Even though we were relatively weak from a stomach dose a couple of days before it's only a 2 day walk from the road to advanced base camp. We used donkeys for the one and only time because we couldn't carry our packs. We skipped past base camp. We went from ABC past the top camp at the col and on up the route in medium heavy snow conditions and back to base camp collecting the stuff from ABC on the way in an 18hour push. I'd say conditions vary from year to year. We did it late in the season - Aug. We were the first party up it in about a fortnight due to bad weather & snow. There was a guide and his client camped on the col waiting for something like 10days - ridiculous! We romped by them, climbed the route and were back down at their tents by the time they were getting up.
The route is about 300m long on 40 - 50deg snow and some ice. There was a 10m vertical section just above the bergshrund/rimaye which was the crux. We were a party of three. I had three goes at leading this, ripping through the snow each time. One of my partners was about half my weight so we swapped lead
After that we took a couple of pitches each to lead. Some of the pitches were 50m runouts - too much snow for adequate ice screw protection and we couldn't be arsed placing stakes or perhaps we hadn't brought any along because we heard there were stakes in place. In places we climbed by planting the shafts of the axes along with some of our arm as a placement. Picks and even adzes were useless. There were preplaced stakes every 50m which are a godsend. We had to find them and dig them out mind you. Instant belay and ab point. So very easy to retreat. However at one belay we couldn't find the stakes and had two people on two dodgy screws with the leader running it out above - brrrrr. We topped out on the ridge, there was no cornice at that time, looked over the other side and then started abing.
2 day walkout from base camp without food starving because we had given too much food to our arriero (donkey driver) for his journey back on the way in and something had eaten our remaining stashed rations during the night.
We had crepes that evening in Huaraz in the French place - nice.
Thats a very typical itenary for 6000m peaks in the Cordillera Blanca - should be on every alpinists list of things to do.
