Siula Grande
🏔️ Overview
Siula Grande is one of the highest and most formidable mountains in Peru’s Cordillera Huayhuash, a compact but exceptionally rugged range in the central Peruvian Andes. The mountain rises to a commonly cited elevation of 6,344 meters (20,814 feet) and is generally considered the second-highest summit in the Huayhuash after nearby Yerupajá.
Siula Grande is especially famous in mountaineering history because of the extraordinary events experienced by British climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates during their 1985 ascent of the previously unclimbed west face. Simpson later recounted the climb and his remarkable survival in the book Touching the Void, which was subsequently adapted into an acclaimed documentary film.
Yet Siula Grande is much more than the setting for one famous climbing story. Its steep limestone walls, glaciers, sharp ridges, high-altitude environment, and remote setting make it one of the most serious alpine objectives in the Andes.
The mountain stands on the boundary between Peru’s Lima and Huánuco regions, within the wider landscape protected by the Cordillera Huayhuash Reserved Zone.
⚡ Fast Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Continent | South America |
| Country | Peru |
| State/Province | Lima Region and Huánuco Region |
| County/Region | Cajatambo Province and Lauricocha Province |
| Mountain Range | Cordillera Huayhuash, Andes |
| Parent Peak | Nevado Yerupajá – Pico Sur |
| Commonly Cited Elevation | 6,344 m / 20,814 ft |
| Peakbagger Elevation | 6,360 m / 20,866 ft |
| Prominence | Approximately 630 m / 2,067 ft |
| Isolation | Approximately 2.61 km / 1.62 mi |
| Nearest Higher Neighbor (NHN) | Nevado Yerupajá – Pico Sur |
| Coordinates | Approximately 10.2937° S, 76.8921° W |
| First Ascent | 1936, Arnold Awerzger and Erwin Schneider |
| Famous West Face Ascent | Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, 1985 |
📍 Location
Siula Grande is located in west-central Peru in the Cordillera Huayhuash, a high Andean range lying south of the better-known Cordillera Blanca.
The summit lies close to the boundary between Cajatambo Province in the Lima Region and Lauricocha Province in the Huánuco Region. Its position near the crest of the Andes places it within a spectacular landscape of glaciers, steep mountain walls, high passes, turquoise lakes, and remote valleys.
Siula Grande rises immediately southeast of Yerupajá, the highest mountain in the Cordillera Huayhuash and the second-highest mountain in Peru.
Other major peaks in the surrounding range include Jirishanca and Rasac.
The Huayhuash itself forms part of the enormous Andes mountain system, which extends along much of the western side of South America. For a broader view of the mountain system, see the Map of the Andes Mountain Range.
📏 Elevation & Prominence
The most commonly published elevation for Siula Grande is 6,344 meters (20,814 feet). This figure is used by the American Alpine Journal and numerous modern mountaineering references.
However, elevation figures for Andean mountains can differ according to the maps, surveys, and elevation models being used.
Peakbagger currently lists Siula Grande at 6,360 meters (20,866 feet), based on Peruvian IGN topographic mapping. Because of this discrepancy, both figures may appear in reliable references.
Using Peakbagger’s topographic data, Siula Grande has approximately 630 meters (2,067 feet) of prominence.
Its topographic isolation is approximately 2.61 kilometers (1.62 miles). The nearest higher terrain lies toward Nevado Yerupajá – Pico Sur, which Peakbagger also identifies as Siula Grande’s nearest higher neighbor and line parent.
Regardless of the precise elevation figure used, Siula Grande is clearly one of Peru’s major 6,000-meter summits and one of the highest mountains in the Cordillera Huayhuash.
🪨 Geology
Siula Grande belongs to a mountain range composed largely of uplifted and intensely deformed sedimentary rocks.
The Cordillera Huayhuash contains substantial deposits of limestone along with sandstone, shale, quartzite, and related sedimentary formations. These rocks were deposited long before the modern Andes existed and were subsequently uplifted, folded, faulted, and exposed during the tectonic development of the Andean mountain system.
Limestone is particularly important on Siula Grande. Climbers describing its enormous east face have specifically reported extensive limestone terrain.
The broader Andes owe their existence primarily to the continuing interaction between the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate. Subduction of oceanic crust beneath South America has driven deformation, crustal shortening, uplift, volcanism, and mountain building along the continent’s western margin.
Once elevated, the Huayhuash landscape was further shaped by glaciers, running water, freezing and thawing, rockfall, and other erosional processes.
The result is the exceptionally steep terrain seen today: narrow ridges, enormous walls, deeply carved valleys, glacial basins, and sharp summits.
❄️ Glaciers and Changing Mountain Conditions
Siula Grande remains a heavily glaciated high mountain. Snowfields, glaciers, crevasses, bergschrunds, icefalls, and hanging ice all contribute to both its dramatic appearance and its mountaineering difficulty.
However, the glaciers of the Cordillera Huayhuash are changing.
Peruvian glacier inventories have documented substantial reductions in glacier area across the country’s tropical mountain ranges. As glacier surfaces retreat toward steeper and higher terrain, the physical character of climbing approaches and routes can also change.
Changes may expose previously buried rock, alter crevasse patterns, weaken snow bridges, enlarge bergschrunds, destabilize moraines, and modify avalanche and rockfall hazards.
For this reason, historical route descriptions should never be assumed to represent present-day conditions.
🌿 Flora & Fauna
The summit and upper faces of Siula Grande are far too high and hostile to support significant vegetation. Lower elevations throughout the Cordillera Huayhuash, however, contain important high-Andean ecosystems.
The Cordillera Huayhuash Reserved Zone protects approximately 67,590 hectares of mountain landscape.
Characteristic habitats include:
- High-altitude puna grasslands
- Montane shrublands
- High-Andean wetlands
- Patches of Polylepis, or queñual, woodland
- Glacial lakes and streams
- Rocky alpine environments
Wildlife recorded in the wider protected area includes the Andean condor, peregrine falcon, torrent duck, giant coot, giant conebill, and several specialized high-Andean bird species.
The combination of high mountain grasslands, wetlands, relict Polylepis forests, lakes, glaciers, and isolated valleys gives the Huayhuash considerable ecological importance in addition to its mountaineering significance.
🧗 First Ascent of Siula Grande
The first successful ascent of Siula Grande was made in 1936 by Arnold Awerzger and Erwin Schneider, members of a German-Austrian expedition exploring the Peruvian Andes.
Most modern mountaineering accounts give July 28, 1936 as the summit date.
Awerzger and Schneider climbed by the mountain’s north ridge, establishing the route that would later become especially important in the story of Touching the Void.
Their ascent occurred during an era when large sections of the high Peruvian Andes remained poorly mapped and many major summits had never been climbed.
Schneider in particular played an important role in the early exploration and mapping of the Peruvian Andes.
🧗 The West Face and Touching the Void
Siula Grande became internationally famous almost half a century after its first ascent.
In 1985, British mountaineers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates attempted the mountain’s formidable west face, which had resisted earlier attempts.
They successfully climbed the previously unclimbed face and reached the summit.
Their ascent itself was a major mountaineering achievement, but events during the descent transformed the expedition into one of the most famous survival stories in climbing history.
Rather than descending their west-face route, Simpson and Yates attempted to descend via the mountain’s north ridge.
Conditions deteriorated dramatically.
During the descent, Simpson fell and suffered a severe leg injury. Yates attempted to lower the injured Simpson down the mountain using their ropes, but the situation eventually became catastrophic when Simpson was left hanging beyond an overhanging section of the mountain with neither climber able to see or communicate effectively with the other.
Unable to pull Simpson back up and increasingly at risk of being pulled from his own stance, Yates eventually cut the rope.
Simpson fell into a crevasse.
Remarkably, he survived.
Despite his badly injured leg, exhaustion, dehydration, and isolation, Simpson eventually escaped from the crevasse and made his way back toward base camp over several days.
He later described the expedition in his 1988 book Touching the Void.
The story became one of the best-known works in modern mountaineering literature and was adapted into the 2003 documentary-drama Touching the Void.
🧗 Modern Routes and Major Ascents
Siula Grande is not a mountain with an ordinary hiking trail or straightforward “normal route.” Even its established lines involve serious expedition mountaineering.
Its major faces contain combinations of:
- Steep snow
- Glacier travel
- Water ice
- Mixed climbing
- Exposed rock
- Crevasses
- Bergschrunds
- Rockfall
- Avalanche hazards
- High-altitude bivouacs
- Difficult retreat options
The west face became famous through the Simpson-Yates ascent, but climbers have subsequently explored other sides of the mountain.
West Face
The west face is the route most closely associated with Touching the Void.
It contains steep and complex mixed alpine terrain and had defeated earlier attempts before Simpson and Yates completed it in 1985.
An expedition shortly before their ascent described extremely steep ice, unstable rock, and serious objective hazards on the face.
East Side
The immense eastern side of Siula Grande has attracted a number of elite international climbing teams.
In 2016, Max Bonniot and Didier Jourdain established a major route involving the east pillar and southeast ridge.
An even more direct challenge remained.
In July 2022, Catalan climbers Bru Busom and Marc Toralles completed the first ascent of the main east face itself. Their route, Ànima de Corall, involved approximately 1,100 meters of difficult climbing and was graded 7b A3 AI5 M6.
The pair climbed the route between July 11 and July 16.
Rockfall was among the greatest dangers, demonstrating how serious objective hazards remain even for highly accomplished modern alpinists.
⚠️ How Difficult Is Siula Grande?
Siula Grande should be regarded as an expert-level expedition mountaineering objective.
Reaching more than 6,300 meters above sea level is only part of the challenge.
Climbers may encounter:
- Extreme altitude
- Technical ice climbing
- Mixed rock-and-ice terrain
- Glacier travel
- Crevasses
- Unstable snow
- Cornices
- Falling ice
- Rockfall
- Avalanches
- Complex route finding
- Very limited opportunities for rescue
- Rapidly changing weather
This is not an appropriate mountain for inexperienced climbers simply seeking their first 6,000-meter summit.
Anyone considering a climb should already possess extensive experience with technical alpine climbing, glaciers, steep snow and ice, high-altitude acclimatization, self-rescue, avalanche awareness, and remote expedition logistics.
🏔️ Field Guide Tip: Historical descriptions of Siula Grande can be fascinating, but they should never be used as a substitute for current route information. Glacier retreat, rockfall, changing snow conditions, crevasses, and unstable ice can substantially alter routes from one climbing season to another.
🥾 Hiking Around Siula Grande
Climbing Siula Grande is reserved for highly experienced alpinists, but hikers can experience the surrounding landscape without attempting the summit.
The Cordillera Huayhuash Circuit is one of South America’s great high-altitude treks.
The route circles much of the range and offers views of Siula Grande, Yerupajá, Jirishanca, glacial lakes, alpine valleys, and numerous other snow-covered peaks.
Different itineraries vary considerably, but complete versions of the circuit can extend roughly 165–180 kilometers and require approximately 12–18 days, according to Peru’s protected-area authority.
Shorter variations are also possible.
Even trekking presents significant challenges. Much of the route lies above 4,000 meters, with high passes, cold nights, strong solar radiation, remote campsites, and limited infrastructure.
Proper acclimatization is essential.
🌤️ Best Time to Visit
The main trekking and climbing season in the Cordillera Huayhuash generally coincides with the Andean dry season, especially from approximately May through September.
Peru’s protected-area authority reports that most precipitation in the Huayhuash occurs from around September through mid-April.
June, July, and August are therefore particularly popular months for high-altitude trekking and climbing.
Drier conditions do not guarantee safe weather. Storms, snow, strong winds, freezing temperatures, and rapidly changing conditions remain possible at any time.
Nighttime temperatures above 4,000 meters can fall below freezing even when daytime conditions are sunny.
🧭 Nearby Mountains & Attractions
Siula Grande stands amid one of the greatest concentrations of dramatic high mountains in Peru.
Yerupajá
Immediately northwest is Yerupajá, the highest summit in the Cordillera Huayhuash.
At roughly 6,635 meters, Yerupajá is also Peru’s second-highest mountain after Huascarán.
Jirishanca
Jirishanca is one of the most recognizable peaks of the Huayhuash because of its exceptionally steep, pointed profile.
It has a reputation as one of the range’s technically demanding climbing objectives.
Rasac
Rasac rises northwest of the main Siula-Yerupajá area and is another major glaciated summit within the Huayhuash.
Cordillera Blanca
Farther north lies the separate Cordillera Blanca, home to Huascarán, Alpamayo, Huandoy, and many of Peru’s other famous high mountains.
The Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Huayhuash are separate ranges despite their geographical proximity.
Huayhuash Trek
For nontechnical visitors, the trekking circuit around the Cordillera Huayhuash offers the most practical way to appreciate Siula Grande and the neighboring peaks.
High passes and lakes throughout the circuit provide changing views of the mountain from different directions.
💡 Fun Facts
- Siula Grande is generally regarded as the second-highest mountain in the Cordillera Huayhuash.
- The mountain exceeds 6,300 meters above sea level.
- Its nearest higher neighbor is a summit of the neighboring Yerupajá massif.
- Arnold Awerzger and Erwin Schneider made the first ascent in 1936.
- Joe Simpson and Simon Yates made the first ascent of the west face in 1985.
- Simpson’s survival after suffering a severely broken leg became the subject of Touching the Void.
- A major direct line on the east face was not completed until 2022.
- The mountain’s eastern walls contain extensive limestone.
- Siula Grande is surrounded by glaciers despite lying only about ten degrees south of the equator.
- Its surrounding landscapes are protected within the wider Cordillera Huayhuash Reserved Zone.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How high is Siula Grande?
Siula Grande is most commonly listed at 6,344 meters (20,814 feet).
Peakbagger, using Peruvian IGN topographic mapping, gives an elevation of 6,360 meters (20,866 feet), illustrating the small discrepancies that can occur between mountain elevation sources.
Where is Siula Grande?
Siula Grande is located in the Cordillera Huayhuash of Peru, near the boundary between the Lima and Huánuco regions.
Is Siula Grande in the Cordillera Blanca?
No.
Siula Grande belongs to the Cordillera Huayhuash, a separate Andean range located south of the Cordillera Blanca.
What is Siula Grande famous for?
The mountain is internationally famous as the setting of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates’s 1985 climb and survival ordeal, later described in Simpson’s book Touching the Void.
Who first climbed Siula Grande?
Arnold Awerzger and Erwin Schneider made the first ascent in 1936, climbing via the north ridge.
Did Joe Simpson reach the summit of Siula Grande?
Yes.
Joe Simpson and Simon Yates successfully reached the summit after making the first ascent of the west face in 1985. Simpson’s serious accident occurred during their descent.
Did Simon Yates really cut the rope?
Yes.
During the attempted rescue of the injured Simpson, Yates became unable to hold Simpson’s weight indefinitely without risking being pulled from his own stance. With no effective communication between them and no apparent way to resolve the situation, he cut the rope.
Simpson survived the subsequent fall.
Is Touching the Void a true story?
Yes.
Joe Simpson’s Touching the Void is his autobiographical account of the 1985 Siula Grande expedition with Simon Yates.
Is Siula Grande difficult to climb?
Extremely.
Its established routes involve serious high-altitude alpine climbing, glaciers, steep snow and ice, mixed terrain, unstable rock, crevasses, and major objective hazards.
Can ordinary hikers visit Siula Grande?
Hikers should not attempt the summit without expert mountaineering skills, but Siula Grande can be seen from sections of the Cordillera Huayhuash trekking circuit.
What is the highest mountain near Siula Grande?
Yerupajá rises immediately northwest of Siula Grande and is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Huayhuash.
What is Siula Grande’s nearest higher neighbor?
Peakbagger identifies Nevado Yerupajá – Pico Sur as Siula Grande’s nearest higher neighbor.
When is the best time to visit Siula Grande?
The main dry-season window is generally May through September, with June through August particularly popular for trekking and mountaineering.
Conditions at high altitude can still be severe and unpredictable during this period.
🔗 Related Articles
- Yerupajá – The highest mountain in the Cordillera Huayhuash
- Jirishanca – One of the Huayhuash’s most dramatic high peaks
- Rasac – A major glaciated summit near Yerupajá
- Cordillera Blanca – Peru’s neighboring high mountain range
- Map of the Andes Mountain Range – Explore the geography of the Andes
- Major Mountain Ranges in South America – A broader guide to South America’s mountain systems
📚 Sources
- Peakbagger – Siula Grande — elevation data, prominence, isolation, coordinates, parent peak, and nearest higher neighbor.
- American Alpine Club – Siulá Grande, East Face — 2022 first ascent of the main east face, route details, elevation, and geology.
- American Alpine Club – Yerupajá, Sarapo and Other Peaks; Siula Grande West Face Attempt — historical information about the west face and earlier attempts.
- American Alpine Club – Siulá Grande, East Pillar to Southeast Ridge — climbing history and limestone geology of Siula Grande’s eastern side.
- SERNANP – Zona Reservada Cordillera Huayhuash — protected-area geography, climate, ecosystems, flora, fauna, and trekking information.
- SINIA – Inventario Nacional de Glaciares: Cordillera Huayhuash — glacier inventory and information about changing ice cover in the Huayhuash.
- Wikipedia – Siula Grande — secondary cross-check for elevation, climbing history, and the Touching the Void ascent.
