CORDILLERA VILCANOTA PERU 1980

Located about 100km (60 miles) south east of Cuzco, the Cordillera Vilcanota is the second largest glaciated mountain range in Peru, after the Cordillera Blanca. The Vilcanota mountain range is perhaps the most rugged and remote, isolated and rich in culture and wildlife in its surrounding pampas and scenic with a high-altitude Lake Sibinacocha, the source of the Urubamba River. The Vilcanota supports large icefields emanating from several peaks that are over 6000m high (19685 ft), including Ausangate the highest peak at 6384m (20945 ft) that is ranked as the 5th highest peak in Peru. . The lower valleys have been glaciated in the past and many small lakes or cochas remain following glacial retreat. Most of the valleys in the Vilcanota are still used as pastures by the Quechua speaking Indians with their llamas and alpacas grazing.

The Cordillera Vilcanota area is rich in geologic features adjacent to Nevado Ausangate, from uplifted granitic cliffs to glaciers which have eroded large valleys and the cretaceous limestone sediments. On the west side of the mountain are sandstone sections striped with colors ranging from turquoise and lavender to maroon and gold known as the Vinicunca Mountains or Rainbow Mountains. This "painted mountain" mountain area is revered and believed by the local Quechua to be the Apu (deity), and a site of worship and offerings. The different coloration is due to mineralogy when the sediment was originally deposited and subsequently diagenetically altered. Red coloration indicates iron oxide rust, bright yellow coloration iron sulphide, and green chlorite in different diagenetic states and concentrations.

Many of the valleys are still inhabited by llama herders who graze and utilize the wool of domesticated llamas and alpacas. A wild relative of the llama, the vicuña, is fairly common in the remoter areas of the Vilcanota, the most beautiful member of the llama family, with its slender neck, huge eyes and soft golden wool. Other wildlife includes the vizcacha, a small rodent related to the chinchilla, and that looks like a cross between a squirrel and a rabbit. They live in large family groups amongst the stones and boulders at the foot of the scree slopes. Rarer animals include the Andean Huemel deer, fox, the pampas cat, and the puma. High altitude birds include torrent ducks, burrowing owl, flamingo, vultures and the Andean condor. Unusual plants includes species of wild lupine, cactus and the beautiful queñoa tree Polylepis australis in the Rose family with its red, papery red bark.

On a clear day Nevado Ausangate can be seen far away as Cusco, and is considered a sacred mountain, or Apus. For local people, an Apus protects and provides sustenance. Ausangate is one of the most important Apus and considered the pakarina, or place of origin, for alpacas and llamas. Within the surrounding valleys of the Vilcanota live the spiritual animists Q’eros people. This Quechua speaking community claim to be direct descendants of the Inca and their isolation has continued to allow them to preserve many beliefs and traditions; so much so that the Q’eros have been officially declared a national treasure in Peru. The communities continue to revere Pachamama, mother earth believed to grant fertility and to which burnt offerings and libations are regularly made. The Queros shamans that perform these rituals are well respected throughout the Andes. Quechua religion combines both pre-Columbian and Catholic elements. The most significant pre-Columbian influence that endures is the belief that supernatural forces govern everyday events, such as weather and illness. This belief serves a utilitarian purpose to the agricultural Quechua. This is still evident at the annual Qoyur Riti Festival held in May or June, a pilgrimage to a glacier at 15, 580 feet (4,750 m) that draws huge crowds.

I was a guest of Mountain Travel as a writer and nature photographer, and joined a small group that would spend 14 days exploring part of the Vilcanota mountain range and Ausangate Massif, trekking through one of the most remote and harsh regions of Peru. We were one of the initial groups to come here in 1980, which later years became recognized as one of the best treks in the world for its combination of traditional lifestyles and stunning scenery where there are spectacular vistas with glaciers, turquoise lakes and jagged peaks. We would cross three passes, one of them at 5200 meters (17,056 feet) and walk through rolling brown puna, and green marshy valleys populated with stone corrals and traditionally dressed children herding alpaca. This would be a high-altitude trek with campsites over 4400 meters (14, 300 feet). Nights are cold but days are generally bright and sunny especially between May and September, but we would be hit by several snow storms and howling wind.

The van took five us from Cuzco through the towns of Ocongate, Qatca to Tinki, a small village at 3800 m. We loaded our gear, tents, cooking equipment and food for two weeks onto mules, and began our walk to Pacchanta at 4100 meters, (13,451 ft) where we would camp for the night. Pacchanta is a rural community that in later years became well-known for its hot springs. We enjoyed an amazing sunset to the west, and clouds that turned on fire in the low light.

Our second day would involve a gentle climb up the Pacchanta Valley, following a trail marked with stones where llamas and alpacas to Lake Q’oma C’ocha 4580 m (15,744 ft). The homes along the way are built from stone and mud with straw roofs, from the same strong grass that dresses the hills. The Quechua build stone walls for corrals where they raise alpacas, llamas, sheep, and pigs. We passed through a small valley with cascading steams, and bog wetlands where there were small flocks of Andean geese. The wetlands are full of life, with large cushions of soft mossy ground with inset streams running through. Most of these streams are inset into a cut a few feet deep and they are generally crossed by hopping from cushion to cushion. Encountered a few species of Andean birds that included huallata (Andean geese), colorful gorriones that include snow finches and a species of hummingbird, and small finches that are well camouflaged in the tall grass and rocks. The

We came to the first lake known as red lake, Pucacocha, then walked another kilometer to our second campsite at Lake Qomercocha. Here we were caught by a brief storm that blocked our views of the surrounding peaks Ausangate, Santa Catalina, Maria Huamantiqlla, Pucapunta, and Colquecruz snow-capped mountains. Early the next morning, one of our porters threw out his handline and caught two very large trout here. I was amazed at his tough adaptation to wearing a local serape, pantalones that exposed bare calves, and bare feet with sandals. There was frost on the ground.

Our third day we broke camp and began a four-hour hike to one of the most beautiful passes in Peru known as Jumpa Pass or Abra de Q´ampa 5,080 m (16,666 ft). This amazing grass covered pass is surrounded by small lakes and views of vertical walls of rock and ice of Ausangate to the west, and the dramatic peaks to the east that include Nevado Qolquecruz,. We descended towards the Ticllaqocha Lagoons, a beautiful group of small turquoise lagoons for lunch, then in the afternoon continued to descend for three hours to Yanamayo, a beautiful valley shadowed by the Tres Picos, Colquecruz, and Pucapunta peaks. Here we made our camp, with tremendous views around us after our first snow storm. Our fourth and fifth days we would trek from the grass altiplano of Yanamayo and descend to the Quechua Indian Jampa village, then ascend to a glacial terminus base camp Ausangate south face. Walking through Jampa village we seemed to have stepped back in time, where we encountered Quechua women, men and their children at a gathering. The women wore multilayered skirts, with interesting hats woven from wool that resembled a black plate, and carried their children in wool weavings. In the shadow of Ausangate, a woman worked at her loom, leaning back on a strap around her waist, just as her ancestors have done for centuries. She uses a wichuna, or llama bone pick, to weave the images of lakes, rivers, plants, condors and other symbols of her life into the colorful alpaca fabric she was making. Our Peruvian guide spoke Quechua and shared that this highest peak in southern Peru is a mountain spirit, or apu, held sacred since Inca times. He shared “Because of Ausangate,” they believe “we all exist, and there are plenty of animals and food. They give offerings, and they believe are given everything in return.”

Her weavings her recreating both the sacred and everyday symbols of life, and as other Quechua women place the stories of their lives integrated into textiles, communicating and preserving important cultural traditions, and how memories are most vividly remembered. For many centuries’ textiles have been an integral part of Quechua daily life, from birth to death. Babies are wrapped with thick belts, covered with cloth and carried on their mother’s backs in handwoven carrying cloths. Three and four-year olds learn to spin yarn. By eight, girls start weaving belts, then gain experience on complicated textiles, such as llicllas (women’s shoulder cloths), ponchos and kaypinas (carrying cloths).

Jumpa village is a small community of families with stone corrals for alpacas and small straw covered mud dwellings, and blessed with nearby mineral-rich runoff from mountain glaciers that they use to irrigate their small fields. They grow particularly flavorful potatoes for making chuño: freeze-dried potatoes that sustain them through dry season months. At 4400 meters 14,432 feet, villagers live in stone and sod houses that are used only for shelter and storage of goods, and to eat and sleep. Days are spent outside tending to herds of alpacas, llamas and sheep. Their wool provides them with fibers for weaving, dung for fuel and a regular source of food. Here and in the village, we came from in Pacchanta, the Quechua still follow the organizing principles established for harsh high altitudes by their Inca ancestors that include ayni (reciprocity), mita (labor tribute), ayllu (extending social networks) and making pagos (offerings to the mountain apu). It was an amazing experience to experience even though briefly this amazingly resilient and resolute people.

We were hit by a two-day snow storm and blizzard at the glacier base camp, and on Day 6 we descended in a cold fog the south side of Ausangate back down to the to Jampa Pampa Lake Yanacocha (Black Water), named for its dark waters. Our group headed east towards a small mountain range with a pass that crossed over into Lake Sabinacocha drainage, the source of the Urubamba River. The soil here is volcanic and varies from dark red to black. We traverse through the Yanaqocha pass (5.050m/16.568ft) to discover a beautiful valley filled with vibrant mountains and lagoons. After crossing Yanaqocha, we ascend to our next mountain pass (5.100m/16.564ft). An hour after the last mountain pass, we arrive at our campsite below Condorpaso at a small lake. Here we experienced a large family and colony of vizcacha.

Our seventh day we rose early under clear skies, and enjoyed omelets cooked by a kerosene stove by the lake before we began a two-hour gradual climb to Abra del Condor pass (5.200m/17.060 ft), the highest point of our trek. Once at the summit, we had spectacular views of the Vilcanota mountain range north and Lake Sibinacocha to the east, then encountered several groups of Vicuña, that were somewhat wary, and stared at us for several minutes before trotting off. Another three hours of hiking we crossed another mountain pass before a five-hour walk descending into the grasslands immediately above of Lake Sibinacocha where we would make camp now at 4873 m (15 987 ft). This was an amazing deep Indigo blue lake, with several flocks of Chilean flamingo that flew by us, and Andean geese, coots and ducks where there were marsh areas. Lake Sibinacocha is the source of the Urubamba river which flows south then west as the Rio Vilcanota, then north becoming the Urubamba at Ollayantetambo and Pisac.

We spent the eighth through tenth day exploring the puna and marshes on the western shore of Lake Sibinacocha, with a north south deep lake alignment fed from multiple icecaps to the east of the Ausangate massif. It is the 22nd highest lake in the world and about 15.19 km long and 2.86 km at its widest point. Since my exploration in 1980, unfortunately an earthen dam was erected at the lake in 1996 causing the lake to rise. This fragile ecosystem, with its dramatic landscapes and incredible biodiversity, is at a crossroads. In the past 10 years there has been a US funded scientific group ‘The Sibinacocha Watershed Project’.

Recently (2018) there has been a study on glacial recession of the Puca Glacier, and I am interested in comparing the study to my book on Glacier Bay Alaska and the recolonization of plants following deglaciation. Plant recolonization of the Puca Glacier and newly de-glaciated lands in the Sibinacocha Watershed was much slower than Alaska. The most important finding of this research was that the harsh climate in the Sibinacocha Watershed was not the main factor limiting plant colonization, but by the lack of phosphorus limiting plant colonization. This finding contradicted the classic theory in the field of ecosystem ecology which posited that nitrogen should be the most limiting nutrient during the initial stages of plant succession.

The marshes of Lake Sibinacocha support the world’s highest elevation frog, the marbled four- eyed frog. As glaciers in the Sibinacocha Watershed have been melting, new habitat is created, and frogs and lizards are among the organisms shifting their elevational ranges upward to the limits of the biosphere. In general frog species are declining, partly in response to the continued presence of a deadly fungal disease responsible for a global pandemic and local population crashes. High altitude frogs are adapted to the extreme environment present in the high tropical Andes, including daily freeze–thaw cycles. Lake Sibinacocha is a major headwater for the Amazon ecosystem, and there three species of amphibians here: Telmatobius marmoratus marbled water frog, Rhinella spinulosa the Andean toad, and Pleurodema marmoratum marbled four-eyed frog have expanded their range over the last century to inhabit newly formed ponds created as ice caps in the region have melted and receded. These amphibians now are found at the highest elevations (5200-5400 m) ever recorded for any amphibian species.

The Sibinacocha watershed and surrounding mountains are an important habitat for many resident and migratory bird species. Preliminary surveys have documented 68 species, many found at their highest recorded elevation and that are high elevation and glacier specialists. Peru contains more species of birds than nearly any other place on the planet and the Andean Mountain Zone of South America, which includes the Sibinacocha watershed, is designated as one of the world’s 25 biodiversity hotspots by Conservation International. Though the Andean Mountain Zone only covers 1.3% of the earth’s surface, 17% of all bird species on earth exist there, and 40% of those species exist nowhere else. The diversity found at high altitudes in the Sibinacocha watershed is remarkable with over 50 species of birds documented at or above 16,000 ft (4900m) in the watershed. Several species are found here at record altitudes. These include the: Puna Teal Anas puna; Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis; White-tufted Grebe Rollandia Rolland; Chilean Flamingo Phoenicopterus chilensis; Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca; Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes; Slender-billed Miner Geositta tenuirostris; and the Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus magellanicus.

The species richness of bird life in the Sibinacocha watershed is extraordinary, and the abundance of bird life is surprising, yet little is known about these high-altitude populations. One species, the White-winged Diuca Finch Diuca speculifera, has actually been observed nesting in the glaciers at 5200m (17,200 ft) above the north end of Sibinacocha. This behavior was first documented at the Quelccaya Ice Cap approximately 20 miles (32km) to the southeast. This is the only documentation of a bird regularly using ice for nesting sites, besides the Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), and the White-winged Diuca Finch is the only one known to use glaciers.

Surveys have also identified 14 mammal species, many of which are listed as endangered, vulnerable, or near threatened. The high-elevation grasslands of the Andean Altiplano are among the least-studied biological ecosystems in the world. Extreme elevation, low oxygen levels, rugged terrain, and huge daily temperature changes create one of the most extreme environments on Earth. Species living in this region have had to adapt to these harsh conditions resulting high levels of endemism (species that are found nowhere else) and small, isolated populations leaving them vulnerable to growing pressure from increased human activity and rapid climate change.

The ecosystem of the Cordillera Vilcanota, including the Sibinacocha Watershed, is driven by glaciers. They provide a continuous, dependable, year-round source of fresh water that sustains critical wetlands, the key to life in this otherwise arid landscape. In the Sibinacocha Watershed, there are two groups of mammals: 1) larger carnivores and ungulates that are able to move long distances to seek out adequate habitat and resources, and; 2) smaller rodents that are restricted to isolated talus slopes due to a limited ability to disperse. These two groups are intimately linked. Rodents provide the prey base for smaller carnivores and are also important seed dispersers thereby impacting available food for other herbivores. Determining how both groups respond to the long-term threat of climate change and more immediate threats of habitat loss and degradation, poaching, and unregulated tourism is key to their survival.

Mammal surveys in the Sibinacocha watershed resulted in the documentation of 8 rodent species in 5 genera Auliscomys boliviensis, Auliscomys pictus, Chinchillula sahamae, Abrothrix jelski, Phyllotis osilae, Punomys kofordi, Calomys lepidus, and Lagidium peruanum). In 2014, there were deployed camera traps at 3 locations that have photographed puma concolor, pampas cat (Leopardus colocolo), culpeo fox (Lycalopex culpaeus), vicuña (Vicugna vicugna), and the taruca or Andean deer (Hippocamelus antisensis), most at elevations exceeding 17,000 ft (5,200m). Several survey groups have observed tracks that may be of the endangered Andean Cat (Leopardus jacobita). The species is one of the top five most endangered cats in the world and very little is known about its distribution, especially in the Cordillera Vilcanota where its existence has been documented only by one study in an adjacent watershed.

After several days exploring Lake Sibinacocha, we left on Day 10 to return by the same route across Condor Pass and again descend into the Jampa pampa valley. We camped below in the highland hills of Yanamuyo. Here we encountered another Quechua group that were from below Uchullucho grazing their Alpacas and lamas above. They collected the alpaca feces and made them into bricks, then dried them in the sun to be used as fuel. CPOD was common amongst these people as they cooked and remained at night in the acrid smoke of dung fires. It was difficult for me to see even young children constantly coughing.

The mountain people were tough, and I watched a man using a drop spool to spin alpaca and llama wool into a string, then to be dyed, and used in their weavings. They wore pantalones that covered only as far down as the top of the calf, and like the women with their layered skirts, had bare legs and feet, wearing only open sandals. At night the temperatures often plummeted below 0- 4 Celsius, or 32 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

We left camp a mile below Jampa and continued to descend down the valley and made one of multiple river crossings, using the large flat stone steps placed by the locals for the same reason. The valley opened up with a wide floodplain more than a half mile across. Our route followed the west side with the valley floor fairly dry in the upper reaches we came upon more and more wet ground where side streams had been dammed and channeled to wash over a wide area, likely to improve the grazing for the herds of alpaca that we passed by.

We descended the Quencomayo River for the next three days where it became somewhat warmer, and less wind, camping in the Uyuni Pampa, at an altitude of 4,368 m (14,331 ft.). Here the nature of the valley was changing. The upper valley passed through a wide flat valley, often a half mile wide at its base, but now the valley had constricted into a canyon with steep sides and a narrow base, wide enough for the river and the trail but little more. We continued downstream and from the junction point below Chillca, we entered a beautiful valley with meadows furrowed by the ice-cold waters of the Quencomayo River, and a grazing place for a great number of alpacas from the community of Chillca.

I particularly enjoyed seeing the children, that played, and helped their parents laying out potatoes dug from the ground, and lower down I the valley drying corn. Both of these important agricultural staples came from the Pre-Columbian Americas, with many varieties of potato hybridized by the Inca culture from the Solanaceae of tomato family in the Amazon basin, many of them poisonous. Potatoes, chili peppers and potatoes were brought from the new world to the old world.

We continued to trek and camp in the agricultural terraces before entering a small canyon above Uchullucho and camped below. Our final day, Day 14 we reached Pitumarca where there was a road. Two weeks of amazing mountains, Quechua culture, and the beauty of Lake Sibinacocha made this one of the most memorable mountain trips I have ever taken. I was deeply grateful for the opportunity through Mountain Travel.

STATUS OF LAKE SIBINICOCHA WATERSHED The Andean Mountain zone of South America is designated one of 25 biodiversity hotspots by Conservation International. It has a higher diversity of animal and plant life than any other part of the world. For example, in a region that encompasses only 1.3% of the earth’s land surface, 17% of all the world’s species of birds have been recorded; of these, 40% are considered endemic (Fjelda and Krabbe 1990). The high puna region is considered to have more endemic bird species than the much larger Central Asian desert uplands Much of the central Andes has been long dominated and impacted by land uses associated with subsistence agriculture and domestic livestock grazing. The region also has a very low density of protected areas, creating the potential for increased habitat degradation and endangerment of diversity in this harsh and highly sensitive puna environment.

The Transoceanic Highway, represents the culmination of decades-long development efforts, both to access the Peruvian Amazon and to improve the linkages between Brazil and Pacific Basin economic markets. The Transoceanica's presence in this ecologically sensitive and unique region represents a dire threat to the local environment and an uncertain future for its population from the uncontrolled development that has already begun to occur. Other potential threats include overgrazing, hunting, and disturbance from uncontrolled tourism.

Cordillera Vilcanota trek 1980 starting from Pachenta south to Lake Sabinacocha, then west (right) to Putimarca

Route from Pachenta top left through Jumpa pass to Lake Sabinacocha, then west to Putimarca taking 2 weeks at high altitude.

Nevado Ausangate , Pachenta village in the evening

Above Pachenta residents, Middle: N Ausangate J Brauer; Bottom: Nevado Ausangate, trekking above Pachenta

Nevado Ausangate, Andean deer, Andean geese, Hillstar hummingbird (A Puiggros), N Ausangate

Jumpa pass with lakes camped at first night to the left Serge

Above and Below: Jumpa Pass or Abra de Q´ampa 5,080 m (16,666 ft).

Above Jumpa Pass and Peaks to the east Serge. Fourth day camp at the base of an icefield south side of Ausangate where we were hit by a snowstorm and bitter, cold wind.

Jumpa Quechua women wearing their hand crafted weavings, some mixed with vicuna and alpaca wool

Jumpa families known as the Q’eros people, Quechua Indian decendents of the Inca.

View from below Jumpa village looking north at Nevado Ausangate left center, and Jumpa Pass

First pass on the way to Condor Pass with Lake Sibinacocha in the distance far right. Below rt: Vicuna

Condor Pass ot 5.200m/17.060 ft on the way to Lago Sibinacocha

Lake Sibinacocha at elevation 4873 m (15 987 ft), the 22nd highest Lake in the world. Lake Sibinacocha is the source of the Urubamba.The watershed is a rich and biodiverse repository of birds and mammals

Burrowing owl, Aplomada Falcon

Condor, Puna teal

Andean flicker, Andean goose, Chilean flamingo Above right and below

Andean deer Vicuna, Lake Sibinacocha

Vizcacha, Andean Pampas cat camera trap The Sibinacocha Watershed Project’

Andean cat, puma, camera trap The Sibinacocha Watershed Project’

Lake Sibinacocha marsh land

Condor pass returning back to Jumpa pampa with Nevado Ausangate left center

Descending from Yamanuco to Collca

Older woman and child, Uchullucho, finality of trip as I walk through Pitumarco and celebrate the end of the Cordillera Vilcanota 14 day trek