Cusco Climbing

One day, as I was walking from Salumpunko to Ikiltambo, I was looking at all of the beautiful scenery and thinking about the untapped potential for establishing climbing routes in the area. I’ve got to get back here with my buddy Mark Williams. He and a friend were responsible for developing Red River Gorge in Kentucky and he has a lot more experience putting up new routes than I do. As I was mulling over these prospects, I looked to my left, at the backside of a large limestone outcrop whose facade was, in part, responsible for my current line of thought when I saw a line of new bolts leading up to the top. So, there were climbers in the area! That very afternoon, after a long and satisfying walk to a number of both Incan and natural wonders, I stopped at my local laundry, run by mother Marisol and daughters Jengele and Chaska, when I found a flier for Le Sommet, a bar/restaurant with an indoor climbing wall. If there is a place to meet the local climbing crowd, this must be it. The restaurant turned out to be closed until Sunday, April 30 but, sure enough, on my first visit I met the owner, a French woman named Danzella and Luis Quispe, a young Peruvian who had extra gear and agreed to take us out to some local routes. And, a week or so later, on Bart’s last full day in town, Bart and Zak and myself found ourselves hiking with Luis and a friend of his, a Canadian girl named Josie who was in Cusco escaping the cold of Baffin Island.

To my surprise, Luis led us directly to a rock immediately below the Inca Ruins of K’usillochayuj that Mary Walsh and Mary and I had hiked to some weeks prior. We were climbing directly above Inca terraces and potato fields that have been in use since they were first constructed by the Incas some 500 + years prior. Luis’ gear looked brand new. This could be good because it looked reliable but, since it obviously hadn’t been used much, it could be bad since it raised concerns about the reliability of the guide. While Luis set a top rope, I talked with Josie and learned that it was she who had purchased the gear in Canada on Luis’ behalf and brought it down to for use with his nascent guide service. So far so good; he had climbed a lot and was just now going into business, all questions answered. I volunteered to go first and was surprised to find the rock gritty and covered with lichen. Luis was putting in some gear on rappel on a route around the corner to the right and I was surprised to hear him hammering in pitons and clearing out some sizable bushes. I was later to learn that, while Luis had scoped out the rock before, this was his first trip to the spot with clients. Subsequently, I ended up completing three first ascents along the face of the rock although Luis deserves equal credit, of course. From left to right, they are: The Pisco Kid (El Nino Pisco) a 5.6 that ascends the left arrete; Joses a 5.8 that goes right up the center passing through left side of big red dish; and El Campesino Molesto, a 5.7 which goes up the right arête and then through the same red dish. The best route, however, was around the corner to the right directly above the creek. The direct start is as yet uncompleted but the start from the lower terrace (below the field and above the creek) is a stimulating 5.8 I call 1% Peruano that was an even more exciting 5.9 when I was cleaning the bushes out of a beautiful hand crack above the last piece of gear.

All in all, it was a great day climbing except for the intrusion of a grumpy old man (the campesino molesto) who farmed the fields below and for some reason was extremely offended that we were having fun and minding our own business on the rock abutting his field. This compelled him to vent his impotent frustration before we were allowed to finish our day. Who's got the time for all of this negativity? We did our best to ignore him and while he sputtered on Josie told me that it was quite common for the locals to behave in such a manner; upon reflection, such behavior jibed with my experiences retrieving soccer balls kids had accidentally kicked into yards adjoining the soccer field near our house.

That night, we met our Peruvian friends Yanet and Doris and Doris' daughter Carolina for dinner to wish Bart a happy Bon Voyage. Bart's original choice, was the hip and trendy Los Perros but we were unable to find a table so we found our way over to Los Farroles Del Duke down the street. Zak was so tired, he fell asleep before the dinner arrived. He was briefly revived for the soup course before falling back asleep, luckily not with his face in the bowl, while the rest of us danced to first an Andean band and then the salsa of Nancy Flores and her band. An excellent way to end an excellent visit.