Newsletter Peru Treks | PERU TREK NEWSLETTER |
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WELCOME TO PERUVIAN ANDES ADVENTURES NEWSLETTER Perú Head Office: New Zealand Office: Welcome to the PERUVIAN ANDES ADVENTURES newsletter. We hope that you will enjoy receiving an update during the year with news from your friends at Peruvian Andes Adventures in Huaraz.
We have had a busy 2009 season and despite the depressed world economic situation and then the scare with Swine Flu we were delighted to welcome many groups to Huaraz. Several clients from previous trips with us returned for a second or even a third time and we made a lot of new friends also. This is the third time I do trekking with Peruvian Andes and next time I come in Huaraz I shall certainly take again the same agency. Best regards, John (Switzerland / Cordillera Huayhuash Trek June 2009) Season Highlights Adventure Consultants from New Zealand climbed Alpamayo with us: Thank you again for operating another excellent expedition – we are very grateful for your professional and reliable service and look forward to organizing another trip with you soon. Wes & Stan from the USA climbed Tocllaraju, Huascaran & suffered bad weather during an attempt on Artesonraju said: Guide and staff were well trained & very professional. This is our second positive experience with Peruvian Andes Adventures. The second experience was even better than the first. We would have no hesitation using Peruvian Andes Adventures again And we ran 6 successful climbing courses varying in length from 3 days to 5 days Berne & Karen were happy to do a 5 day climbing course with HISAO instructing: Over all three of our climbing adventures all staff, guides, cooks, porters & donkey drivers looked after us with great care & consideration, even in our moments of terror and triumph in the snow. Due to our lack of Spanish it was great to have guides with such good English. It made it easier during the instruction and any incidents that occurred. Top Marks! A special thanks must go to all involved to make our second trip here one not to forget. Trekking: We had several groups trekking from 7 days to 15 days in the Cordillera Huayhuash, and the Santa Cruz Llanganuco and Santa Cruz Ulta treks were again popular. We were happy to have three groups trekking our new remote Olleros to Carhuacanscha & Chavin Trek or the alternative Carpa Valley to Chavin treks and they all enjoyed the wilderness experience that these treks offer very much. Anne went exploring and did the two day Carpa trek with Eli and friends this year, and was lucky to see wild Vicunas for the first time, and then they were treated to tasty fresh trout for dinner which Eli caught in the lake!
Cusco & Machu Picchu
Pam & Dave from the USA climbed Urus & Ishinca with Hisao: You have provided us a fantastic experience from start to finish! The food was great …. if not careful a person might gain weight in camp. Guiding service was truly great with the first rule being that of safety which is what it should be. We were slow but the guides patience and encouragement got us to the top – couldn’t have made it without him!
He hopes to have the new house he is building finished in the next few months, but in the meantime he is kept running by his twin three year daughters Tatiana and Analie who are super active and look set to be the next generation of Morales mountaineers!
She celebrated her birthday in Huaraz, with first a fun night camping at Paria Valley and was surprised when the cook Lida made her a tasty birthday cake and then was treated to a fantastic birthday dinner back at the Morales Family home prepared by Hisao, and his mum and dad (thanks guys!) Anne is now back in New Zealand where she is keeping busy helping in a new business started with her husband, working with Peruvian Andes Adventures and just for fun part time back on the apple farm!. Mirjam & Bjorn from Germany said : Anne: Thank you for the extremely helpful and very important information in advance. Thank you for your quick response to every question and your great support. You impressed us from your first email until to Huaraz how you organized a trip to our demands.
It has been a massive job which Henry has completed diligently and with an ever present sense of humour. His claim to fame this year was taking an unacclimatised Anne along with Hisao for a “short” exploration hike which he guaranteed would be no longer than 2 hours, which turned into a 6 hour epic. They struggled into Huaraz at 04:00pm, after hiking all day with no more than a litre of water and an orange between them ! (best stick to the administration Henry – maybe not the guiding!)
Some climbing clients said:
Happy Clients from Germany said: Mayumi: You are the best and funniest cook ever. Every day you surprised us with new delicious meals. Thank you for all the effort and a lot of fun
His knowledge of plants and their traditional uses for medicines proved to be very popular with all his clients and all enjoyed botanical lessons while trekking with him.
Victor is proud through his hard work to be able to send his daughter from the small mountain village where they live to Huaraz to board and study at the university to become a nurse. Well done Victor!
Welcome to New Staff This Season!! We have been fortunate to have several new staff join our team this season.
In 2006 he was accredited as UIAGM mountain guide. Juan has a keen sense of humour, always ready for a joke. He speaks English and continues English studies this year to reach a more advanced level.
His mountain career started as a young boy, helping his father who is one of the most experienced porters and cooks in the region, and then as a porter and assistant guide until he became a UIAGM guide. Hernan is very friendly and always ready to help our clients with anything that they might need. You can expect to see him guiding treks and climbs, but also in the kitchen tent where he enjoys practicing his cooking skills.
He now enjoys preparing delicious trekking meals and climbing with our groups in the mountains. With his mountaineering skills, he is very adaptable and a valued staff member for high mountain expeditions.
Roger is Eli’s brother in law and is now training and studying with us to become a trek cook and eventually a licensed climbing porter.
Community Project 2009 / 2010 Unchos Village Water and Sewage Scheme In 2004 the village started construction of a water and sewage scheme but work was not completed due to lack of planning for the population growth of the village and shortage of funds to construct an expanded scheme necessary to meet the population growth. After a long wait and much political bickering, during which time the villagers were without a reliable running water supply or sewage removal, work on the scheme has started again, but the villagers and their supporters must fund most of the work and supply the labour themselves and have been actively fundraising. The total cost of the project is 76,000,000 Peruvian Soles, about US$263,000 Peruvian Andes Adventures is continuing it’s policy of returning some trek profits back into local communities and is donating 45 drainage pipes, at an estimated cost of US$1000
Huaripampa Family: Many thanks to Mirjam and Bjorn from Germany who donated a large sum of money as sponsorship for an underprivileged family living in the Huaripampa Valley along the Santa Cruz Trail. The fund will be used to buy clothing for the eight children and nutritious food staple items which will be delivered at regular intervals when we have trek groups passing. We made the first delivery to the grateful family in late September. Thanks for your generosity Mirjam & Bjorn!
Santa Cruz Trek 3 days: We are now offering a 3 day Santa Cruz trek for those people who would like to experience the magnificent mountain scenery of the Cordillera Blanca but are traveling with a limited time budget.
Note: Special Interest Classic examples are two of our favourite donkey drivers, the brothers Victor and Cirillo Mendez from Colcabamba. These two men are extremely hardworking, honest and loyal. Victor is working hard to support his eldest daughter who is at university in Huaraz studying to be a nurse. Victor’s vision is to educate both his daughters so that they can advance and not be trapped into the hard and difficult lives of mountain living people. Cordillrea Negra Camping Trip: For those who enjoy the outdoors and the mountains but may not be able to do a multi day trek, we have found a beautiful camping place high on the Cordillera Negra next to a pretty lake and with the most amazing views across to the snow capped massive mountains of the Cordillera Blanca range. It is only a one hour drive up to the lake from Huaraz, where we set up camp and you can enjoy the hospitality of our guide and cook with delicious meals and even a bottle of wine! Wake up early in the morning to see the sun hitting the top of the snowy mountains with incredible colours at sunrise. This will be a great trip for families with children or less active people who enjoy camping
Local Huaraz News LC Busre Airline: Are now offering a guaranteed daily return flight between Lima and Huaraz. House Of Guides News: More strict standards are now being enforced in relation to foreign language and training course attendance. *A new regulation was passed by the House of Guides April 2009 stating that Aspirant Guides are not permitted to climb 6000m mountains or technical peaks unless they are being supervised by a UIAGM guide. This regulation WILL be enforced by the House of Guides and the UIAGM guides.
It is important to check with your agency if you are climbing a 6000m or technical peak that your guide is fully UIAGM certified or your guide for a peak less than 6000m is a registered Peruvian Mountain Guides Association Guide.
*The Peruvian Mountain Guides Association is upgrading the hut at Llaca Valley. This hut is a well used base for the Peruvian guides who run training sessions for guides in the Llaca Valley and on Vallunaraju, and the upgrade will also benefit climbers visiting Llaca Valley for rock climbing or climbing Vallunaraju. *April 2009 Swiss Instructors headed a training course for guides to instruct and teach the latest techniques from Europe, keeping Peruvian guides technical skill levels up to date with international standards
Cordillera Huayhuash Siula Grande Base Camp The last information we have received in August 2009 is that the community will permit groups to enter the Calinca valley to camp and visit Siula Grande Base Camp but there MAY be an extra charge in fees to pay to the community to camp in the Calina Valley.
The National park office has presented a draft Master Tourism Plan for the Huascaran National Park to local tourist operators. Some of these regulations will include: *All guides must be certified and registered as guides with the National Park. Unregistered guides will not be permitted to lead climbs, treks or day hikes. *There will be controls on guides from foreign countries guiding groups inside the National Park There are several regulations aimed at protecting the environment: *People entering the Park will be given brochures containing information and rules on the behaviour expected and care for the environment inside the park.
*Particularly sad for the Peruvian Andes Adventures family and for all the guides in Huaraz was an accident on Huascaran in July when tragically a guide who was the brother of our valued friends and guides Rodolfo, David & Hernan Orepeza perished along with a Japanese friend after both falling into a crevasse. On 25 October the Peruvian guides had their annual meeting and dinner, and remembered their lost friend with a minute silence. *An Italian tour operator paragliding on Vallunaraju was sadly killed after crashing onto rocks on the mountain *On 3 August the bodies of three young Belgium mountaineers who were climbing Tocllaraju were discovered on the eastern face of Tocllaraju. They were climbing without a local guide and no one witnessed their accident. It is believed they may have fallen some 300m to their deaths sometime on 1 August or 2 August. They were aged just 20, 22 and 26 years
Staff Training for 2010 ISO 9001 Quality Accreditation Wilderness First Responder Do take care everyone and keep up the adventuring! Refer a Friend? If you think a friend would like to recieve our news, send us their email address to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it If you do not wish to receive copies of our newsletter, just send a note to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will delete your email from our database |
Superior Personal Tours in the Peruvian Andes
Hisao has had another very busy year as general manager of Peruvian Andes Adventures. He has been fully involved in preparing documentation and processes for the final ISO audit, but was able to escape the stress of the office to climb Urus & Ishinca, Yanapaccha (twice) and instructed a 5 day climbing course on Vallunaraju.
Eli did another great job this season guiding and sharing his in depth knowledge of the mountains and culture with many new friends. 
Anne had a quiet trekking season in Huaraz, only having time to escape for a short hike into Ishinca Base Camp and then a 6 day Santa Cruz Ulta trek.
Henry: We were lucky to have Henry back with us this year working as our Operations Manager. Henry has principally been responsible for developing the systems, procedures and documents for the arduous ISO requirements, and implementing them and training staff in the new quality systems. 
Rodolfo had another sterling season guiding for us. Apart from doing a great job with trekking groups, he was successful in getting clients to the summits of Pisco, Yanapaccha, Chopicalqui and Alpamayo. Now the season is finished he has been helping us in the office preparing documentation for ISO and developing new programs for 2010.
Edita: We were extremely fortunate to have Edita Oncoy guiding treks for us this season. Many of you will remember Edita from the San Sebastian Hotel and then later Morales Guesthouse and our office administration. 
Mayumi: Is now a true 5 star trek cook, with many clients complaining that they put on weight while trekking with her! Now the season has finished enterprising Mayumi has opened a small ceviche restaurant at her home.
Pablo: Is an inspiration to us all, at 68 years old is still super fit and continued to guide groups all over the mountains this season. 
Victor Mendez: Is from Colcabamba on the Santa Cruz trek circuit and is one of our trusted and much appreciated hard working donkey drivers. 
Paul Cusinga: Our friend in Lima Paul who does such a great job organizing transfers and city tours for us married Danith in May and they are now expecting their first baby, due in February
Juan Carlos - UIAGM Guide 
Hernan Oropeza – UIAGM Guide 
Agustin Jamanca - Cook
Yovani Gloria – Cook 
Roger Nieto – Trainee 
