Alpamayo

Alpamayo is a 5,947-meter peak in Peru's Cordillera Blanca, northwest of Pomabamba, best known for its near-geometrically perfect pyramidal southwest ice face. In 1966 it was voted the most beautiful mountain in the world at an international mountaineering congress — a title still widely cited today. For the Quechua communities of the surrounding valleys, peaks like Alpamayo are regarded as apus, mountain spirits that govern local life and weather. Technically, it is one of the most demanding summits in the Andes: the standard Ferrari Route climbs 60-degree ice slopes and requires multi-day glacier travel from base camp in the Alpamayo valley. The approach trek through the Quebrada Santa Cruz is itself considered one of South America's finest high-altitude routes.