1998 Welsh Huantsán East Face

Although it appears to have several fine lines, the East Face of Huantsán, 6,395m (one of the major peaks in the Cordillera Blanca) has never been climbed. Splitting up to acclimatise, members of this team climbed on Huarapasca, 5,430m, Urus, 5,495m, and Tocllaraju, 6,034m, then in untypically poor weather, set out at midnight for their main objective. After battling through spindrift up several pitches of Scottish III, they climbed one of grade V and several of IV in an attempt to reach the safety of a large cave. With the arrival of the sun, the falling debris became larger and one climber was hit on the shoulder, so after c950m of climbing it was decided to retreat. With a few days remaining, they managed a rapid ascent of Artesonraju, 6,025m, before returning home.