Arlo Rogers and Peru’s first 9a

Please read Arlo’s account of this epic trip below and don’t forget to follow him on Instagram @rogersarlo1703.

Earlier this year I spent several weeks in Pitumarca, Peru, with Malik, Josh, Alex, Rob and Owain, exploring the climbing and developing some new routes in the valley.

We arrived in Cusco, conveniently when the Inti Raymi festival was on, probably not the best first day of acclimatization but a good welcome.  The following morning we discovered that our bargain accommodation had flooded, giving us a fairly chaotic introduction to Peru!

From Cusco we travelled to Pitumarca, where the scale of the surrounding rock immediately stood out. The valley is surrounded by huge imposing lines and impressive streaky limestone walls, with a mixture of established climbing and a huge amount of potential for new routes.

The first few days were spent acclimatising and repeating some of the existing classics. The altitude was immediately noticeable, with an 8a onsight feeling ok followed by an 8a+ that completely shut me down. Even recovering between attempts felt different, but after a couple of weeks things started to feel much more normal.

We were quickly keen to get drills in our hands and soon started developing our own lines. High above the valley we found an incredible new sector with a huge square-cut prow, an overhanging tufa arete and amazing views across the Andes. While bolting the routes, we were caught in rain, hail and dust, but eventually the weather cleared and we were treated to huge rainbows across the valley.

The first line became Café y Coca, an 8c following the overhanging arete, while the central line became Calling of the Cuy. The route climbs through sustained 7c terrain into a complex 8a+ boulder problem before finishing with a powerful 8b section. After a lot of attempts and plenty of beta from Malik, I managed to link the whole thing.

At 4,500m, Calling of the Cuy became the highest-altitude 9a in the world and the first 9a in Peru.

We also made team first ascents of Reach for the Sheep (8c) and There Is Always Something (8c+), alongside several other new routes and extensions around the valley.

For me, one of the best parts of the trip was that the new routes genuinely felt like a team effort. We were all involved in bolting, cleaning, working out sequences and trying each other's projects. Watching everyone throw themselves at the routes and eventually seeing them come together was just as rewarding as making the first ascent myself.

Away from the climbing, the local community made the trip equally memorable. We watched llamas passing through the valley over morning coffee, learnt how to cook potatoes in a traditional watia oven and spent plenty of time exploring the local area.

Pitumarca was an incredible experience, combining world-class climbing potential with an amazing landscape and a really welcoming community.