Cold Nights, High Peaks

Words and photos from photographer Peter Elliott. 

Cold Nights, High Peaks: A Gear Review from Peru's Cordillera Huayhuash

he Cordillera Huayhuash in Peru is widely considered one of the world's great treks. It's a loop of roughly 130km around a compact range of glaciated peaks, including Yerupajá, Peru's second-highest mountain. The route crosses a string of high passes, several above 5,000m, and the campsites are some of the most beautiful I've ever pitched a tent at: turquoise glacial lakes like Carhuacocha and Jahuacocha, with snow-covered summits glowing pink at dusk and reflected perfectly in still water at dawn.

Most groups hike Huayhuash with donkeys and arrieros carrying the heavy gear. We did it fully self-supported: three of us carrying everything for the whole circuit, including food, shelter and sleep systems. Every item had to justify its weight, and our sleep setups mattered more than anything. Nights were consistently at or below 0°C, and with the sun setting around 6.30pm and not rising until 6.30am, we spent close to twelve hours a day in our tents. That's a long time to be cold.

The Campmeister Deluxe Insulated (25x72) was the standout. With an R-value of 7, it completely shut out the cold coming up from frozen ground, and at 3.5in thick it made rocky, uneven pitches a non-issue. The quilted stretch top is genuinely comfortable and quiet, which counts for a lot when you're lying on it for half the day.

The Lost Ranger 3N1 0° delivered every night. With temperatures never really climbing above freezing, we used the inner and outer bags combined throughout, and slept warm through hard frosts. The pad sleeve is a brilliant touch: the bag stays locked to the mat, so you never slide off on a sloping pitch and there's no cold gap underneath. The water-resistant DownTek fill also coped well with the condensation that's unavoidable in a tent at altitude.

This isn't the lightest setup out there, and on a self-supported trek you feel every gram. But with long, freezing nights at altitude, the trade-off was worth it. Being warm meant we could actually enjoy the cold hours rather than endure them: unzipping the tent to a sky packed with stars, watching the first light hit the summits while still cocooned in our bags, and stepping out to frost-covered meadows and mirror-still lakes. Good sleep meant we woke rested and ready for the next pass, and it let us take in one of the most spectacular mountain ranges on earth at its best. For high, cold, multi-day trekking, I'd take this system again without hesitation.