June 28, 2017
A shorter day than planned and our highest elevation yet.
Cycling Stats & Travel Stats
Start Point: Puya Raimondi Tourist Spot wild camp, Ancash, Peru
Destination: Pastoruri Glacier Base, Ancash, Peru
15.1 km, 7.3 km/h average speed, 23 km/h maximum speed, 4:17 time on the bike
653 meters gained, 26 meters elevation descend, 4832 meters maximum elevation
Route Description:
You continue on the same gravel road. Rideable and good condition with a manageable grade. The high altitude can make it more difficult to climb. From our camp the night before to the base of the glacier was only 15K. At the base of the glacier there is a woman selling some soup and snacks. We were able to buy soup for 10 soles per bowl.
Accommodations:
We slept at the base of the glacier which is at 4950 meters elevation. There is a woman who lives in a house at the base who permitted us to pitch our tent under cover. There is a river right at the base of the glacier so water is not a problem.
What happened…
Andrew writes: Well, we started the day as a group, but Nici started feeling sick (altitude?) and so we ended up sleeping apart. Amanda and I rode ahead and after lunch there was still no sign of our favourite Austrians. It turns out they had stopped 1km back as Nici couldn’t make it any further. Despite the short distance today, the combination of high altitude and the climb itself really took a toll and I was happy to have a short day.
The area up at the Pastoruri Glacier is a great camping spot, and the woman and two dogs that live up there made for great company in the absence of our friends.
Amanda writes: Today didn’t turn out too bad in spite of Nici was having some challenges with the altitude and climbing and wasn’t feeling very good. It must be so difficult to often be sick and I just hope that she feels better soon. After we received a message from a passing tourist bus that they weren’t going to make it Andrew hiked down the hill to check on them to see if he could help. Nici let him know she couldn’t go a step further and so Andrew hiked back up to me to let me know what was going on. Rather than camp where we had stopped for lunch we decided to head for the glacier. I’m really glad we did too because it was so close. It took us about an hour to climb to the base and it was packed with tour buses of people who were headed up to the glacier. When we arrived Andrew found a woman who was selling soup so we each enjoyed a big hot bowl to warm our bellies as it’s pretty cold up here. Then we bought another bowl and put it in our thermos for later that night to enjoy with dinner. The local lady who lives up here let us pitch our tent under cover which is really nice for the ice that typically forms on it each night. After all the tour buses left we sent up our tent and made dinner and enjoyed some nice friendly conversation with the woman that has lived here her entire life.
The aerial view of our ride: