Chachani
Length: 2 Days 1 Night
Difficulty: Moderate
With an altitude of 6080 meters, this snow-capped
volcano is 2 ½ hours away from Arequipa
and can only be reached with a 4WD vehicle. Its
name means "skirt" in Quechua and it
is divided into three picks: Chachani: 6080, meters
Angel: 5825 meters and Fátima 5900 meters.
Chachani usually has some covering of snow and
ice, and it's necessary to take an ice axe and
crampons. You need to bring plenty of warm/thermal
clothing, as temperatures can be extremely cold
on the mountainside. You also need to carry about
4 litres of water as well as snacks such as chocolate
or sweets.
Day 1: We leave Arequipa at 8:30 am and about
two hours later we start walking at an elevation
of 5000 m. After about two hours we reach Base
Camp, at about 5300m, set up camp, and walk up
to the pass above (another 120 metres higher)
to get accustomed to the altitude. Temperatures
here range from +5 to -15 degrees Celsius.
Day 2: We start the climb to the summit at around
2:30 am, after a warming cup of coca tea. We climb
up to the first pass, cross the north face of
Angel (usually snow-covered), from where the city
of Arequipa can be seen. We then ascend the south
face of Fatima, cross another short stretch of
snow, and make the final climb to the summit of
Chachani. The ascent takes 5-6 hours, and the
ascent back to base camp 2-3 hours.
We leave the equipment at base camp, and only
take a day pack on the ascent. At base camp we
pack up camp and descend to where the transportation
is waiting for us. We arrive back in Arequipa
between 2:00 and 3:00 pm.
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