Gear List: Cordillera Blanca Traverse (2022)

The Cordillera Blanca Traverse is a backcountry hiking route through one of South America’s highest and most beautiful mountain ranges. Measuring approximately 400 km (249 mi) in length, elevations during the hike ranged between 3,133 m (10,279 ft) and 5,201 Read More …

Cordillera Blanca Traverse – Stage 4 – Chavin to Pastoruri

Distance: 48 miles (77km) Time: 3 days (September 4 – 6) Start: Lake Queracocha Finish: Pastoruri Glacier   Day 14  Setting out from Lake Queracocha just before midday, I made my way cross country over the windswept, treeless landscape. Navigation Read More …

Cordillera Blanca Traverse – Stage 3 – Pitec to Chavin

At a Glance Distance: 46 miles (74 km) Time: 3 days Start:  Pitec Finish: Chavin   Stage 3 Notes Day 11 Upon arriving back at the Pitec trailhead, I met a park ranger by the name of Pedro. Pedro the Read More …

Cordillera Blanca Traverse – Stage 2 – Pompey to Pitec

Distance: 65 miles (105 km) Time: 5 days (including a rest day in Huaraz) Start: Pompey Returned to the CBT via a colectivo minibus from the town of Chacas. Finish: Pitec From Pitec, I got a 1 hr ride down Read More …

Cordillera Blanca Traverse – Stage 1 – Hualcallan to Pompey

Note:  Twenty minutes before beginning the Cordillera Blanca Traverse (CBT) in Hualcallan, I had the following conversation with an inquisitive local with a very dry sense of humor. It has been translated from Spanish to English. “Where are you headed?” Read More …

Cordillera Blanca Traverse (CBT) | Peru, 2014

Between August 21 and September 6, 2014, I completed a traverse of Peru’s Cordillera Blanca, one of the world’s highest and most beautiful mountain ranges. To the best of my knowledge, it was the first time that such a trek Read More …