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Beauty of mount Huandoy, Cordillera Blanca, Ancash, Peru

Mountain·PeruPeru

Huandoy

6,395m

Cordillera Blanca

Summit weather

Inti Runa Viajero · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation
6,395m
Prominence
1,645m
Relief
2,536mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
66°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
All yearSee month by month ↓
First ascent
1932
Summit
9.0283°S, 77.6653°W

Mountain in Peru

Huandoy is a mountain in the Cordillera Blanca (Peru). Its summit stands 6,395 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 1,645 m. It was first climbed in 1932.

From the lowest point within 5 km (3,859 m), it rises 2,536 m. The steepest side is the north face: 52° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 66° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Yungay, 15 km away at 2,521 m: 3,874 m below the summit.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Huandoy for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

6.6/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

  • 0.6/2.50 waymarked routes and 14 path sections nearby
  • 0.8/1.53 huts and shelters
  • 2.0/23,874 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.4/1.51,645 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.512 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.3/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

0.3/10

  • 0.0/40 km of downhill runs
  • 0.3/1.59 ski lifts
  • 0.0/1.5lift station heights not mapped
  • 0.0/30 months of snow at about 3,021 m

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 3,021 m, in the middle of the ski area: no snow.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
  • Snow on the ground all month
  • Snow some of the time
  • No snow
  • This month

9 lifts · 0 km cross-country

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

Snow

When there is snow on Huandoy

At the summit, snow all year round. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Summit6,395 msnow all year round
Snow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all month
Halfway up4,458 mno snow
No snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snow
Yungay2,521 mno snow
No snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snow
  • Snow on the ground all month
  • Snow some of the time
  • No snow
  • This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Huandoy, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average November afternoon the summit reaches about -1 °C; on July nights it falls to about -16 °C. Even in the warmest month the summit stays below freezing all day: ice and snow all year round. Even at its highest, in November, the 0 °C line reaches only about 6,260 m: 135 m below the summit. Across the region, August is the driest month (12 mm) and December the wettest (65 mm).

3,000 m4,000 m5,000 m6,000 mSUMMIT · 6,395 mYUNGAY · 2,521 mJanuary: 6,110 mFebruary: 6,090 mMarch: 6,010 mApril: 6,070 mMay: 6,110 mJune: 6,010 mJuly: 6,010 mAugust: 6,140 mSeptember: 6,210 mOctober: 6,230 mNovember: 6,260 mDecember: 6,120 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °CYungay high °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January-2-14236,11050124.8
February-2-14236,09057134.0
March-2-14236,01062143.8
April-2-14236,0704095.2
May-2-14236,1103366.6
June-2-16236,0101447.6
July-2-16236,0101537.8
August-2-16246,1401237.3
September-1-14246,2101665.4
October-1-14246,2303385.1
November-1-14246,26049115.5
December-2-14236,12065144.5

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 3,844 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. True scale: no vertical exaggeration.

West – east
6,395 m3,554 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
6,395 m3,592 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 52°NNE: 34°NEE: 44°ESE: 37°SES: 30°SSW: 16°SWW: 44°WNW: 47°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Huandoy

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Huandoy seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  • 3mountain huts and shelters

    Refugio Perú (4,660 m)

  • 6cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways

    Teleférico Huascarán and 5 more

  • —ski areas
  • —waymarked hiking routes
  • —via ferratas
  • —climbing crags and routes
  • 2named glaciers

    Glaciar del Nevado Huascarán, Glaciar del Nevado Huandoy

  • 17viewpoints
  • 13campsites

    Campamento Base, Lake Llanganuco Camping, Campo Morrena, Campamento base Chopicalqui and 9 more

  • 2hotels, B&Bs and chalets

    Cordillera Blanca Lodge, Llanganuco Lodge

  • 5restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

14 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T1T2T3T4
  • T1 hiking
  • T2 mountain hiking
  • T3 demanding mountain hiking
  • T4 alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

  • Yungay15 km · 2,521 m
  • Caraz16 km · 2,441 m
  • Pilcomayo16 km · 2,271 m
  • Ranrahirca17 km · 2,756 m
  • Huaripampa18 km · 2,990 m
  • Matacoto19 km · 2,408 m
  • Sucre21 km · 2,436 m
  • Shupluy21 km · 2,635 m

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Cumbres del Huandoy desde la morrena del nevado Chopicalqui
PercyDextre · CC BY-SA 4.0
Huascaran Huandoy Chopicalqui seen from Huaraz
Uwebart · CC BY-SA 3.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-1-1-1-2
2020+0.2+0.2+1.4+1.4+1.5+2.0+0.6+1.0−0.2+0.6+0.4−0.5
2021−0.6+1.4+0.2+0.7+0.7+0.4+1.4+0.8+0.5+1.6+0.2+0.8
2022+0.4+0.4+0.7+0.8+1.2+0.3+1.4+1.3+0.8+1.9+1.7+0.5
2023+0.2+0.8±0.0+0.3+1.3+1.9+2.5+2.0+1.1+1.9+2.0+0.9
2024+2.0+2.3+2.0+2.5+2.5+3.0+1.9+1.7+1.7+0.7+0.3−0.3
2025−0.6−0.9−0.7−1.3−1.4−1.6−1.4−1.2−0.6−1.7−1.4+2.3

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q1632785) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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