Quebrada Honda, Cordillera Blanca. A party from Johannesburg

Q uebrada H on d a, C ord illera B lanca. A party from Johannesburg, South Africa, consisting of J. H. Graafland, Frank Kleine, F. G . Petousis and me, spent four weeks in this area. Base Camp was at Pucaranracocha. On July 13 all members walked up the peak (1 7 ,4 5 4 feet) on which Chaco mine is located, northeast o f Tocllaraju, called Chaco by the Colorado party. An attempt on Chinchey was terminated some 1300 feet below the top when it was discovered that conditions were such as to consume too much o f the time available. On July 22 a camp was made 20 minutes northwest of the top o f the pass leading north from the q u ebrad a to Chacas. On July 23 we climbed a peak to the west, called "M ancaraju” since it lies at the head o f the Mancaruri (v alley), pre­ sumably a first ascent. Th e peak is about 5400 meters (1 7 ,7 1 7 feet) in altitude and 700 meters east of P 5465 on the 1 :1 0 0 ,0 0 0 Austrian map, southern portion. The route was of moderate standard. W e followed the east ridge except for a deviation right at one point to avoid a steep section. On July 25 a camp was placed 10 minutes past the Esparta mine at the head of the Quebrada Cancahua. Akilpo (1 8 ,2 4 2 feet) was attempted by the southeast and north ridges but both were considered too dangerous. On July 28 we climbed Akilpo Sur (1 8 ,1 1 1 fe e t), which had first been climbed in 1963 by the Colorado party from the other side. Ours was an easy route up the northern slopes. On August 1 G raaf­ land and I climbed P 5390 (1 7 ,6 8 4 fe e t), north o f the Esparta mine, via the glacier on the southeast, a not difficult route. W e propose the name "Nevado Esparta.” Climbing was concluded by an ascent of Tocllaraju on August 2 by Graafland and me. W e climbed the north face, traversed to the right just below the summit cone and completed the climb up a soft, steep slope on the south. A full report is in the Jou rn al o f th e M ountain C lub o f South A frica for 1965. R o b e r t F. D

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M ountain C lub o f South A frica