MATEO (5,150 masl): YOUR FIRST CLIMB IN A 5 THOUSANDS

Mateo peak belongs to the Contrahierbas Sur massif, it’s located inside the Huascaran National Park exactly inside Ulta canyon, in the province of Carhuaz.

Mateo has become very popular among beginner climbers because it’s a friendly, short and easily accessible mountain for people who want to reach the dream of climbing their first 5 thousand meters high summit. To reach the summit you will need to start early in the morning. Along the climb you will take time to enjoy tone of the most beautiful sunrise views of Chopicalqui, Contrahierbas, Huascaran, Ulta and the beautiful lakes that are found around the Ulta Gorge. The approach is by a moraine for an hour until you arrive to the glacier, then you continue another hour more and you reach the summit.

If you want to get started in mountaineering, have a great experience and live the dream of your first 5,000-meter mountain, Mateo is the right place for you.

This adventure will start in Huaraz, we will pick you up at your hotel (2:30 am) with private transportation. After the pick up we will head north through the Huaylas valley to Carhuaz town, then we will turn to the east side to the Punta Olimpica tunnel located in Ulta canyon, the estimated time of arrival is at 6:00 am. At this point we will start our climb to Mateo peak, we will carry our backpack with the mountain equipment and after 1 hour approach through the moraine we will reach the glacier, at this point we will equip ourselves, our guide will make an inspection of the climbing equipment and finally we will rope us to continue to the summit. 

After 1 hour and half minutes of climbing in snow we will reach the summit to enjoy a splendid view of the mountains of the Cordillera Blanca: Huascaran, Chopicalqui, Ulta, Contrahierbas and Chacraraju. We remain at the summit to rest, hydrate and take pictures. Finally we will descend by the same route of ascent to our transport to be transferred to Huaraz. 

In Carhuaz we could make a stop to enjoy the delicious homemade fruit ice cream.

Meals: Box lunch
Transfer by car to Punta Olimpica Tunnel: 2.5 hours
Estimated climb time: 5 to 7 hours
Transfer by car: 2.5 hours back to Huaraz.
Elevation: +2050 (3100 masl to 5150 masl)