Climbing in the Andes

The Andes form the world's longest and second-highest mountain range, giving the South American continent a magnificent and geographically diverse backbone that begins with the icy towers of Southern Chile and eventually peters out in northwestern Venezuela. The images here focus on the volcanoes of Southern Peru. With small permanent ice caps thanks to the very dry climate, many of these mountains are not 'technical', and can be climbed by any moderately fit person who has acclimatised to the altitude.

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The twin volcanic peaks of Coropuna and Solimana loom dauntingly above the horizon from near the beginning of the climb towards base camp. At 6,425 metres, Coropuna is the highest mountain in the Arequipa region and the highest volcano in Peru, which in turn makes it around the 9th or 10th highest volcano in the world.

The perfect volcanic cone of El Misti (5,825 metres) rises out of the desert near Arequipa. Unlike the other nearby volcanoes, Misti delivers no water to the city. Despite this, it was considered an important deity by the Incas. An expedition led by Johan Reinhardt discovered a number of mummified Incan sacrifices near Misti's crater in 1998.

A sunset of startling colours is observed by climbers at El Misti base camp, about 4,500 metres above sea level, while at the same time the temperature plunges rapidly. The view is directly over the city of Arequipa, and it's the smog and contaminants from the urban area that help create the vivid colours of the sunset.

Early the next morning, climbers set out on their way up towards Misti's crater and summit. In the rays of the morning sun, the volcano casts a perfect triangular shadow over the surrounding countryside, giving it the surreal appearance of a giant pyramid.

Reaching the summit of Coropuna is a joyful experience for this German climber, who had also tackled the summits of Chachani and Ampato during the same couple of months. Coropuna has a permanent ice cap and crampons are required for most of the last part of the ascent, but it is not a technical climb.

The landscape looks like a ruffled blanket from the summit of Chachani, at 6, 075 metres above sea leve. The peak on the horizon in the centre of the picture is Nevado Ampato, where the famous "mummy Juanita" was found in 1995

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