Three Peruvian mountaineers have been missing on 6,768m Nevado Huascaran, Peru’s highest peak, since last Monday, after losing contact during their descent.
According to Peruvian news outlets, the trio — Alejandro Ugarte Jordan, Freddy Saul Mendoza Lizana, and guide Artidoro Salas Gaitan — lost communication on Monday, July 13. They were originally part of a five-member expedition that included two Czech climbers. During the descent, the two foreign climbers moved faster and advanced ahead, while the three trailing Peruvians lost their way in a severe storm.
A family member indicated that the group began their ascent on the preceding Saturday, July 11. They apparently reached or approached the summit but encountered issues on the descent.
Footprints detected
Rescue teams from the Asociacion de Guias de Montana del Peru (AGMP), led by Beto Pinto, detected footprints around 6,300–6,400m during drone searches. These could belong to the missing climbers. According to Pinto, the footprints match the last geolocation recorded by the Garmin watch worn by one of the expedition members, and the observed route ends at two deep crevasses. According to Pinto, reported in Infobae, the climbers are presumed to have fallen into two 100m-deep crevasses.
Huascaran South standard route, via La Garganta. Photo: andeshandbook.org
The last message
Ugarte’s girlfriend confirmed receiving a final WhatsApp notification by satellite simply reading “lost” (perdidos) between 9 and 10 am on July 14. A GPS smartwatch worn by Ugarte transmitted tracking coordinates before its battery or signal died, pinning their last known location at 6,400m, near an area called La Garganta, before going offline.
Families, including Peruvian actor and family member Karina Jordan and her husband Diego Seyfarth, have appealed for donations of supplies and called for international rescuers. Each hour that passes without the climbers being rescued, their survival chances decrease.
Any potential rescue faces extreme difficulties. A Peruvian Air Force helicopter deployed to the area suffered a mechanical failure and became unserviceable at the Huascarán Refuge (4,000m). Because aircraft cannot land near the critical 6,400m area, elite rescue teams must make the grueling nine-hour ascent on foot.
The mountain conditions have also become unstable due to abnormal temperatures. On Thursday, a separate avalanche struck another climbing group at 5,600m, killing a local porter and injuring two others. This second incident severely strained the already exhausted high-altitude rescue teams.
