[citation needed] The mountain has two distinct summits, the higher being the south one (Huascarán Sur) with an elevation of 6,768 metres (22,205 ft).

[10] Huascarán is normally climbed from the village of Musho to the west via a high camp in the col that separates the two summits, known as La Garganta.

[11] The normal route is of moderate difficulty and rated between PD and AD (depending on the conditions of the mountain) according to the International French Adjectival System.

[12] On July 9th, 2024, it was reported that the body of William Stampfl, an American mountaineer, had been found 22 years after he disappeared in an avalanche in June 2002.

The north peak (Huascarán Norte) had previously been climbed on 2 September 1908 by a U.S. expedition that included Annie Smith Peck,[16] though this first ascent is somewhat disputed.

In 1989, a group of eight amateur mountaineers, the "Social Climbers", held what was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records (1990 edition) to be "the world's highest dinner party" on top of the mountain, as documented by Chris Darwin and John Amy in their book The Social Climbers, and raised £10,000 for charity.

It advanced about 18 km (11 mi) at an average speed of 280 to 335 km/h (175 to 210 mph),[19] burying the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca under ice and rock, killing more than 20,000 people.

[23][24] The final toll was 67,000 dead and 800,000 homeless, making this the worst earthquake-induced disaster in the Western Hemisphere until the 2010 Haiti earthquake.