Cordillera Blanca Access Under Threat

Some worrying news from the British Mountaineering Council, which tells us that plans to introduce new, restrictive regulations in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru are in the pipeline.

The proposed rules would cover the entire Huascaran National Park, at the moment a mecca for climbers and trekkers who can simply roll up in Huaraz arrange food, transport, burros and guiding if needed before climbing or trekking anywhere in the range.

The new regulations would oblige visitors to use guides and local services and restrict access plus introduce time limits on stays in the park. In essence, they appear to be similar to the regulations introduced to protect the Inca Trail some years back, but on a much larger scale covering, as they do, an entire park.

The BMC is asking climbers and trekkers to write directly to the Peruvian agency behind the proposals stressing the concern of mountaineers with the environment and the potential damage to the area's status as a climbing mecca.

You can find full details of the situation along with contacts for the Peruvian Instituto Nacional de Recursos Nacionales at the BMC web site. It would be a terrible shame if visitors to this beautiful area became entangled in a restrictive web of bureacracy that ultimately would benefit no-one.