Ski Mountaineering in Peru
Although by no means the best place to look for skiing in the Andes there are some skiing possibilities in Peru. There are a couple of tiny "resorts" and in all of them some reasonable ski-mountaineering opportunities, butt you're going to have to enjoy travelling because you won't get many turns in return for all the effort.
Cordillera Vilcanota
We ran a very succesful trip to the Cordillera Vilcanota in April and May 2025 in conjunction with IFMGA guide Jim Blyth of allworldskiing.com We believe that this was one of the first commercial ski trips to Peru.After a few days acclimatisation to the altitude in and around Cusco we skiied in two areas of the Vilcanota mountains, skiing a total of seven 5000m+ peaks and bumps and climbing a couple of other 5000m+ peaks. High point of the expedition was Huayruro Punco at 5550m, which we skiied from both the north and south sides.
Louis Blyth skiing the headwall at 5400m on Comercocha Norte. We also skiied both the peaks in the background, Huayruro Punco SO and Huayruro Punco.
Looking back at our tracks after our first ski of the day on Huayruro Punco. The snow was so good that we went back for another lap, despite having to climb 400m at over 5000m!
A cold morning at our campiste at Murmurani, 5000m above sea level. In the background is Sibinacocha, one of the worlds highest/largest lochs.
Louis Blyth flying past Mariposa and Ausangate, Andes Peru Ski Explorer expedition, May 2025.
The ski Peru team, packing up onour final morning for the walk and drive back to Cusco.
Other Areas of Peru
Huascaran and Copa seen from above Huaraz
There are several other areas of Peru with potential for exploratory skiing, though at present there are no real resorts. Every July plenty of people ski at Pastoruri in the southern Cordillera Blanca, and various races and Peruvian championships are held. A number of the smaller peaks in the south of the range give goo d ascents, such as Raria and Caullaraju. Also in the Cordillera Blanca, the traverse of the 6000m peaks of Copa and Hualcan is said to make a good ski trip, although the snow-line is a long way from the valley.
Further south in Peru there are some other good areas, including the extremely remote and rarely visited Ritipampa de Quellcaya, a high altitude ice-cap pictured below which could give some good but flat ski touring
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The Ritipampa de Quellcaya seen from the peak of San Braullio, Cordillera Vilcanota, Peru.
