Ausangate

Ausangate, at 6,384 metres, is the fifth-highest peak in Peru and anchors the western edge of the Cordillera Vilcanota, some 80 kilometres southeast of Cusco. Its first ascent came in 1953 via the west ridge, with a team that included Austrian Himalayan pioneer Heinrich Harrer — the mountain had repelled Mathias Rebitsch's attempt the year before. For Quechua communities across the southern Andes, Ausangate is a commanding Apu, a mountain deity, and it draws tens of thousands of pilgrims each year to the Qoyllur Riti festival held at its glacial foot. The classic circuit trek takes five to seven days, crossing passes above 5,000 metres past turquoise glacial lakes and herds of vicuña. Heavily crevassed flanks and rapidly shifting high-altitude weather make the summit itself a serious mountaineering objective.