"El Tajo": a new route up Mount Taulliraju
Marcelo "Tero" Donozo - Aventurarse Expert


July, 1993. I'm in the Santa Cruz ravine. My adventure partners are the Pizarro brothers, Gustavo and Daniel, climbers by nature. We speed off to Alpamayo, but our impatience betrays us and we miss the detour, almost ending up at the end of the ravine. This is how we ended up at the foot of mount Taulliraju, an immense rock formation, 5840 meters high.

I don´t know how long we stood there, staring at that cathedral made of rock and ice, as if it were our prey. We then went back to our original objective, Mount Alpamayo. After climbing it and confirming its nickname, "the prettiest mountain in the world", we went back to Taulliraju with the firm intention of reaching its summit.

Climbing the ice

We dedicated the first day to studying the mountain. Ice climbing is our strong point, so we searched for a route with the corresponding characteristics. We were attracted by an frozen waterfall, about 500 meters high, right beside the Italian Route.

To get there, we decided to walk up a snow ramp. Our first problem was crossing the glacier that stood at the base of the mountain, in order to get to the ramp. To save time, we drew a frontal route up the glacier, setting up fixed ropes on the glacier's smooth, reflective surface. As soon as we began to climb, we found a jungle of crevices that almost spoke out, "This is the end of your path." As we uninstalled the ropes, Daniel twisted his knee and had to stay in the base and rest. Gustavo and I chose to start again, parting from the Punta Unión pass, where a pre-Inca trail still stands. We then climbed up the side of the glacier, reaching for the snow ramp. It took us three days to get there, portering all our equipment.

In the ramp

We set up camp at the ramp's base, the ramp is at a slope of 60°. The snow's condition was ideal for climbing, but a surprise awaited us: The ice waterfall was not connected to the ramp. We had to overcome a pretty tough mixed A3, VII. After two 100 meter stretches, we made it to the fall.

More than 20 hours have passed. We go down to the camp site at the bottom of the ramp, leaving fixed ropes in the mixed sector and throughout most of the ramp. After resting for a day, Daniel arrives. He has overcome his knee problem and, most importantly, is bringing us food!

At midnight, Daniel wakes us up with "mate". Gustavo and I were lazy to get out of our sleeping bags, but among "mates" and insults, we are facing the mountain again. When we reach the first fixed ropes, it starts snowing heavily. We are optimistic, thinking that the storm will blow off. Actually, hoping that the storm will blow off. Instead, the snow sticks on the ropes and makes some of the safeties fail, slowing down our progress.

Summit, at last!

Dawn, it is still snowing when we arrive at the base of the fall. Daniel leads the first stretch: A one meter wide, 80° slope. The granite wall is completely smooth, so the first length is very exposed. Higher up, the ice is more abundant.

The storm won't calm down, and the snow dust avalanches are constant. The snow looks for openings in our jackets to fly into. One of my grampons is loose, and I'm forced to improvise the solution with a strap. When the sun begins to set, we arrive at the mountain's cutting edge, which leads t the summit. After fighting some rough peaks, we finally meet our goal. Climbing down the same fall is difficult. We are wet, and the waits for the rappel are very cold. We descend part of the way, but we are very tired and wet when we reach the mixed section. We decide to abandon the stretch with all the intermediate safeties we installed. We release our ropes again and drop them down the cliff. I keep on rappelling down the mixed section. I descend as slow as possible, in order to keep the rope from scratching on the wall, and because my gloves are wet and frozen. The joy that invaded me when my feet landed on the ramp can't be put into words. As we descend down the ramp, we collect the installed ropes. At 5:00am we reach the camping ground at the base of the ramp. Ironically, the skies clear out and we spot the night's first stars.

The next day, we begin to climb down the glacier. When we arrive at the pre-Inca trail, we meet two local passers-by, who look at us with confused expressions. Then we come across Jose Luis, the third Pizarro brother, who helps us porter down our equipment. We arrive at the base camp, where "mate" and a stew await us.