Mountain: Huascarán Norte
Route: North Face Paragot Route (French)
Country: Peru, Cordillera Blanca
Height: 6652 meters, 21,824 feet
Dates of Expedition: August 1979
Overview of climb: The third alpine style ascent of the 1966 Paragot Route (fourth ascent overall).
Team Members: Donald Anderson Carlos Buhler
Lasting Impression:
The Paragot Route on Huascarán Norte was a dream of mine when Adrian Burgess described it to me in 1978. With two partners, Adrian had made the first repeat ascent and had done it in alpine style. To the best of my knowledge, Don and I made the fourth ascent of the route, third in alpine style, after a French party climbed it the year before us. Our ascent was a near disaster, as we dropped one pack containing the stove on day five high on the face. Too fearful of descending the dangerous lower face, we continued to the top, taking two more days, and began descending the normal route. We were extremely lucky to run into a Japanese team ascending the normal route towards the Garganta. They compassionately invited us into their tent and rehydrated us for hours. To this day, Don and I remain grateful for their sacrifice.
