Tocllaraju Route

The trail to Tocllaraju takes the left hand side of the valley up a steep trail for roughly 1-2 hours and then crosses a boulder field for another 1-2 hours leading to the snow field and the sometimes used moraine camp.

From the moraine camp and the large buttress that protects it, a snow ramp is accessed on the left hand side and this is climbed for around 200 meters to the flat glacier ridge where some teams camp.

The route continues to weave through crevasses on the glacier to our glacier campsite that is located at 5,200 meters. Placing a campsite here allows a shorter summit day and descent to base camp.

We head towards the North-West Ridge and if conditions allow we will cross the bergschund and climb a 45 degree snow and ice slope to access the North-West Ridge to save time.

Below the summit pyramid are two more bergschunds that need crossing with the second one needing a short climb of 20 meters on a 50 degree slope before the angle lessens allowing you to walk to the summit. The climb from glacier camp to the summit takes around 5-7 hours with another 4-6 hours for the descent to base camp.

Photo credit: Phil Crampton - Tocllaraju from the Glacier Camp.

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