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Puscanturpa Este, French forge new route in Peru

In August 2016 French alpinists Arnaud Bayol, Antoine Bletton, Cyril Duchene and Dimitry Munoz established 'El Juego Sumando' ( 400m, ED 7b max, 6b/A2 obligatory) on the North Face of Puscanturpa Este in the Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru.

Planetmountain

September 2016

Traduci in

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Cyril Duchene dealing with the organ pipes on pitch 1 during the first ascent of 'El Juego Sumando', north face of Puscanturpa Este, Peru

Groupe Militaire de Haute Montagne

Not far away from Siula Grande in Peru where Didier Jourdain and Max Bonniot climbed the virgin East Face, four friends and colleagues of the French Groupe Militaire de Haute Montagne established an interesting 400m new rock climb up the North Face of Puscanturpa Este (5442m).

Arnaud Bayol, Antoine Bletton, Cyril Duchene and Dimitry Munoz travelled to Peru and on the 15th of August they established base camp at Lake Seruacocha, located at an altitude of circa 4800 (the same height as Mont Blanc, for comparison). The plan was to acclimatize by repeating Poco loco, put up in 2012 by the Dutch alpinists Bas van der Smeede, Elly van der Plas, Bas Visscher, Vincent van Beek and Saskia van der Smeede, but after careful examination they opted to forge a new line directly up the central part of the mountain’s North Face. From 18 to 28 August they set about climbing their 400m line, using a mix of trad gear, pegs and bolts. The summit was reached on 26 August and some pitches, established with the help of aid, were climbed free on 27 and 28 August with difficulties up to 7b. The new route has been called El Juego Sumando and a single-push redpoint is missing,

Bletton stated after their ascent: "the icing on the cake, we managed to free climb all pitches. It’s a very typical mountain route that should please all those in search of adventure, free climbing up fantastic rock. Aside from the sporting aspect, we were delighted by this human adventure. All those times hanging above the void, trusting and rely on each other, will remain etched in our minds."