Chilling out in the Cordillera Blanca: Hiking and biking lagunas Churup and Llaca

With the Fiestas de la Independencia approaching, and with prices in Huaraz rocketing up for the national tourists, we had to make the happy choice to leave for the mountains. We debated whether to take another multi-day ride in the Cordillera Negra (the lesser known Cordillera in front of the infamous Blanca, but apparently, mountain bike heaven) or to chill out up in the Blanca. Happily, we met Northbound british cyclists Joe and Lizzie who were headed to an eco-hostel in the hills above Huaraz, so it was easy to make the decision to join them. Our plan was to simply chill out there, hike and bike to some of the nearby lagunas, killing time until we had to head to Lima to meet with Alberto´s mom and brother who were flying in from Spain.

After a  liesurely morning, our foursome headed out of Huaraz on the dirt road that leads to Laguna Churup. 

The climb allowed great views of Huaraz and the Cordillera Negra. Hard to believe that the high mountains can be just half a day´s ride from a major city!

We arrived at the Hof hostel (a bit pricey for camping, but otherwise a very nice place to spend some down time) and camped with gorgeous views of the nevados.

On the second day, we hiked to the Laguna Churup (4450 m) in glorious weather.

Despite its popularity as an acclimatisation hike from Huaraz, we had the laguna all to ourselves. The key is to avoid the morning rush hour (we got there at 2 pm).

The downside being that the afternoon clouds partially obscured the view of Nevado Churup (5493 m).

Our route down from the laguna involved some moderately sketchy rock sections.

On our way back down the clouds cleared for a better view of the nevado Churup.

The following day we headed with bikes for the Laguna Llaca, a less visited place a mere 20 km from the hostel...up a very rough trocha (muy muy fea, as the locals assured us many times!)

We departed very late from the hostel, so half way up the climb it became clear that we wouldn´t reach the laguna until the following morning. The afternoon sun was incredible though, and the views equally amazing.

At 4300 m, we found some pampa which we made our home for the (chilly) night. Huaraz is just in the background, 1200 m below.

The following morning we woke up to a frozen tent, so waited for the sun to do its job while having breakfast with a view

The final stretch of riding towards the Laguna and glacier Llaca provided one of the most impressive views of our trip. Nevados Ocshapalca (5888 m) and Ranrapalca (6162 m) overlook the glacier.

We left the bikes at the park entrance, and hiked up the short hill to the laguna.

 From there, we could follow a rocky path all the way to the start of the glacier...

...passing smaller, equally beautiful lagunas as we went.

We were surprised to find so much ice at 4500 m, despite the glacier being in remission.

Finally, we reached the glacier´s edge. 

Watching tiny bits of the glacier´s ice collapse was good entertainment while having a cheese sandwich.

We got used to the sound of the cracks coming from within the glacier. At some point, we heard a chunk of snow collapse and form an small avalanche (the cloud of snow seen in the middle of the picture).

After a bumpy and scenic 2 hour descent, we were back in Huaraz packing our stuff for a relaxed break with the family.

Notes:

- The Hof Hostel is a relatively new eco-lodge which originally served as a mountain refuge for multi-day hikes. The location is beautiful, 15 km out of town up a steep hill, and the atmosphere very welcoming. However, their prices for food and camping are steep (S/.15 per person to camp), and they did not offer any discounts on long stays or for cyclists. Perhaps this will change in the future, and if so, it would make for a great base for further exploration. Make sure you bring plenty of food, as there´s no shops anywhere nearby.

- The Laguna Churup is around 4-5 hour roundtrip walk from The Hof, and it involves at the very end a steep, rocky section with a steel cable. Most tourists go from 9 am till 1 pm. We had to pay the S/.10 fee per person per day to enter the national park, but this may be because we missed the shortcut that it is possible take when coming from the Hof.

- The Laguna Llaca is a 3-4 hour ride from The Hof with weight to reach the laguna.. The last 8 km to the entrance is in terrible conditions, with plenty of loose rocks, which makes cycling uphill a bit challenging. There´s good camping at 4300 m at the pampa, with access to water, as well as at the park entrance (where there is a bathroom). Be aware that if you overnight, you may be charged the full S/.65 fee for the 21 day pass to the national park. We chatted to the park ranger and got to spend the night by just paying the normal daily S/.10 fee. Bikes can be left at the park entrance, and the hike to the glacier and around the lagunas should take about 45-60 min.

My 2013 in pictures

As it has been the tradition for the past couple of years, here are some of my favourite pictures in 2013. 

January. Snowstorm in Epping Forest. This could well be a regular day in most of Scandinavia right now. But on a very cold and snowy Saturday morning, Dan and I set off to ride the fresh snow of the Epping Forest, still within the M25 of London. Even though we did not have any winter tyres, the snow was soft enough to allow some pleasant miles. 

February. Lucy (in pink at the front) leads a team of machacas including two serious ironmen triathletes down to Brighton. It was a typically English February morning, temperatures not much above 0 degrees celsius, damp roads and leafless trees. I rode this following a tough 200 km audax the day before, and could barely keep up with the guys (and girl!)

March. Pico Gallinero in the Spanish Pyrinees. Spain has some really good mountains, and lots of snow in the winter, despite what lots of people in the UK might think. It does get cold up there at 2600 m! I managed to pack a weekend full of off-piste skiing following a snowstorm the day before. 

April. The road to Tregaron on the Yr Elenith audax. This has to be one of the finest rides one can do in the UK. A 300 km audax, held in April, and superbly oganised by John Hamilton. It traverses Shropshire and goes into Mid Wales and back. The weather was typically Welsh (i.e. wet, windy, and cold) but I had a blast and wish I could return to these roads every now and then. Hugh, on the picture, kept me company most of the way.

April (II). Setting up camp in sunny  Hushinish. One of our most favourite cycling trips, if not the most, was to the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. We had sun 80% of the time. This picture was taken in the idyllic Hushinish beach, where we camped with a view of South Harris

May. Somewhere in Wales, with already 300 km under our legs, on the Bryan Chapman. This was my second ever 600 km ride, and the highlight of my audax season. The aim was to cross Wales South to North and back down within 40 hours and 8000 m of climbing in between. We had great weather, not a single drop of rain, and lots of sun on the second day. The company couldn´t have been better: Javier, a super-fit Spaniard also living in London, led the group on numerous occasions and put up with me for 38 hours.

June. Wearing a headnet on the A838 near Tongue. Scotland is known for its stunning landscapes, fjords and friendly people. But also for its midges. On a warm and calm summer day in Scotland, you get lots of flying tiny biting insects called midges. They can easily ruin your evening, as was the case. We ate on the go (literally!) and with headnets on. So yes, the photo was not taken on a Cambodian floating market, despite all looks!

July. The start of the London-Edinburgh-London. Having decided against riding this 1400 km audax, we did not hesitate to volunteer and give something back to the community that had worked hard for us in may of our audaxes. We registered riders from all over the globe, made baguettes and teas, cleaned, fixed bikes, and ultimately had a great time and met lots of interesting people. If you don´t ride next time, make sure you volunteer!

August. 5:30 am. The start of the Old 240 (miles) audax. A very wet, cold and windy hilly 400 km ride through the Yorkshire Dales. It took us almost 25 hours of real tough riding, where I very nearly bailed out had it been a bit easier to get back to the start. I completed my second ever super randonneur series, this time with lots of climbing points

September. Riding along the Schuylkill river in Philadelphia. Not all has to be long distances, rocky trails or touring. On a visit to Lucy´s family in Philly, we took on the trails alongside the river and simply had a good time.

October. 8 pm at sunset. A short overnight solo trip to Dunwich, on the Suffolk coast. Other than a very stiff headwind on the following day, and some heavy rain overnight, it was great

November. After the gales and rain, the sun finally shone. As a good-bye England weekend trip, Lucy and I visited the Peak District National Park, where we endured some heavy rain but still had a great time. In the off-season is a great destination to go cycle-camping from London

December. A crisp start to our climb to Puerto de la Fuenfría in Madrid. Back to my beloved Sierra de Madrid. Even though it was sunny and mildly warm initially, we encountered so much snow on the way up that we had to abandon our plans to climb to the Bola del Mundo at 2200 m. It will have to wait to warmer times, or spiky tyres.

MTBing near Madrid

After a few days in Madrid spent mainly unpacking the surprising amount of stuff we had managed to accumulate in five years in London--and trying to cope with the psychological consequences of making a choice to be unemployed and homeless for a year--we were ready for a break.

Alberto suggested we take a route that was a favourite of his as a teenager, on trails through parkland that roughly follows the tracks of the commuter train into Madrid from his parents' home in Las Matas. We grabbed the bikes that were most close to being fully assembled -- Alberto's mountain bike and my Long Haul Trucker and set off into the late afternoon sun.

Alberto looking out over Madrid - the smog is startling though!

Despite it being December, Madrid was enjoying a warm spell. After dull, cold London it was thrilling to be in long sleeves without a jacket. A couple times we dipped into shady spots which were quite a bit colder, and even had some snow leftover from the previous week. We enjoyed some great views of the Madrid skyline and the trails were in great condition -- something I'm just not used to with most of my MTB experience limited to the Surrey Hills.

Crossing the railroad tracks to head home along the other side

It was a quick ride, only about 15km or so, but it felt great to be out on the bikes again and enjoy the time we have in Spain.

The following day we took an absolutely outstanding ride up Mount Abantos, above the town of El Escorial, but as we forgot to put the memory card into the camera, we have no photographic evidence of that ride! It certainly whetted the apetite for more off-road riding in sunny Spain though. Which is good, as we need to try and keep our climbing legs for Ecuador in less than a month's time!

Peak District in November

Autumn is my favourite cycling season. You can´t beat the colours and the roads are much more quiet than on your average summer day. Here in the UK, the temperatures are still very reasonable...so what's not to like?

With that in mind, we got some cheap tickets to Sheffield and cycled over to the Peak District National Park for a three day relaxing camping trip. It was rather wet and windy half of the time, but we also got some sun on our third and last day. Rather than boring you with more text...I will just leave you with some pictures.

Leaving Sheffield on the Ringinglow Road - up to 400 m in the fog, luckily there's an off-road path most of the way

After we set up camp, we rode up to Stanage Edge. Can't beat those autumnal colours!

The famous rocky ridge in the background as we climb out of North Lees Campsite

Leaving the ridge

Ladybower reservoir

The promised rain about to hit, but then we got the rainbow

Pissing it down meant some hiking

On top of Stanage Ridge with strong winds and lots of rain

After a bad night storm, we woke up to this

Nightime at the campsite - trying to be creative!

Monday morning was sunny and crisp, allowing us to do a 50 km hilly route

The climb up to Mam Tor, after leaving Castleton. At least 20% inclines!

Mam Tor

Blue skies as we descend Mam Tor

Heading back to Hathersage

Quiet roads all around

About to break out camp - hard to believe we were back in London 3 hour after this!

*Note to all of you that travel by train: 1) trans out of London early Saturday morning can be really cheap, even if booked not so far in advance (three days in our case), 2) sometimes it is cheaper to buy two singles than the whole journey as one combined ticket (e.g. London to Sheffield and then Sheffield to Hathersage was way cheaper than a combined ticket) and 3) if you return on the Monday night, then you can get bargain prices...