Trek & Climb: Nevado Qampa Training (5,500m)

Early in the morning, at around 7 am, you’ll be collected from your hotel in Cusco. Heading southeast by the Interoceanic highway that goes to Puerto Maldonado, passing through the city of Urcos and within about 3 hours arriving at Ocongate, where you’ll be able to purchase anything that is forgotten in Cusco.

Then take a detour to Pacchanta, 45 minutes from Ocongate, we’ll meet up with the muleteers and mountain cook for the expedition. After lunch you’ll begin the trek, taking about 4 hours to reach the base camp, with impressive views of the main snow-capped Cusco Nevadas such as Ausangate (6384 masl), Cayangate (6110 masl), and others, always accompanied by llamas and alpacas of the region.

Already at the base camp, your personal high mountain equipment (harnesses, crampons, ice axes, helmets, leggings, gloves) will have been delivered. Your mountain guide will teach you the correct way of using the equipment, how to act on a glacier, and have them ready for use when required.

• Dinner is at 6 pm, allowing plenty of time for everyone to rest afterward.
• Masl – 4,850
• Time – 7-9 hrs

🏚️ Accommodation: Qampa Base Camp.

From the basecamp of Mt. Qampa, you’ll head to the base of the glacier from the opposite of the summit climb. Trekking for approximately an hour and a half you’ll cover rocky moraine before reaching the base of the glacier where we’ll look for a good ice wall to utilise for practice.

Putting on your ice climbing equipment (crampons, harness, helmet, ice axe) you’ll trek on the glacier until we reach a good section to practice techniques for summiting.

Adopting ropes for the ice walls you’ll learn how to fix yourself to stakes, anchors and climb using rope and ice axe.

Then following the climbs you’ll learn how to rappel from the ice wall using varying techniques for rappel, such as Prusik & Klemheist knots, figure of 8’s and learn how to belay yourself down to the foot of an ice-wall.

Depending on your progress, there is the option to add an additional days training to learn more about anchors, ice screws and rope knots.

This is all essential practice for your journey into beginner & intermediate level mountain climbing.

Leaving base camp at 3am, you’ll have a light breakfast, it is essential to attack a mountain at dawn. In approximately 2 hours of ascent by moraine you’ll arrive at the glacier, where you’ll prepare yourselves with the mountain equipment to enter the glacier.

After another 3 hours on the glacier, crossing penitentes and climbing a glacial wall of approximately 60° applying the techniques learnt in the day(s) previously, you’ll reach the summit of the Qampa mountain which is 5,500 meters above sea level.

Taking half an hour on the summit to rest and enjoy the high Andean landscapes, surrounded by the snowy mountains of the Cordillera Vilcanota.

The descent to the base camp will take a further 3 hours, where lunch awaits and you’ll have the whole afternoon free to rest after a long satisfying day.

• Dinner will be prepared ready for 6pm.
• Masl – 5,500
• Time – 8.5-9 hrs

🏚️ Accommodation: Qampa Base Camp.

Leaving at 9am for Pacchanta after breakfast.

Arriving at Pacchanta in about 3 hours where there’ll be the option to enter the thermal baths and buy handicrafts from local crafts people. Then taking lunch and returning to the city of Cusco by around 6pm.

You’ll be dropped to your hotels, and you can spend the evening relaxing and recalling an epic adventure!