Climbing a New Route on Nevado Palcaraju 6274m
On May 5th, 2025
Nate Heald, Dane Christensen, and I set off on a quest to put a route on the unclimbed south face of Nevado Palcaraju in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range of Perú. Going into the attempt, we knew that it had been a heavy La Niña rainy season, and based on photos that I sent Nate the previous year, we anticipated that there would be favorable conditions to climb a direct line from the bottom of the face.
Dane had only arrived in Perú a few days before we began up the Ishinca Valley. This put him at a disadvantage because Nate and I had already acclimatized on previous climbs as preparation for this 6000m mountain. With Dane’s acclimatization in mind, we decided to break the climb into a steady four-day schedule. On day one, we walked up the Ishinca Valley and stayed at Refugio Ishinca at 4350m. The next day, we ascended to 5000m, making a comfy advanced base camp only a few meters from the beginning of the glacier. As anticipated, we observed a positive shift in the weather conditions. There were light afternoon rain showers the first two days, but clear nights led into clear mornings the days following, just as the forecast predicted. Taking advantage of overnight freezing temperatures, we broke camp in the early hours of the morning and began making our way up the glacier to our third and final camp.
At that point everything looked to be in our favor: stable weather, snow only as deep as our ankles, and a relatively safe path to Camp One beneath the forbidding walls of Palcaraju Oeste. We climbed a moderate snow ramp that led to a flat bench situated right below the large basin under the south face of Palcaraju’s summit pyramid. Dane and I did not feel well around 11am when we arrived at C1. The combination of Dane having had food poisoning a week before he arrived in Perú and his poor acclimatization started to take their effect on him at 5600m. I felt wiped out because I had only drunk half a liter of water and eaten one handful of snacks since we’d broken camp at 3am, which I simply solved by eating and drinking some water. On the other hand, Nate was feeling as strong as an ox. As we evaluated the area where we wanted to make our camp, Nate decided to dig a luxurious cave apart from the tent that we brought. For a good hour, Nate enthusiastically hacked away at the solid snow with a shovel, expending extra energy that neither Dane nor I had. Some time passed, and Dane’s condition worsened. After a brief discussion, Dane decided that it would be in his best interest to go back to Moraine Camp to rest while Nate and I made an attempt at the route. It was disappointing to see Dane go, but we were pleased that he’d made it as far as he did given his circumstances. Nate and I rested for a few hours and began ascending from our camp to the basin around 2am.
To gain the basin, we climbed two short snow ramps. The first was about 25m of loose 65-degree snow. The second wall was about 50m of similar quality, 65-70 degree snow. We soloed both sections. Once we reached the bottom of the basin, it was fairly easy walking on ankle- to calf-deep snow with some breakable windboard. By about 4am we started simul climbing the 500m route with Nate leading. The first half of the wall, we encountered a mix of 65-degree snow and ice. It was smooth going and easy to protect. Halfway up the wall, we found a perfect 70-75 degree AI3 runnel of ice leading all the way to the summit ridge. We pitched out the final 210 meters of the route until reaching the ridge around 12pm. From there it was only a 10-minute walk to the true summit. And after about an hour of enjoying the summit in perfect weather, we descended the face with about 7 rappels.
It’s a privilege to climb the snow-covered giants of this awe-inspiring national park. A huge thanks goes to our local support who make the logistics of climbing here stress-free: Ever, our trusted arriero and porter from the town of Collón who helped save our legs the first two days; Geremias, our reliable local transport who is punctual, even when we request to be picked up at 5am; and our “caseros” at the local market who are attentive and stocked with all the goods that we need to fuel our bodies for these big adventures. And lastly, to my good friend Jim, who provides us dirtbag climbers a home base in Huaraz to relax and share stories between our time in the mountains.
If you’re looking to go on a guided adventure that you’ll never forget, reach out to Nate Heald at https://skyhighandes.com/. And if you want someone to capture that adventure, drop me a message. Thank you for reading, and until next time!
Media gallery by Matt Stacy / Andes Adventure Visuals
