El Sueño de los Excluidos (right) and La Teoría de la Gota de Agua, with the advanced camp on the vegetated shelf. Roberto Iannilli
Climbing on El Sueño de los Excluidos. Roberto Iannilli
(Back to: South America, Peru, Cordillera Blanca)
Nevado Quillujirca, El Sueño de los Excluidos and La Teoría de la Gota de Agua.
By Sergio Ramírez Carrascal, Peru
In the Rurec Valley, called by many climbers the “Little Yosemite” of the Andes, an Italian expedition opened two new routes on Nevado Quillujirca (5,040m; Quillujirca is the local name, a.k.a. Huantsán Chico or Shaqsha). The team installed base camp on May 6, with a main objective of Punta Numa’s west face, where in 1997 a Spanish team opened the first route on the impressive granite wall. Due to unfavorable weather, the Italians decided on Nevado Quillujirca instead. On May 11, Roberto Iannilli and Andrea DiDonato climbed 300m up to a large shelf where they installed bivouac equipment and then returned to base camp, leaving fixed ropes. The next day, they returned to the bivouac with Ivo Scappatura, but bad weather held until May 15. Scappatura returned to base camp due to health problems, but DiDonato and Iannilli continued climbing the southeast face on muddy and vegetated cracks. After three bivouacs on the ascent and another on the descent, they opened El Sueño de los Excluidos (1,340m, VII/VII+ A2, 25 pitches, May 11–18).
Around the same dates, Luca D’Andrea and Massimo Massimiano climbed the south face of the same mountain, calling their line La Teoría de la Gota de Agua (800m, VII- A2). The route shares the same initial 300m as El Sueño, and does not reach the summit.
