The road over the Portachuelo pass makes Yanapaccha unusually accessible: the walk-in to moraine camp takes only two to three hours from the drop-off point. The camp sits on rock ledges beside the glacier with a view across the valley toward Chacraraju and the Huandoys.
The climb crosses a crevassed glacier that requires careful route-finding, then steepens toward the summit headwall where one or two pitches of 50 to 60 degree snow or ice lead to a narrow summit ridge. The guide will belay these pitches, so it is an ideal place to experience steeper ground in a controlled setting.
Because the technical section is short, the mountain works both as a skills course for aspiring Alpamayo climbers and as a satisfying objective in its own right for those who want a taste of real ice climbing at altitude.
