we arrived at our starting point (the end of the road), we had a nice afternoon's walk through very pastoral settings: adobe houses with straw or tile roofs, fields of quinoa and corn, and hills radiating green from five months of rainy season. We had lots of trail friends: sheep, goats, burros, cows, etc. - sometimes so many we could barely all fit on the path!

Naturally, it rained the majority of the afternoon. In hindsight, this was probably the muddiest time of year we could've possibly picked to trek, but we'd come (somewhat) prepared, and didn't let the water get the best of us. The valleys took on a different kind of beauty, dressed in fog and dewdrops - particularly the polylepis trees with their flaky, tissue-paper-esque red bark.

Camp that night was at 12,450 feet, on ground that resembled a glorified swamp - luckily the rain stopped, and we woke to clear light illuminating the snowy peaks the clouds had hidden the previous afternoon. From there it was up-up-up into steeper and more stark terrain: meadows with only grasses for flora, topped by sheer rock walls enveloped in snow and clouds.

A ghostly reflection in one of the many small lagunas along the trail

After about five hours, we reached the trek's highest point: Punta Unión pass, at 15,580 feet. Even here, the snow line remained above us - welcome to mountaineering in the tropics! The pass offered amazing views of the surrounding snowy peaks (including one Artesonraju, rumored to be the model for the Paramount Pictures logo) and the lagunas and valley below.

We walked down into the valley a ways to camp at 13,780 feet. It wasn't too chilly at first, but a dinnertime rain quickly turned to sleet, then snow! Since it wasn't quite cold enough for the snow to stick, our campsite turned into one huge puddle, and the trek company hadn't provided us with ground-cloths - uh-oh! Since I'm here to write this, you know we survived the night - check camping in a snowstorm off the life list!

Our campsite in the afternoon, pre-snow

The morning-after pic - compare the snow levels on that first mountain with the shot from 12 hours earlier

Our trek crew, bundled up! (me, Nydelis, Steve, Hallie)

Luckily that was the last rain of the trip, and our final day was a long sunny trek down the valley back towards civilization. We walked alongside a river for the majority of the day, which was fed by countless waterfalls and streams tumbling down the rock walls from the nevados high above.

Alpamayo and some waterfalls