Spanish climbers Eneko and Iker Pou, with Peruvian partner Micher Quito, have established a new route on the northwest face of 6,162m Ranrapalca in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca.
They named the route “Bonus Track” (WI7/M6/6c, 1,060 m). The trio climbed the route in the final days of their expedition, after already ascending Alpamayo. It is their second new line on Ranrapalca, following “Ya Pe Cholo” in 2023. The Pou brothers say it is the hardest of the 22 routes they have opened in the range.
Climbing Ranrapalca. Photo: Eneko and Iker Pou
The trio climbed in alpine style over three consecutive days on the face, with two nights spent suspended above the void. The line involves more than 1,000m of elevation gain through sustained rock, ice, and mixed terrain. In several sections the climbers had to make short rappels to locate usable crack systems.
Ascending “Bonus Track”. Photo: Eneko and Iker Pou
Conditions were difficult throughout. Long hard pitches followed one another with little rest. On the first bivouac, they were caught in an unexpected snowstorm and sheltered inside a crack after twelve hours of continuous climbing. They spent the second night sitting on the edge of a drop. On the third day, they spent more than three hours exposed beneath unstable seracs before reaching the summit plateau in thick mist.
Over the five-day push, daily climbing periods lasted between eight and thirteen hours, with only three or four hours of sleep each night.
From left to right: Eneko Pou, Micher Quito, and Iker Pou on the summit of Ranrapalca. Photo: Eneko and Iker Pou
