Salcantay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Salcantay
SW face of Nevado Salcantay from close to Salcantay trail (Mollepata to Colpapampa) at 4640m pass
Elevation	6,271 metres (20,574 ft)^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] or 6,264 metres (20,551 ft)^[5]^[6]
Location	Cusco Region, Peru
Range	Cordillera Vilcabamba, Andes^[7]^[6]^[3]^[4]^[8]
Prominence	2,540 metres (8,330 ft)^[5]^[6]
Coordinates	13°20′01″S, 72°32′40″W
First ascent	August 4, 1952 by Fred D. Ayres, David Michael, Jr., W. V. Graham Matthews, George I. Bell, Claude Kogan, M. Bernard Pierre
Easiest route	Northeast ridge: technical glacier/snow/ice climb (French grade AD)^[4]

Salcantay (Nevado Salcantay) or Salkantay (Nevado Salkantay) is the highest peak of the Cordillera Vilcabamba, part of the Peruvian Andes. It is located in the Cusco Region, about 60 km (40 mi) west-northwest of the city of Cusco. It is the 38th highest peak in the Andes, and the twelfth highest in Peru. However, as a range highpoint in deeply incised terrain, it is the second most topographically prominent peak in the country, after Huascarán.

1 Overview
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Overview

Salcantay is a large, steep peak, "the most spectacular peak of the region",^[9] with great vertical relief, particularly above the low valleys to the north, which are tributaries of the Amazon River.

Salcantay was first climbed in 1952 by a French-American expedition comprising Fred D. Ayres, David Michael, Jr., John C. Oberlin, W. V. Graham Matthews, Austen F. Riggs, George I. Bell, Claude Kogan, M. Bernard Pierre, and Jean Guillemin. All except Oberlin, Riggs, and Guillemin made the summit.^[9]

The standard route on the mountain is the Northeast ridge. Accessing the route typically involves three days of travel from Cusco. The climb involves about 1,800 m (5,900 ft) of vertical gain, on glacier, snow, ice, and some rock. The route is graded AD on the French adjectival scale.^[4]

The name Salkantay is from salka, a quechua word meaning wild, uncivilized, savage, or invincible, and was recorded as early as 1583.^[10] The name is thus often translated as "Savage Mountain".

Directly to the north of Salkantay lies Machu Picchu, which is at the end of a ridge that extends down from this mountain. Viewed from Machu Picchu's main sundial, the Southern Cross is above Salkantay's summit when at its highest point in the sky during the rainy season. The Incas associated this alignment with concepts of rain and fertility, and considered Salkantay to be one of the principal deities controlling weather and fertility in the region west of Cuzco. ^[11]

Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

[edit] See also

List of mountains in Peru, all peaks above 5,500 meters

[edit] References

Sources consulted

Biggar, John (1996). The High Andes: a guide for climbers. Scotland: Andes Publishing, p. 78. ISBN 1-871890-38-1.
Encarta/Spanish (2007 online). "Cordillera Vilcabamba" (Spanish). Enciclopedia Microsoft. Retrieved on 2007-08-18. “Su máxima elevación es el pico Salcantay o Sarkantay (6.271 m) [...]”
Encarta/Spanish (2007 online). "Salcantay" (Spanish). Enciclopedia Microsoft. Retrieved on 2007-08-18. “[...] constituye una de las principales elevaciones de la cordillera de Vilcabamba, [...] Alcanza una altitud de 6.271 metros.”
Ferranti, Jonathan de (compiler); et al. (2005). "Peru ultra-Prominences". PeakList.org. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, Perú (2005). Perú: Compendio Estadístico 2005 (in Spanish). Lima: INEI, p. 22. – Also stored at List of mountains in Peru.
Peakbagger (2007 online). "Salcantay, Peru". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
Rachowiecki, Rob (1991). Peru: a travel survival kit. Hawthorn, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, p. 206. ISBN 0-86442-095-1.

Endnotes

^ This elevation is from a Peruvian military survey, quoted in the American Alpine Journal, 1973
^ INEI, Perú: Compendio Estadístico 2005, op. cit.
^ ^a ^b Encarta/Spanish, "Cordillera Vilcabamba" and "Salcantay", op. cit.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Biggar 1996, op. cit.
^ ^a ^b Ferranti 2005, "Peru ultra-Prominences", op. cit.
^ ^a ^b ^c Peakbagger, "Salcantay, Peru", op. cit.
^ INEI, Perú: Compendio Estadístico 2005, op. cit., attaches three peaks including the Salcantay to the Cordillera Vilcanota instead of Vilcabamba, but this was identified as a typo, and all other sources disagreed. Details in the endnotes to article "List of mountains in Peru".
^ Rachowiecki 1991, op. cit.
^ ^a ^b John C. Oberlin and W. V. Graham Matthews, "The First Ascent of Mount Salcantay", American Alpine Journal, 1953, pp. 387-396.
^ Rose, Mark (1999-09-01). Exploring the Inca Heartland. Archaeological Institute of America.
^ Reinhard, Johan; Ceruti, Constanza (2005). "Sacred Mountains, Ceremonial Sites, and Human Sacrifice Among the Incas.". Archaeoastronomy XIX: pp. 1–43.