Huge alpine style traverse of Yerupajá completed in Peru by Bru Busom, Rubén Sanmartin, Marc Toralles

Between the 4th and the 9th of August, Spanish alpinists Bru Busom, Rubén Sanmartin and Marc Toralles carried out a significant ascent on Yerupajá, at 6,634m the highest peak in Peru’s Huayhuash range. The trio established a new route on the mountain’s east face, which they have named L’essència del compromís - The Essence of Commitment.

After climbing the technical east face, the team continued along the highly exposed east ridge, characterised by unstable snow mushrooms and complex terrain, until reaching the main summit. There are no documented ascents of the main summit via this ridge.

For their descent, the climbers followed the south ridge. In doing so they reached the southern summit of Yerupajá, and therefore completed the first full traverse of the mountain: ascending from the east and descending via the south.

The route has been graded at 6c+, M6+, 95°, over a total of 3,000 meters of route. The ascent was carried out in pure alpine style, without fixed ropes, high-altitude camps, or external support.

The team describes this as their most committing climb to date, emphasizing that retreat was nearly impossible once on the ridge, and that summiting the main peak was their only viable descent option.

First climbed in 1950 via the west face by American climbers David Harrah and James Maxwell, Yerupajá has been climbed very rarely due to its technical difficulties and committing nature. In 1969 Peter Habeler and Reinhold Messner were the first to climb the east face but had to turn back circa 20 meters below the summit due to rotten rock. The most recent addition dates back to 2003 when the Slovenians Matevz Kramer, Matej Mejovsek and Tadej Zorman established Limitless Madness on the northeast face.