Climbing Bolivia's stunning Pequeño Alpamayo

One of the most beautiful mountains in Bolivia, Pequeño Alpamayo stands at just 5,425 meters (17,799 feet) high in the Cordillera Real, but makes up for the lower altitude in aesthetics and climbing challenges. The glacier climb up to Tarifa, a small summit that must be attained before beginning the climb up Pequeño Alpamayo, is quite easy. However, the climb is truly just beginning at this point.

First you must descend Tarifa on class 3 rock back down to the glacier that straddles the two peaks and also has one very short low class 5 section of rock. Once back on continuous ice, the climb steadily gets steeper until you begin ice climbing 60-70 degree ice, depending on your route. Following the glacier, there is another short difficult, exposed class 2 section of rock before topping out on the summit.

We climbed this in mid-July 2024 and were fortunate to see one of the most beautiful sunrises that morning as the rising sun illuminated Pequeño Alpamayo and offered pastels on the nearby Huayna Potosí.