Climbing Nevado Pisco Independently (Without a Guide)

Daniel 2 Comments

Summer finds me in the Cordillera Blanca, the great mountain range of Peru.

Nevado Pisco is one of the most popular peaks in this range, owing to its generally easy nature and great summit views. Every tourist agency in Huaraz will offer to take you to the top of Pisco – but do you really need a guide to climb Pisco? Not if you have some experience mountaineering. You may encounter some old information which says guides are obligatory in the Cordillera Blanca, but as of 2023, this rule is not being enforced.

In this post I’ll give a brief breakdown of what skills, equipment, and money you will need to climb Pisco independently in 2023 (and 2024).

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Enter The Dragon (M4), RMNP

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My climbing partner Enrico Calvanese just finished editing this video of a mixed ice and rock climb we did in Rocky Mountain National Park this March. This was my first climb coming off of having Covid – I was smoked!!! It was fun to pair up with someone dedicated to the videography as I usually neglect documentation in favor of focusing on the climbing.

Enjoy the video! It should be available with Italian subtitles as well. Enrico has other great mountaineering videos on his channel too – check it out!

It might not be the last time I make an appearance on there…

Ice Season 2022-2023

Daniel 4 Comments

Winter has come to a close here in Colorado. That doesn’t mean we’re hanging up the tools – I’ve been ice climbing in RMNP as late as mid-June – but it does signify a change, a time to slow down and look back. We had a cold winter this year, and I put together a quality ice season.

This is not usually this type of blog, but since I didn’t write about a great many of these climbs, we’re just gonna wrap them all up here.

Some Stats:

  • Days Out (so far): 41
  • Number of unique partners: 12
  • Number of unique regions visited: 8
  • Favorite venue: Rocky Mountain National Park (12 days)

Top Partners (by # of days out together):

  1. Meg K.
  2. Aaron G.
  3. Lacee A.
  4. Enrico C.

Favorite Climbs:

  • The Fang, WI5, Vail
  • All Mixed Up, WI4, 4 pitches, Rocky Mountain National Park
  • Brain Freeze, M5+, 8 pitches, Rocky Mountain National Park
  • Enter the Dragon, M4, 6 pitches, Rocky Mountain National Park
  • Stairway to Heaven, 7 pitches, WI4, Silverton
  • Skylight, 2 pitches, WI4+, Ouray
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