Yerupajá
Yerupajá is the highest mountain in Peru’s spectacular Cordillera Huayhuash and one of the great high-altitude summits of the Andes. Rising more than 6,600 meters above sea level, this enormous glaciated peak dominates the northern part of the range with steep ice faces, knife-edge ridges, hanging glaciers, and formidable summit cornices.
Peruvian conservation authorities describe Yerupajá as the second-highest mountain in Peru, after Huascarán, and the highest summit associated with the Amazon River watershed. It is also an exceptionally prominent mountain, rising more than 2,000 meters above its key col.
Unlike many famous high mountains, Yerupajá has no straightforward summit route. Its combination of extreme altitude, steep snow and ice, unstable glaciers, corniced ridges, rockfall, and technically difficult climbing has given it a formidable reputation among Andean mountaineers.
🏔️ Overview
Yerupajá—also written Nevado Yerupajá or simply Yerupaja—stands in west-central Peru within the Cordillera Huayhuash, a compact but exceptionally rugged range of the Peruvian Andes.
The mountain rises along the boundary between the Áncash and Huánuco departments, particularly between Bolognesi and Lauricocha provinces. The surrounding Cordillera Huayhuash Reserved Zone extends farther into Lima Department as well.
SERNANP, Peru’s national protected-area authority, gives Yerupajá an elevation of 6,634 meters (21,765 feet). Other mountain databases and cartographic studies use somewhat different elevations. Andes Specialists gives approximately 6,617 meters (21,709 feet), while Peakbagger listings have used approximately 6,614 meters (21,699 feet). The differences arise partly because reliable measurements of the sharply corniced summit are difficult and some satellite elevation datasets contain voids or limitations in this terrain.
Regardless of which modern measurement is used, Yerupajá is unquestionably the highest mountain of the Cordillera Huayhuash.
⚡ Fast Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Continent | South America |
| Country | Peru |
| State/Province | Áncash and Huánuco departments |
| County/Region | Bolognesi Province and Lauricocha Province |
| Mountain Range | Cordillera Huayhuash, Peruvian Andes |
| Parent Peak | Huascarán Sur |
| Elevation | Approximately 6,614–6,634 m / 21,699–21,765 ft depending on source |
| Official Peruvian figure | 6,634 m / 21,765 ft |
| Prominence | Approximately 2,025 m / 6,644 ft |
| Isolation | Approximately 148.8 km / 92.5 mi |
| Nearest Higher Neighbor (NHN) | Huascarán Sur |
| Coordinates | Approximately 10.2685° S, 76.9047° W |
| First Ascent | July 31, 1950 |
| First Ascensionists | David Harrah and James Maxwell |
| Protected Area | Cordillera Huayhuash Reserved Zone |
The mountain’s approximately 2,025 meters of prominence qualifies it as an ultra-prominent peak, meaning it rises at least 1,500 meters above its highest connecting saddle. Its nearest substantially higher mountain is Huascarán Sur in the Cordillera Blanca.
📍 Location
Yerupajá lies in the Cordillera Huayhuash, roughly 50 kilometers south of the better-known Cordillera Blanca in the central Peruvian Andes.
Although the Huayhuash extends for only about 30 kilometers, it contains an extraordinary concentration of high mountains, glaciers, steep rock and ice walls, alpine lakes, and high-elevation valleys.
Yerupajá stands near the northern-central part of this mountain complex. Its western slopes overlook terrain leading toward Laguna Jahuacocha, while its eastern side rises above the valleys and glaciers facing Laguna Carhuacocha and the Lauricocha area.
The Cordillera Huayhuash Reserved Zone was established in 2002 and covers 67,589.76 hectares across parts of Áncash, Huánuco, and Lima. Its purpose includes conserving high-mountain ecosystems, freshwater resources, glaciers, and the exceptional landscape of the range.
📏 Elevation & Prominence
Yerupajá’s exact elevation deserves special attention because published measurements differ.
SERNANP lists the summit at 6,634 meters, while some references use 6,635 meters. Andes Specialists gives 6,617 meters, noting that SRTM and ASTER elevation data contain voids around the summit and that no publicly available handheld GPS summit measurement resolves the discrepancy conclusively.
Peakbagger-based lists use a figure close to 6,614 meters.
For that reason, it is more accurate to describe Yerupajá as approximately 6,600 meters high while specifying the source whenever an exact figure is required.
Its prominence is approximately 2,025 meters (6,644 feet), with a key col near 4,592 meters. Its topographic isolation is approximately 148.8 kilometers (92.5 miles) toward the Huascarán massif.
The mountain therefore rises far above most surrounding terrain and is one of the major topographically independent summits of the Peruvian Andes.
🪨 Geology
Yerupajá forms part of the tectonically complex northern Peruvian Andes.
The Cordillera Huayhuash contains extensively folded and uplifted sedimentary rocks together with younger volcanic and intrusive rocks. Limestone, sandstone, and related sedimentary formations occur widely within the range, while magmatism and crustal deformation have also played important roles in developing its modern topography.
These rocks were deformed as the Andes developed through the long-running convergence of the oceanic Nazca Plate with the South American Plate.
Glaciation subsequently transformed the uplifted terrain. Ice carved cirques, valleys, steep ridges, and basins throughout the Huayhuash while glaciers accumulated around its highest peaks.
Yerupajá’s modern appearance is therefore the result of both tectonic uplift and intensive alpine glacial erosion. Its spectacular ridges and faces continue to be modified by ice movement, freeze-thaw weathering, avalanches, and rockfall.
🧊 Glaciers & Water
Yerupajá is heavily glaciated, although the configuration and extent of its glaciers have changed significantly over time.
The glaciers of the Cordillera Huayhuash feed an extensive system of high-altitude lakes and rivers. SERNANP reports that glaciers within the protected area give rise to 46 lakes.
The range also occupies an important continental drainage divide. Rivers on its western side eventually flow toward the Pacific Ocean through systems including the Pativilca and Huaura, while water draining eastward contributes to the Marañón system and ultimately the Amazon.
SERNANP identifies Yerupajá as the highest summit of the Amazon watershed.
🌿 Flora & Fauna
The summit environment of Yerupajá consists predominantly of rock, permanent or semi-permanent snow, and glacial ice, but substantially richer ecosystems occur at lower elevations around the mountain.
The Cordillera Huayhuash Reserved Zone contains puna grasslands, high-Andean wetlands, mountain scrub, and surviving patches of Polylepis, locally known as queñual.
Wildlife recorded in the protected area includes the:
- Andean condor
- Vicuña
- Taruca, or north Andean deer
- Andean cat
- Pampas cat
- Peregrine falcon
- Torrent duck
- Giant coot
- Several specialized high-Andean bird species
The remaining Polylepis forests are especially significant because they support birds adapted to high-elevation Andean woodland habitats.
🧗 Climbing History
Yerupajá occupies an important place in the history of South American mountaineering.
Its main summit was first reached on July 31, 1950, by American climbers David Harrah and James Maxwell, members of the Harvard Andean Expedition.
Their ascent followed the mountain’s southern and southwestern ridge system. Reaching the summit was only part of their ordeal.
During the descent, a cornice collapsed beneath Harrah, sending him more than 100 feet down an ice slope while Maxwell arrested the fall. Both climbers subsequently suffered severe frostbite. Harrah eventually lost all of his toes, while Maxwell lost portions of several toes.
The American Alpine Journal’s contemporary reports document both the successful first ascent and the extremely serious descent.
The Direct West Face
Yerupajá remained unrepeated for many years.
In 1966, Leif-Norman Patterson and Jorge Peterek completed the first ascent of the mountain’s direct west face and only the second ascent of the mountain itself. Their enormous ice climb required twelve days before they reached the summit area.
John Crowley and David Isles subsequently reached the summit by the southwest-ridge route during the same expedition.
The 1966 climb demonstrated both the extraordinary scale of Yerupajá’s faces and the serious dangers posed by hanging glaciers, avalanches, unstable snow, and enormous summit cornices.
Northeast and East Faces
Chris Jones and Paul Dix made another major advance in 1968, climbing the northeast face.
In 1969, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler completed the first ascent of the huge east face but stopped extremely close to the main summit because of dangerous rotten rock and corniced terrain. Other members of the Austrian expedition established another route to the summit through the east-spur system.
These expeditions helped establish Yerupajá as one of the defining technical alpine objectives of the Andes.
Modern Climbs
Yerupajá continues to attract elite alpinists, but successful ascents remain uncommon.
In August 2025, Spanish climbers Marc Toralles, Bru Busom, and Rubén Sanmartín climbed a major new line on the eastern side of Yerupajá and completed an east-to-south traverse of the mountain, descending by the southern ridge.
The achievement reinforced Yerupajá’s continuing importance as a venue for cutting-edge high-altitude alpinism rather than conventional expedition mountaineering.
🏔️ Field Guide Tip: Yerupajá is not a trekking peak or an appropriate first 6,000-meter mountain. All known summit routes involve serious technical mountaineering, glacier hazards, steep snow or ice, exposure, altitude, and objective danger. Most visitors can experience the mountain far more safely from the Huayhuash trekking circuit, particularly around Jahuacocha and Carhuacocha.
🥾 Hiking & Climbing Routes
There is no ordinary hiking trail to Yerupajá’s summit.
Technical routes have historically approached the mountain from several directions.
Southwest Ridge
The route associated with the 1950 first ascent approaches the mountain from its western and southwestern side.
Although sometimes described as the mountain’s traditional route, that description should not be mistaken for easy. The route involves glaciers, steep snow and ice, corniced ridges, high altitude, and potentially serious objective hazards.
West Face
The massive west face contains several historic climbing lines. Its scale, steep ice, avalanche exposure, and hanging glaciers make it an extremely serious undertaking.
Northeast Face
The northeast face, first successfully climbed in 1968, rises above the eastern glacier system. Historic climbing accounts describe substantial danger from falling ice and rock.
East Face and East Spur
The enormous eastern side has been the scene of several important climbs, including the 1969 Austrian expedition and more recent alpine-style ascents.
Conditions on all of these routes can change dramatically as glaciers retreat and snow, ice, and rock conditions evolve.
🥾 Trekking Around Yerupajá
Climbing the mountain may be reserved for highly experienced alpinists, but Yerupajá can be seen spectacularly from several sections of the Huayhuash Circuit.
The complete circuit travels through high valleys and across numerous passes while encircling much of the mountain range.
SERNANP describes trekking routes in the protected area ranging from shorter excursions to journeys of approximately 165–180 kilometers requiring roughly 12–18 days, depending on the itinerary.
Two particularly important locations for views of Yerupajá are:
Laguna Jahuacocha
Jahuacocha lies west of the main crest and has historically served as an important approach area for expeditions climbing Yerupajá from the west.
Laguna Carhuacocha
Carhuacocha lies east of the main crest and provides dramatic views toward several of the range’s major mountains, including Yerupajá, Yerupaja Chico, Jirishanca, and Siula Grande.
🌤️ Best Time to Visit
The most favorable period for trekking in the Cordillera Huayhuash generally falls during the Andean dry season, approximately May through September.
SERNANP reports that the main precipitation period typically extends from September into mid-April.
June, July, and August commonly offer comparatively dry conditions, but high-altitude weather remains unpredictable. Snow, powerful winds, severe cold, and sudden storms can occur even during the nominal dry season.
Climbers must consider substantially more than seasonal rainfall. Glacier conditions, recent snowfall, avalanche danger, cornice development, rockfall, and changes caused by glacier recession can all determine whether a particular route is feasible.
🧭 Nearby Mountains & Attractions
Yerupajá sits among one of the most impressive concentrations of high peaks in South America.
Yerupaja Chico
Yerupaja Chico rises immediately north of the main Yerupajá massif and exceeds 6,100 meters. Despite its name—Chico meaning “small”—it is itself an enormous technical mountain.
Siula Grande
Siula Grande lies nearby in the central Huayhuash and is internationally famous through Joe Simpson’s Touching the Void. At more than 6,300 meters, it is another exceptionally steep and technical summit.
Jirishanca
Jirishanca is one of the most distinctive mountains in Peru. Its steep pyramid and razor-edged ridges have made it one of the classic technical objectives of the Cordillera Huayhuash.
Rasac
Rasac rises west of the central crest and is another of the major glaciated mountains surrounding Yerupajá.
Laguna Carhuacocha
This turquoise high-altitude lake is one of the most celebrated viewpoints on the Huayhuash trekking circuit.
Laguna Jahuacocha
Jahuacocha provides outstanding western views of the mountain group and has played an important role in the history of climbing expeditions to Yerupajá.
💡 Fun Facts
- Yerupajá is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Huayhuash.
- Peruvian authorities generally describe it as the second-highest mountain in Peru, after Huascarán.
- Its published elevation varies by roughly 20 meters among major modern references.
- Yerupajá has approximately 2,025 meters of topographic prominence, making it an ultra-prominent peak.
- It is approximately 148.8 kilometers from higher terrain around Huascarán.
- SERNANP identifies Yerupajá as the highest summit associated with the Amazon River watershed.
- David Harrah and James Maxwell completed the first ascent on July 31, 1950.
- Their descent nearly ended in disaster when a summit cornice collapsed.
- The mountain went roughly sixteen years before its next successful ascent.
- Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler were among the famous climbers who explored Yerupajá’s east face.
- Yerupajá’s summit routes remain considerably more technical and dangerous than the normal routes on many mountains of comparable altitude.
- The surrounding Cordillera Huayhuash Reserved Zone was established in 2002.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How high is Yerupajá?
Published measurements vary. SERNANP lists Yerupajá at 6,634 meters (21,765 feet), while Andes Specialists gives approximately 6,617 meters (21,709 feet) and Peakbagger-based data approximately 6,614 meters.
The discrepancy is worth preserving rather than hiding because reliable measurement of the mountain’s steep, corniced summit is unusually difficult.
Is Yerupajá the second-highest mountain in Peru?
Peruvian government sources identify Yerupajá as the second-highest mountain in the country after Huascarán.
Different rankings can result if subsidiary summits such as Huascarán Norte are counted separately, but Yerupajá is generally regarded as Peru’s second-highest major independent mountain.
What is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Huayhuash?
Yerupajá is the highest summit in the Cordillera Huayhuash.
What is Yerupajá’s prominence?
Its commonly reported topographic prominence is approximately 2,025 meters (6,644 feet).
What is Yerupajá’s isolation?
Its topographic isolation is approximately 148.8 kilometers (92.5 miles).
What is Yerupajá’s nearest higher neighbor?
The nearest major higher summit is Huascarán Sur, the highest mountain in Peru.
Who first climbed Yerupajá?
Americans David Harrah and James Maxwell reached the summit on July 31, 1950.
Is Yerupajá difficult to climb?
Yes. Yerupajá is considered one of the most technically serious major high-altitude mountains in the Andes. There is no simple trekking or nontechnical summit route.
Can you hike around Yerupajá without climbing it?
Yes. The Huayhuash Circuit provides spectacular views of Yerupajá from several valleys, passes, and lakes. Trekking at these elevations is still strenuous and requires proper acclimatization and preparation.
When is the best time to visit Yerupajá?
The main dry-season period is approximately May through September, with June through August commonly providing the most stable trekking conditions.
🔗 Related Articles
📚 Sources
- SERNANP — Zona Reservada Cordillera Huayhuash
- Andes Specialists — Yerupaja 6617m
- Peakbagger — Ultras of Ecuador and Peru
- American Alpine Journal — Up Yerupajá
- American Alpine Journal — Peru, Cerro Yerupajá
- American Alpine Journal — Yerupajá—1966
- American Alpine Journal — Yerupajá—The Amazon Face
- American Alpine Journal — Yerupajá, Northeast Face and East Spur
- American Alpine Journal — Yerupaja Grande
- PlanetMountain — 2025 Yerupajá Traverse
