Peru Coropuna Laguna Pallqa Cliff Mossy Glacier View

#easytravelpost Coropuna (6,377 m) is Peru's second-highest volcano and the road to Pallqa lake runs from the village of Pampacolca (bus Arequipa→Pampacolca, S/35, 5 h). I hired a donkey owner in Pampacolca to carry gear to 4,600 m (S/80/day, cash, agree before leaving) and walked the western ash slope to Laguna Pallqa at 4,700 m—glacial remnant, milky blue, cliff on the east side where moss and ichu mix on the moraine lip. Coropuna's ice cap has lost 40% since 2000; the "glacier view" from Pallqa is now a dirty snowpatch by September, so go in July. No NP fee, this is private altiplano grazing land; the community of Pampacolca collects S/10 if you sign their book. Carry soles. My error: I wore a light fleece in July—night at 4,700 m dropped to -6°C, I shivered in the donkey tent until the owner lent me a vicuña poncho. Always pack a 0°C bag above 4,500 m in the Peruvian south, even in dry season. Pallqa is also a vicuña watching post—they come to drink at dawn. I saw nine. A ranger from the regional government (they do show up on horseback) told me the moss line is receding 10 m a year because the ice that fed it is dying. He didn't charge anything, just asked I not build a fire on the moraine. Is documenting a dying glacier a form of mourning, or just tourism with a longer lens?