Urus Nevoso

Time: 5-6 hours from Ishinca base campo

Approach: The trail to Urus Este begins on the north .. side of the valley, opposite the footbridge crossing the valley’s main stream at the Ishinca base campo. A faint path leads into the bushes and follows old stream gullies uphill, toward the main gully directly below the Urus glacier. Cairns mark the path up the main gully for about 400m. The trail then climbs the steep right-hand slope .. to the crest of the moraine ridge. This long ridge arcs to the right at its upper end. From here, the trail levels out . for 100m before climbing up a small ridge to the granite slabs above. Follow the cairns angling left across the slabs to the base of a rack buttress. Gain the snow on .. the bottom left of the buttress (2-3 hours from base camp).

Route: Climb 100m of 45-degree snow along the left side of the buttress. When the angle eases off, it is necessary to walk across more rock slabs to the base of the large snowfield that forms the southeast slopes of the peak. Climb this snowfield (45 degrees at first) for 200m.
The next 100m takes you onto the east side of the upper part of the peak. In snowy years, the final 150m to the summit is 45- to 50-degree snow climbing. In recent years, the peak has dried out considerably, requiring a let of rock scrambling up granite slabs and indistinct gullies. Beware of lots of loose rack. The final 50m of scrambling is interrupted by a short 30-degree snaw slope. Beware at the summit cornice (t 1/2-21/2 hours from base of rock buttress).

Descent: Descend by the same route.

Reference: American Alpine Journal, 1955