BRITISH WEST FACE OF SALCANTAY EXPEDITION, 1986.

Salcantay, {when
translated means "Motherof Snow",)
is
a
huge and impressive glacier covered peak
dominating the east
side of the Cordillera Vilcabamba in southern Peru. It is the
highest peak in the
range, composed
largely of granite with
complex snow and ice covered faces and ridges soaring to over
20,000 feet, (6271m).
The whole area is shrouded in mystery
and intrigue with half forgotten
tales of lost cities and
hidden gold.
In fact,
just
20 miles to the north lies the
world
famous Inca templeof Macchu Picchu, first discovered
by Hiram Bingham in 1911. This American archeologist was also
the first person to document the existence of Salcantay.
The first serious attempt made on the mountain was in 1950 by
the
Italian P.Ghiglione when he unsuccessfully attempted the
South face and East Ridge. In 1952, several expeditions
made
attempts on the peak,
a
Swiss team failing just 300
metres
from the top after
taking the East
ridge. It was left toa
American-French
Expedition to finally reach the
summit via
the North-East face on 5th August 1952.
Sincethen, Salcantay
has been climbed a number of times on
its North,
East and South sides. Sane of the
routes
taken,
especially the South ridge, have proved extremely difficult.
However, the impressive West face has rarely been touched and
despite a recent attempt
by
a
Yugoslav team, still remains
unclimbed.
The whole region to the west ofSalcantay is an area
rarely
visitedand
poorlymapped.
In
factthere are
very
few
photographs
available of this side of themountain and what
they show is a huge and complex ice covered face. Despite its
awesome
appearance,there
appear to
be
several
distinct
possibilities that
indicate
that
our
objective is not
unrealistic.
If successful, this would not only be an ascent
of one of
the major unclimbed Andean faces, but also a first
British ascent of Salcantay.
Whilein the
region,
we
plan to take photographs and make
some sketch maps of the area to add to the sparse topographic
details presently available. If time allows,
we will also
make anattempt on nearby Humantay (5780m).
This difficult
peak has received little attention and
many new and exciting
lines await ascents.