When we originally started planning our trip to Peru [0], we were planning to only go for 17 days. This was our "everything goes extremely well" plan. I think it is very unrealistic, but wanted to post it for comments and also so we can continue to learn.
| Day | Activity | Elevation | Gain/Loss | Notes | "Formula" |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flight to Lima | 0 ft | |||
| 2 | Bus from Lima to Huaraz | 9,500 ft | 9,500 ft | 8,000 ft | |
| 3 | Rest day in Huaraz | 9,500 ft | 0 ft | 9,000 ft | |
| 4 | Bus/trek to Pisco base camp | 15,100 ft | 5,600 ft | very aggressive in terms of altitude gain | 10,000 ft |
| 5 | Pisco base camp | 15,100 ft | 0 ft | probably need more days here or lower! | 11,000 ft |
| 6 | Pisco moraine camp | 16,075 ft | 975 ft | 12,000 ft | |
| 7 | Summit Pisco | 18,867 ft | 2,792 ft | 13,000 ft | |
| Return to Pisco base camp | 15,100 ft | -3,767 ft | |||
| 8 | Go to Chopicalqui base camp | 13,800 ft | -1,300 ft | 14,000 ft | |
| 9 | Chopicalqui moraine camp | 15,100 ft | 1,300 ft | 15,000 ft | |
| 10 | Rest day | 15,100 ft | 0 ft | 16,000 ft | |
| 11 | Summit Chopicalqui | 20,841 ft | 5,741 ft | whew - workout day! | 17,000 ft |
| Descend to base camp | 13,800 ft | -7,041 ft | |||
| 12 | Return to Huaraz | 9,500 ft | -4,300 ft | 18,000 ft | |
| 13 | Drive/trek to Huascaran base camp | 14,000 ft | 4,500 ft | 19,000 ft | |
| 14 | Huascaran camp 1 | 17,000 ft | 3,000 ft | 20,000 ft | |
| 15 | Summit Huascaran | 22,200 ft | 5,200 ft | 21,000 ft | |
| Descend to base camp | 14,000 ft | -8,200 ft | another huge day | ||
| 16 | Return to Huaraz | 9,500 ft | -4,500 ft | ||
| 17 | Bus from Huaraz to Lima, flight out | 0 ft | -9,500 ft |
Comments
- This plan is extremely aggressive in terms of acclimation. Go to 19,000ft 7 days after being at sea level? The possibility of HAPE [1] and HACE [2] is too real.
- There is no time for anything to go wrong on this plan. Possibly no time for rest either. With a few more days, this might be feasible, but 17 is really cramming it in.
- Need to look at sleeping altitude and elevation gain/loss for each day
We then revised it some and this is the second cut:
| Day | Activity | Elevation | Gain/Loss | Notes | "Formula" |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flight to Lima | 0 ft | |||
| 2 | Bus from Lima to Huaraz | 9,500 ft | 9,500 ft | 8,000 ft | |
| 3 | Rest day in Huaraz | 9,500 ft | 0 ft | 9,000 ft | |
| 4 | Rest day in Huaraz | 9,500 ft | 0 ft | 9,500 ft | |
| 5 | Bus to Cebollapampa | 13,000 ft | 3,500 ft | 10,500 ft | |
| 6 | Trek to Pisco base camp | 15,100 ft | 2,100 ft | 11,500 ft | |
| 7 | Pisco base camp | 15,100 ft | 0 ft | 12,500 ft | |
| 8 | Acclimation hikes | 15,100 ft | 0 ft | 13,500 ft | |
| 9 | Pisco moraine camp | 16,075 ft | 975 ft | 14,500 ft | |
| 10 | Pisco summit attempt | 18,867 ft | 2,792 ft | 15,500 ft | |
| Return to Pisco base camp | 15,100 ft | -3,767 ft | |||
| 11 | Go to Chopicalqui base camp | 13,800 ft | -1,300 ft | 15,500 ft | |
| 12 | Rest day | 13,800 ft | 0 ft | 15,500 ft | |
| 13 | Chopicalqui moraine camp | 15,100 ft | 1,300 ft | 15,500 ft | |
| 14 | Chopicalqui summit attempt | 20,841 ft | 5,741 ft | whew - workout day! | 16,500 ft |
| Descend to moraine (or base) camp | 13,800 ft | -7,041 ft | |||
| 15 | Return to Huaraz | 9,500 ft | -4,300 ft | ||
| 16 | Bus from Huaraz to Lima | 0 ft | -9,500 ft | ||
| 17 | Flight back to US | 0 ft |