INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURE DESTINATION ALONG THE PATH TO PEACE in ’s

Words and Photos: Griffin Bohm and Max Nathanson

t is almost cliché to describe mountains as violent – jagged, sharp peaks can seem temperamental and unwelcoming. However, sel- dom when we talk about violent mountains are we speaking liter- Ially. The Cordillera Huayhuash is one such exception. Today, the Huayhuash represents the site of a significant tran- sition from a complex system of guerilla-dominated terrorism to a peaceful, safe, and world-class outdoor destination. The horrify- ing history of the region is one riddled with narco-trafficking, kid- napping, and social systems ingrained in poverty and dirty money. Above all, the otherworldly natural beauty of the Cordillera is home to the complex realities of rural life, a situation endemic to not only the , but also much of the developing world more generally. The compact Huayhuash range sits tucked away behind the Peruvian altiplano, five hours from the regional capital of Huaraz. It lacks both the breadth and popularity of its larger neighbour, the celebrated . However, what it lacks in accessibility it makes up for with elevation. Packed into just 30 kilometres from north to south, sit seven peaks of 6000 metres or higher, includ- ing both Yerupajá (6,617 metres), Peru’s second highest peak, and Siulá Grande (6,344 metres), the site of Joe Simpson’s legendary tale Touching the Void. Yerupajá and Siulá, along with several other peaks in the range, are named in a language that pre-dates the Quechua-speaking Incan descendants of the region, their meaning lost to history. It is this combination of isolation and altitude that has long attracted mountaineers from around the world to the Huayhuash. But with seclusion comes risk, and the Huayhuash’s remoteness also served to attract Maoist guerrillas during Peru’s darkest days. Quar- antined away in the high Andes, the Huayhuash still bears the scars left by violent insurgents hell-bent on overthrowing the country. In the 1980s the Maoist Shining Path rose out of the region of Southern Peru to wage guerilla warfare that would engulf the entire country for more than a decade. The senderistas, as they are known locally, were founded by a philosophy professor, Abi- mael Guzmán, and fought against severe income and opportunity inequalities present in the country. The movement began at the tail end of what is known as the ‘Lost Decade’ of the 1980s in Latin America. Economic policies of austerity, privatisation, and trade liberalisation promoted by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund resulted in stagnation, reductions in social programs, and increased income inequality. It was against these elite-driven politics that the Path raged, and the movement attracted many living in rural and agricultural areas as well as stu- dent groups on a reformist and redistributionist bent seen many

November/December 2017. WILD Rondoy (5870m, L) and (6094m, R) peaks

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times throughout recent Latin American history. Path. Enormous, foreboding peaks stand sentinel above valleys spreading out below. If anyone approached the Cordillera, they PERU’S PATH TO CIVIL WAR would be seen coming. Promises of political reform and wealth redistribution struck a The Huayhuash also offered some infrastructural advan- chord among rural Peruvians, where the Path was able to find tages. The Path used the town of Viconga, now known on the success pedalling their beliefs. While was growing, ru- circuit as the site of a much-needed hot springs break, as a base ral Peru was left behind, lacking in education, health care, and due to the large generator used to power the thermal baths. The government support of any kind. Promising the services most group used whatever infrastructure they could to direct opera- needed to these primarily agrarian Peruvians, the Path swept to tions in the secluded secrecy of the Huayhuash’s massive peaks power through rural Peru, gaining valuable supporters across and pristine glaciers. the country. But while the Path could hole up in the Huayhuash, else- But the Path were horrendously violent. While Guzmán where in Peru, violence raged. For civilians, it was often impos- and those at the top used the Robin Hood narrative to attract a sible to discern the good guys from bad. Government forces following, on the ground, the senderistas, as they are known lo- and police were given license to operate as they pleased, and cally, were brutal. Horror stories pervaded: bombings, kidnap- would often execute raids wearing black ski masks and without pings, beheadings, rape, public stonings. Fear ruled the Andes uniform. Extrajudicial killings were common. more than any government in Lima could. Figueroa recalls the conundrum presented by the police, Local residents believed the Path’s promises of wealth re- “As state representatives they had some ability to protect local distribution and equality. In reality, they were met with intimi- residents from the threat of the Path, but they did not offer the dation, coercion and assimilation through force. same esperanza [hope] to civilians, and in many cases were Eduardo Figueroa was one Peruvian who lived through paid off and/or Path members themselves.” the era of the Path. During their height he worked as the man- ager of mountaineering haven The Edward’s Inn in Huaraz. FUJIMORI VS GUZMAN Figueroa says most local residents of the Cordillera tried not Roger Sánchez, a freelance mountaineering guide born near to pick sides, and besides did not really know any better. They Huaraz with 12 years of experience working in the Huayhuash, cooperated with whomever came calling, hoping to continue described the chaos of the conflict: “It was impossible to know living their lives, mostly undisturbed save the occasional spat who was on whose side. If you raised your hand to oppose the 68 of violence between the police and the Path. government, they called you a terrorist, and killed you. If you Figueroa recounted a story about a Path boss who ran a opposed the Path, they didn’t even need a reason. Taking a side plastics business out of his home and funded terror attacks at all meant someone would come for you.” by demanding payments from local residents and businesses. Still, as war spread through Peru, the Path’s only compe- When the boss came knocking, Figueroa resisted. Days later a tition in the Huayhuash were the condors circling overhead. live grenade was lobbed onto the roof of the Edwards Inn. Too remote to be strategically important, the Huayhuash went This same man once set an 18-wheeler on fire in broad uncontested by government forces. An arriero (porter/wran- daylight. After crossing this line he was outed by the police gler) known only as Nimer recalls growing up in the Huay- he had been paying off, captured, and sent to federal prison huash during the Path’s occupation, “If we didn’t bother [the in Lima. Not surprisingly perhaps, he paid the guards and Path], they usually left us alone. We were free to tend our crops escaped to Argentina. According to Figueroa, that same boss and livestock as long as we kept our heads down. But if any now runs the same thriving plastics business in Buenos Aires. blancos [referring to outsiders of any kind, foreign or Peruvi- Terrorism thus became the driving force behind Peru’s an] showed up…[The Path] assumed they had money, and that defining event of the 1990s: a long and dirty civil war. As the was the greatest danger in those days. If you weren’t from the Path grew in size and confidence, they began pushing out of Huayhuash, there was no reason to come to the Huayhuash.” the Andes toward the coast, and towards Lima. With violence In 1992, Fujimori’s tactics finally paid off with the capture arriving at their doorstep, urban Peruvians could no longer ig- of Abimael Guzmán, the Path’s leader. Though violence would nore the threat. continue in bursts for years, Guzmán’s arrest swung the war Having campaigned to curb the Path’s savagery, President decisively towards government forces. Alberto Fujimori took action as soon as he came into office, In 2000 Fujimori, mastermind behind the “at all costs” and made defeating the Shining Path his administration’s cen- war, was exiled to his ancestral homeland of Japan after being tral focus. In 1992, Fujimori closed Congress and assumed dic- indicted with charges including fostering corruption and em- tatorial powers in order to wage a war on terror, a move that ploying civilian death squads. A government-sponsored Truth the New York Times proclaimed at the time as a ‘justification Commission in 2003 estimated that from 1980-2000 more to erode the country’s democracy’. than 69,000 Peruvians died in the conflict. What ensued was a messy conflict with heavy casualties, many of whom were innocent civilians. The Peruvian military A POST-WAR MIRACLE intelligence unit employed torture and death squads in order to In the years since the war ended, Peru has rallied. Riding pursue suspected terrorists. Thus the remote and inaccessible twin waves of peace and economic growth, the country has Huayhuash became a convenient hiding place for the Shining become a promising example of a nation able to emerge from

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Rasac (6017m) at sunset

A glacial traverse at 5300m below Col

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One of many secluded basins on the Cordillera Huayhuash’s Alpine Circuit

violence with hope. Tourism has especially proven a boon huash was long regarded as a dangerous destination for moun- for the country. While Machu Picchu remains the largest at- taineers. However, a system of local governance and fees with- traction, more and more tourists are venturing into farther in the Cordillera has brought promise. Communities charge flung parts of the country, spreading foreign dollars into trekkers small usage fees for entering their land of aquamarine smaller communities. glacial lakes and titanic peaks. The money is used to fund trail Despite what Oxfam calls the ‘Peruvian Miracle’, an aver- and campsite maintenance, police against bandits, and provide age annual growth rate of 6.5 per cent from 2005 to 2012, many much needed income to otherwise purely agricultural commu- of the socio-political factors that caused the rise of the Path nities. Schools, clinics, and other public utilities are coming to remain in place today. According to the World Bank, average these pueblitos for the first time. income is 28 per cent lower than the regional average. In addi- Sánchez, who has guided in the Huayhuash since 2004, re- tion, Latin America is the most unequal region in the world, counts that the most recent episodes of violence were two that and while Peru ranks middle of the pack among its neighbours occurred on the classic circuit in the mid-1990s (the victims an it still has rates of income inequality far higher than the global Israeli backpacker and an American-Peruvian couple). Neither average. were the results of the Shining Path, but instead isolated, alco- These realities almost led to the election of Keiko Fu- hol-induced robberies. jimori, daughter of former president Alberto, to the pres- In the roughly two decades since, a period that has seen idency in 2016. In the region around Huaraz and into the the demise of the Shining Path and the institution of the com- Huayhuash, large red ‘Keiko’s were painted everywhere: munity fee system, there has not been a reported incident of on houses, roadside barriers, tractors. It is clear that the violence against trekkers in the Huayhuash; the remoteness of Fujimorista message of redistribution and land reform still the Cordillera is finally working to its advantage. strikes a chord in these parts of the Andes, despite the fact that For adventurous trekkers, isolation is one of the Huay- the party has been riddled by corruption for decades. huash’s most attractive features. Huaraz is the nearest city to During the era of violence, it is easy to see why the Huay- offer a hospital, a cool five hours away by car. Sánchez says that

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Glacial traverse below Rasac Col

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if a client gets altitude sickness, they are simply loaded onto a However, even if the Huayhuash is still the region’s prover- horse and sent down. In the event of a more serious medical bial ‘little brother’ to the Cordillera Blanca, it is certainly a for- emergency, for instance a spinal injury? Sánchez shrugs. “That midable sibling. Each year, tourism to the Huayhuash grows, hasn’t happened yet.” and with good reason. On clear days, the peaks line up to show off in a roll call of 6000-metre giants. Most are too dangerous HARD-WON FREEDOM OF THE HUAYHUASH to summit; near-vertical slabs of snow, rock, and ice make for It is clear that once outside of Huaraz, itself not the most spectacular vistas, but daunting propositions for climbers. In easily reached destination, one is lost in another level of an era of receding glaciers and variable El Niño patterns, new remoteness. Life in towns along the road to the Huay- routes beyond the traditional circuit are being forged, enabling huash, all much higher than 3000 metres, is slow and hum- visitors to get closer to the mammoths of the Huayhuash than ble, with restaurants dishing up simple menus and children ever before. dancing in colorful central squares baked by the hot sun. Dusty dirt roads wind through lush green valleys, with clear SPIRIT OF THE CORDILLERA rivers snaking underneath steep terraced walls from In- Sánchez says the Huayhuash is his favourite route to guide, as can times. The mountains in these high-altitude tropics are it is the prettiest. Traditionally eight days long, the route can covered in palms and ferns; a soft foreground to granite be stretched up to 14 days to feature additional high-altitude slabs reminiscent of the Dolomites and pseudo-Himalayan passes, expansive glaciers, crystalline lakes or even summits of snow-capped peaks rising in the distance. This is where the non-technical peaks that get trekkers above 5,400 metres. An unique and unadorned beauty of the ancient Andes is seen. ecosystem of guides, arrieros, cooks, porters, and officials serve Many trekking agencies in Huaraz do not even promote to deliver a positive experience to those who find their way into the Huayhuash in their shops. Most opt instead to advertise the Huayhuash. more popular routes or peaks in the closer vicinity of the Cor- Guides and local residents are imbued with community dillera Blanca. and a nature-based culture and language far predating Colom-

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Looking towards the Cordillera Raura from Trapezio Pass (5200m)

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November/December 2017. WILD | INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURE DESTINATION | | CORDILLERA HUAYHUASH - PERU | I choose

bian civilisation. Untouched corners of Earth of the highest or- der like this feels at once sacred, foreboding, fantastical. Hilleberg tents. Most of the workers along the trail are friends, and almost all have interacted in some way before. For them (virtually all Will Copestake men), tourism offers a level of income that cannot be matched Circumnavigated Scotland solo by kayak and by most jobs elsewhere in the region. Workers take almost no days off during the high season, resting only when there is no climbed all  Munros – peaks over ­  m – in €‚ƒ other option. Off-peak months bring manual labour of various days. Named Adventurer of the Year   for both kinds, whether in agriculture, construction, or otherwise. For Scotland and the UK. Makes any adventure look like some of the guides and cooks, skills used along the trail can the most fun anyone could ever have. Uses Hilleberg be leveraged into other forms of work during the low-season; tents, including the Soulo. many English-speaking guides work as language teachers. Sánchez, an accomplished mountaineer himself, spends the slow months doing exploratory expeditions for mining companies in the Amazon. “Tourism is good, but no gringo pays as good as big oil,” he jokes. For those employed by the mountains, the promise of a new, larger airport in Huaraz promises even more work. Sán- chez offers an economics lesson: “The more people who come to Huaraz, the more work there is, and the more money there is to go around.” Still, even as the region grows in fame, the Huayhuash remains a fundamentally tight-knit community. At one point Nimer, the arriero, wanders away from his loaded donkeys to tend to a flock of sheep, presumably also his, along the trail. A woman on horseback hollers directions at him in Quechua. They laugh together. Hundreds of head of cattle are scattered throughout the Cordillera, free to eat whatever grass they cross, unrestrained by fencing of any kind. Some die naturally in the pasture, their bones left as an eerie reminder of the Cordillera’s past. Close in to its majestic peaks, stiff winds whistle through desolate passes, barren and lifeless terrain reflected against glistening glaciers. Clouds swirl rapidly around fluted cols and couloirs. Gone are the refuge of bloodthirsty insurgents, and the Huayhuash has become the sanctuary it should always have been: an oasis of titans, forgotten in the morass of its inumer- willcopestakemedia.com able Andean siblings. These mountains tell the story of Peru: violence erased by an impregnable resolve and stout Andean work ethic. I HAVE SLEPT IN MY SOULO for over  nights, Nimer has seen first-hand the changes that as swept “ including in winds over  mph during winter on the through his home. “There used to be no one here, just a few families. You would have been crazy to visit. Now look at this,” high Cairngorm plateau. When you go into the mountains, he says, nodding towards a busy campsite littered with tour- sometimes you will get cold, sometimes you will get ists speaking everything from German to Japanese. He smiles. wet, but when you have somewhere secure and warm “This is much better than how it was.” W to sleep at night it doesn’t really matter. This is the best For maps, more information, travel and completing the one man tent I have ever owned. ” Cordillera Alpine Circuit, you can find out more at: https://wikitravel.org/en/Huaraz http://jeremyfrimer.wixsite.com/huayhuash-alpine

CONTRIBUTORS Max Nathanson, originally from Colorado, is a graduate student in Oxford’s Department of International Development and a freelance Australian dealers: photojournalist. Wild Earth Australia Mountain Adventure Ctr Griffin Bohm, originally from Colorado, runs a series of brewpubs in Burleigh Heads QLD Jindabyne NSW Chilean Patagonia and is a freelance photojournalist. ƒ‹ ‡‡ˆŒ †Ž‘ƒ ƒ„ †‡ „ˆ„„ HILLEBERG.COM follow us on facebook.com/HillebergTheTentmaker

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