Mt Mateo (5150m)

Bit of a view at the start of the climb

At  4:00am on a Sunday morning I headed off to climb Mt Mateo (5150m). The weather had been fairly drizzly in Huarez and I hoped that it would not be too bad up in the mountains. I kind of dozed in the back of the car as we headed out of town and towards the national park. Before long we were at the carpark, and we were peering out at the mist and rain. Luckily the weather was still good enough to climb in.

We headed up and the light rain had turned into light snow and we headed on up. We got into the snow and put our crampons on. It was misty and unfortunately as we headed higher there was no view at all!

---

We climbed up through the snow and before long we were at the summit! Normally there are great views all across the Cordillera Blanca from the top. Nevermind! It was still good to reach the summit. 

The top.

I am happy with how I have acclimatized so far. I had no headaches or dizziness. I am attempting some higher and more technical peaks in the near future, so its good not to have to worry about the effects of altitude on my other climbs.

On the way back down to Huarez the clouds cleared a little and I was thrilled to see a condor circling high in the valley. Overall it was a great trip!