Mountain Exposures

El Fin

2016-09-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

And so 14 months on the road have come to an end. Here's a few maps of where we travelled and what we visited.

Quilotoa to Canada

2016-09-21T12:04:00.003-07:00

With the trip having come to an end, I figured that I should finish posting the rest of our trip photos from Ecuador.

Enjoy!

Lake Quilotoa, a large volcanic crater filled with water. Similar to Crater Lake NP in California

Beautiful husky at the hostel

Quito

Some churches in Quito

We visited the equator line. Apparently you can balance an egg easier on the equator

The crew from our wonderful volunteer experience in the cloud forest of Intag Valley

Monte the golden retriever

Picking beans

We hit the beans with a stick to separate them from the husk

And used the wind to separate the beans from the waste

Annie

Planting a new crop

Monte helped too

We got a chance to try bee keeping too

And we picked coffee, cleaned and processed it to the final product

Our home in the cloud forest

The Saturday animal market in Otavalo

Lunch in Otavalo

Lots of souvenirs to buy as well

We were sad and excited to be heading home!

Back in Canada the first thing we did was go camping and biking. We sure missed our friends, the trails and these views!

Lima to Banos

2016-08-07T17:31:00.003-07:00

We went to Lima to eat and we weren´t disappointed! Ceviche, ceviche, ceviche and one of the world´s top restaurants, Astrid y Gaston. Total damage at Astid was $125 each for lunch!!!

Best bread and butter EVER

Best ceviche EVER

Best raw seafood, Tiradito, EVER

Best bite of guinea pig EVER

Mero, yummy fish

Best fish EVER

Rabbit

Best steak EVER, no chewing required

Desert mmm, Chilcano. Apple with pisco

Quality control before it goes out. Everthing was made with tweezers for maximum precision.

Desert mmm, ice cream of the weirdest textures

A quick stop in Trujillo on our way to beach town Mancora.

Mancora: a crummy beach town with a mediocre beach and no waves for surfing.

Cuenca, a colonial city in Ecuador and our first stop after leaving Peru.

Volunteering on a cacao farm for a few days. We helped to dry the beans in the sun, built a few hundred metres of trail and built a chicken coop during our time there. Unfortunately we missed the harvest by just one day but we might try another farm near Quito.

Puppy a few months old

Young banana trees

Cacao tree

The day after the harvest

Black and White

Lots of chilling time with the dogs

We went to Puerto Lopez via Guayaquil for whale watching and had a great time. Super fresh and cheap fish, a fascinating fish market on the beach each morning and the whale watching wasn´t half bad either :)

110 kg shark

Whale watching for $15

Galapagos on a budget! Blue footed boobies

In Guayaquil you can see land Iguanas in the main square!

Up next was Banos where we went on the most famous swing in all of Ecuador, naybe even South America! We also went on an awesome bike ride to see a bunch of waterfalls. We passed on the bridge jumping after seeing the frayed climbing ropes they were using!

No thanks!

Such grace

Who knew a swing on the edge of a cliff could be so fun?

Really nice waterfall near Banos

Cusco, The Sacred Valley and Machu Pichu

2016-07-18T10:35:00.002-07:00

Some photos from our time in Cusco, the Sacred Valley, the Salkantay Trek and of course, Machu Pichu.

Breakfast at the San Pedro market

One of these guys tripped and fell flat on his face as he waltzed past us

Plaza de Armas Cusco

Random

There seems to always be a reason to celebrate in Peru

Guinea pig for lunch

Ruins in Pisac

Hairless Peruvian dog

Llama love

Condor at animal sanctuary

We went to a cultural dance show one night in Cusco

Ruins in Ollantaytambo

Impressive stone work

Instead of cutting small stones the Incans preferred to carry large stones from the quarry across the valley, often taking a year or more to transport

The ruins at Moray

The Salineras... evaporating salt from a salty spring in shallow pools to sell abroad

The ruins in Chincero

We embarked on the 4 day Salkantay trek to Machu Pichu and it was the worst hike we did in all of South America because we experienced bad weather during the first two days which robbed us of all views, the trail was heavily eroded by donkey traffic and the last two days are worth skipping by taxi as we did.

Machu Pichu pueblo, the most overpriced place in all of Peru, but at least the setting was nice!

Mandatory trip up to Machu Pichu. It was as beautiful as I expected and busy too.

Not all Incan stonework is that impressive

Apparently they knew how to prevent earthquake damage... maybe not.

Incredible stonework

Most things we know about Machu Pichu are educated guesses. I heard guides provide a number of explanations for this rock.

Ollantaytambo is a pretty place to be based in when in the Sacred Valley. Its one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in Peru, originally built by the Incans.

Before leaving Cusco we went for a walk up to see the Rainbow Mountain

Mt Ausangate as viewed from the end of our hike

Rainbow Mountain

A Stroll on Mt. Vallunaraju

2016-07-02T09:19:00.002-07:00

With two days to go before our flights we decided to have summit beers on Mount Vallunaraju, one of the easier peaks to access and climb in the Cordillera Blanca. We packed, had dinner at a local polleria (chicken and fries basically) and took a taxi into the Llaca Valley. Finding a taxi willing to take us up the horribly unmaintained road at night was a challenge to say the least. The road has deteriorated much since the last time I was there five years ago. It now resembles a riverbed with many large rounded rocks and oilpan munchers. Our taxi driver picked up his friend, a local mountain guide, to help him find the way since it was his first time (and didnt know what he was getting himself into). I had trouble containing myself as the taxi driver swore with each new obstacle he had to maneuver over. Fifteen kilometers and two hours later (11pm) we arrived at the trailhead.

We began a steep hike and scramble up towards moraine camp and the glacier. The route up was straightforward once we found the highway of footprints leading to the summit. Our legs were tired and our breathing laboured as we slowly made our way up. We hadnt had enough rest from our last trip and we were paying for it. We reached the col, about 50m below the summit, moments before sunrise. It was still cold and windy but we took a moment to enjoy the views and scope out the route to the top. Having remembered how easy the climb was five years ago, we didnt bother to bring an ice screw or picket. Things looks different now, with an icy traverse and a bit of easy ice climbing to gain the ridge. We decided to have a look, but I turned around on the exposed icy traverse after the ice settled with a thump and I realized the risks werent worth the reward. Even though I knew soloing to the top was within my ability, theres always the mental discussion of risk-reward and self preservation usually wins out. I attempted a new line on the other side of the ridge where there was no exposure but found deep unconsolidated slow over crevasses and aborted after my leg poked through twice. We consoled ourselves with what we had achieved, I had my ice cold ~~summit~~ col beer, some oreos, sausage and cheese and began the descent shortly after 7am. We saw another group coming up about an hour later. The guide was in the front, and the three clowns were following a few footsteps behind. They didnt bother keeping the rope stretched out for safety. We saw them coming up a small slope and they appeared to be on all fours, crawling, with the guide helping to pull them up. Such is the nature of mountain guiding in the Cordillera Blanca. We ended up riding back to Huaraz with them after waiting all afternoon for them to descend.

The Milky Way above Huaraz

Eagerly awaiting the first warm rays of sunlight

We reached the col moments before sunrise. The route to the top traverses on the right, climbs some ice to the ridge and then the summit is not far away.

Ocshapalca and Ranrapalca

Taking a break on the way down

We found some cool ice caves to explore at the foot of the Vallunaraju glacier

Surreal beauty

Huayhuash Alpine Circuit

2016-06-30T15:05:00.002-07:00

The Huayhuash Alpine Circuit is an 8 day mountaineering adventure in the heart of the remote Huayhuash mountains of Peru. With mega elevaton gain each day, scrambling and a glacier crux, this is a suffer fest outing for those looking for that sort of thing. The Huayhash Alpine Circuit was the second hardest thing Ive ever done in my life. That hardest thing was when I did it five years ago without enough food. This is a recap of our experience on it.

See PDF of route description by Jeremy Frimer

Day 1 - The Approach

We left Huaraz on the 5am bus and arrived at the trailhead in Llamac by about 930 in the morning. We had to pay 20 soles each to enter the town while still on the bus... sneaky locals. After getting our bearings, we started up the trail towards a pass 950m above us. The going was hot and dry, and we were loaded down with food for 9 days. Water was scarce after the first hour and we reached the pass at 4400m quite parched. The first views of Rondoy, Jirishanca, El Toro, and Yerupaja literally took our breaths away, but Im sure Sorin already felt that way from having spent only 2 days acclimatizing. We descended into the valley towards Laguna Jauacocha and set up camp between Jauacocha and Solteracocha. We were not charged to pass through the checkpoint but we were booking it.

Ten minutes into the ordeal

Sorins cheese and salami rations for the next 8 days. 800g cheese and 1.5 feet of salami.

First good views of the day

Looking down valley

The view from our first camp

Day 2 - Sambuya Pass

We left camp at a leisurely 9am after having our fill of chocolate oatmeal and trailmix. We began climbing towards the head of the valley and angled North towards Sambuya Pass (4750m). The views of Rondoy, Jirishanca, El Toro,Yerupaja and the lakes opened up the more we climbed. A few hours later we reached the windy col, surveyed the views, had a snack and continued traversing to another minor pass before dropping into an adjacent valley. We descended to the valley bottom (4220m) for lunch and scoped out the climb to Laguna Garagocha. Two hours later we pitched the tent at 4500m below the face of Peak 5090. We ran into a couple from Colorado who had aborted their alpine circuit due to a faulty water filter and had a nice chat about tomorrows crux.

Climbing out of the valley towards Sambuya Pass

Still full of energy

Approaching the pass

Descending into the Rondoy Valley

Damn cows wouldnt let us eat lunch in peace

Our camp below Peak 5090

Day 3 - Garagocha Col

We woke up early and got going by 730am. The beta we got came in helpful as we negotiated cliffs towards Garagocha Col (4910m). There were the occasional cairns to follow but it was mostly straight forward route finding. We soloed an unprotectable pitch at 5.3 and traversed left on a narrow ledge to reach the col. On the other side, we were surprised not to find any anchor to rappel from (as described in the guide). I made a chockstone anchor in a crack (as we werent carrying any rock gear), threw some cord around it and gave Sorin a belay as he down climbed. I then lowered the packs on a Munter hitch, pulled the anchor and down climbed to him. We scree surfed and hiked down to the valley bottom for incredible views from Laguna Mitochocha (4230m). We had some lunch and then continued up to the second pass of the day at 4740m. After some scrambling up to the pass, we descended down the other side and made camp at Laguna Alcaycocha (4670m). At this point we were two hours behind schedule but it was nearing dark and we were exhausted.

After negotiating the first cliffs

Working our way up to the col

Sorin climbing the 5.3 pitch (20m)

The ledge we traversed to the col

We reached the notch

Scree surfing down to the valley bottom

Lunch spot

Can you spot Sorin as we climb up to the next pass

Can you still spot him

Scrambling up to the pass

The view from where we came

Day 4 - Siula Pass

Another long long day of hiking. I accidentally climbed to the wrong col, but luckily it only cost us 50m of climbing as we were able to sidehill to the correct one. The views today on the Eastern side of the range were dramatic! The last pass of the day with a 700m climb to 4834m was pure suffering. We made a long descend to Laguna Carnicero and contoured to our camp above a waterfall and behind some rocks. It was dark by the time we got to camp.

Our camp

Oops, wrong pass

Traversing to the right pass 50m below us

This was the right one

Epic views down valley

Jirishanca and Jirishanca Chico

The intimidating SE face of Jirishanca

First time we washed our feet in days

Jirishanca is a mountaineers mountain

Suffering up to the pass

Carnicero Lake below

Day 5 - Trapecio Pass

We began the day nice and early in anticipation for our first glacier crossing at Trapecio Pass (5110m). These locals who were showing some gringos the way up tried to charge us 20 Soles near the pass but we managed to smooth talk our way out of it. After a loose and sketchy descent on rock we gained the glacier and easily crossed it to reach rock slabs. We descended rock slabs for days, followed by a lateral moraine to make camp at Laguna Jurau (4343m).

Our camp in the field below

The mighty Trapecio

Gringos near the pass

The glacier we had to cross

Nothing crazy, just a flat expanse of ice with no real crevasses to speak of

A lunch with a view!

Rock slab descent

Day 6 - Siula Grande and Touching the Void

Today was another suffer fest with lots of climbing. Im pretty sure the moraine wall burst and the entire valley was flooded with boulders since I last passed through here 5 years ago. Good bye Joe Simpsons base camp under Siula Grande in Touching the Void!

View from camp

Looking at yesterdays route

Where in this rubble field is Joe Simpsons base camp

Siula Grande in the clouds

We couldnt see much so we decided against the ridge traverse and just dropped down into the next valley

On the lateral moraine

This is what happens to people who do the alpine circuit

Camp on our 6th night

This was the second day of cloudy and rainy weather

Thankfully it cleared up towards the morning

Day 7 - Rasac Col

Today was the real crux of the alpine circuit. We started early to beautiful weather but really cold temperatures. My shoes were wet from the day before and my feet were so cold that I had to use a hot water bottle to get the feeling back in my toes. We climbed a moraine to a boulder field below the Seria glacier. The view from a distance showed many crevasses, more than I remembered from 5 years ago, and we spent some time deciding on a possible way through. The route was threatened by seracs overhead and we decided that the only reasonable thing to do was minimize our exposure time. We tied in and booked it up the glacier, passing crevasses that were filled in with rock and ice debris. There were two exciting bridges we had to cross, both no wider than a foot but seemingly well supported from below. We spotted some faint footsteps near the top and aimed for them. Another rope length and wed be on flat ground again. I got Sorin on the sharp end since he had proper mountaineering boots and crampons for the ice that guarded the way. I seconded up as he body belayed me from behind a crevasse wall. We made a quick visit to Rasac Col for photos and then traversed across to the notch to begin the descent. The descent was straight forward using the guides photos and description. We followed some cairns and made a short 4th class down climb. Then we hiked down the moraine and valley floor for hours to reach our camp from day one. Again, we passed through without stopping and nobody asked us to pay anything at the checkpoint. Moments later Sorin noticed we had somebody on our tails, so we hightailed it down the trail and ended up hiking almost three more hours and camping on an exposed pass for peace of mind. It was an 11 hour day. We made dinner but both passed out without remembering to eat it. We woke up at midnight with our headlamps still on and decided to finish what we had started. We reluctantly ate our pasta and promptly passed out.

The morning of the crux day

Up and up the lateral moraine

View down valley

Seria Glacier ahead

The glacier we had to cross in detail

Evidence of a lot of rock and ice fall on this route

A foot wide bridge that we crossed

Rasac Pass

Day 8 - Back to Civilization

Not much, we hiked down for an hour and a half from the pass and caught the 11am bus to Huaraz. It was the fiesta of San Pedro so the entire town was drunk at 10am when we arrived. As usual, the bus driver drove like a maniac down terribly exposed gravel roads. Five hours later we arrived in Huaraz and dined on a mega burger and steak at La Brasa Roja.

Alpamayo Trek and Hatun Machay Climbing

2016-06-17T18:35:00.002-07:00

I attempted this trek five years ago with Andrew but severe food poisoning turned me around after day two. This is the hardest trek in the Cordillera Blanca with 5 passes over 4500 m and at least 5 days of hiking plus optional side trips. My partner bailed due to illness and I decided to head out alone. I ended up meeting a lot of people on the trail.

Day 1

Day 2

Condors

Santa Cruz

One of the five passes

Alpamayo

Day 3 - Alpamayo

5000 m side trip into the so called Santa Cruz Sanctuary a hundred metres below the glaciers

Day 4 - Another pass, on the right!

Day 5 - Extremely windy campsite and pass

The 8 hour bus ride back to Huaraz was beautiful

After a rest day in Huaraz I headed to Hatun Machay with Paul to do some climbing. In two days we managed to get on all the classics graded 5.11 and under. There were only 5 other climbers there and it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. The routes were just as fun and challenging as I remembered them from 5 years ago.

Huacachina to Huaraz

2016-06-10T12:47:00.001-07:00

Huacachina, a desert oasis just south of Lima

The view from the top of a sand dune

Went for a rip in the dune buggy and had my hand at sandboarding

The sunset among the dunes was gorgeous

I arrived in Huaraz for a few weeks of hiking and was met with celebrations in the streets. Little did I remember that this sort of thing happens every day in Huaraz

A little acclimatization hike to Laguna Churup

Laguna Churup

I met a couple of hikers at the hostel and we hiked the four day Santa Cruz trek.

Day 1, entering the Santa Cruz valley

A dip in the glacial river

Day 2

Excited to have reached this lake after 2 hours of bushwacking

Day 3

Punta Union, the highest point of our hike

The drive back to Huaraz on day 4 was outstanding. There were dozens of hairpin turns as the road climbed to 4700m and then backdown to 2700m.

The beautiful Llanganuco Valley

Huascaran, highest mountain in Peru

Huascaran was also responsible for killing 25,000 people in 1970 when a large earthquake sent thousands of tonnes of ice and granite down from its heights. This is the national cemetery where 25,000 people lay undisturbed under 8-12m of rubble.

This original Swiss style cemetery is ironically all that remained after the landslide

The museum in Huaraz

Mummy discovered in the area

Elongated skulls

Rurrenabaque to Arequipa

2016-05-30T19:01:00.002-07:00

We travelled 18 hours overland on the most terrifying road I´ve ever experienced to read the jungle town of Rurrenabaque in the Bolivian Amazon.

We went on a three day jungle tour where we learned about medicinal plants, a bit of jungle survival, fished and went bushwacking.

We went on a three day trip into the jungle

It was three hours up the river Beni to our primitive jungle camp

About 8 cm across!

Bigger than it looks. Notice the fly sitting on its wing

This is a parasitic tree that grows around another tree and eventually kills its host

Our jungle cook made incredible food using just a campfire

Our camp complete with mosquito netting because they were hungry from gringo blood

Next up was the Pampas tour out of Rurrenabaque, three days of relaxing, fishing for pirhannas, swimming with pink river dolphins and generally just lazing about.

Caiman

Capybara

Lots of turtles

Squirrel monkey

Cheeky little monkey stole our lunch

Monkey skull

Lazying about in the riverside hammocks

We went looking for snakes

After a while we stumbled upon this 2m long boa constrictor

These are the pampas (grasslands) in the Amazon

Howler monkey

Fried pirhannas for dinner

Copacabana on the day of Corpus Cristi

Who needs insurance when you can get your car blessed

The Corpus Cristi procession

Copacabana as seen from the boat to Isla del Sol

We took a boat to the Isla del Sol

Hiked around all day with some friends to see the island

A table used to make human sacrifices

The view from the hostel on Isla del Sol

Arequipa, possibly the most beautiful city in Peru. Food, history and architecture.

Mercado

Some church

Cathedral with volcanoes in the background

Colonial house

I visited the famous Santa Catalina Monastery where you can wander around for hours exploring the nuns living quarters

Walking in Arequipa

Wandering the streets of Arequipa in the evening

The Plaza de Armas in Arequipa

Cathedral

El Choro Trek to La Senda Verde

2016-05-10T09:19:00.001-07:00

We returned from the Illampu Circuit feeling exhausted both physically and mentally. A week of trekking at 4000m left our backs and legs sore, and the perceived threat of hostility from the locals wore heavy on our minds. The hike was great except for two sour encounters with locals who demanded money.

We returned to La Paz for two days of R&R and eagerly began packing for the Choro Trek, a three day hike, mostly downhill, from 4700m to about 1200m.

The start of El Choro trek started at 4700m at the high point of the highway from La Paz to the Yungas

The valley we descended for the next three days

Incredible Incan road building that has survived hundreds of years. It was incredible to see the road cut into the cliffs near the pass, likely built using huge amounts of labour and primitive tools

Incan pavement

Small villages along the way

This must have taken a lot of effort to build

Small shurbs gave way to taller bushes and small trees as we descended

Then it began hot and humid all of a sudden

The trail became more narrow, large butterflies surrounded us and we felt like we were entering a new world

A nice waterfall on the second day

The trek ended near Coroico, an area with small banana, coca and coffee plantations

We got a cab from the end of the trail to La Senda Verde, a sanctuary for animals that have been rescued from the illegal trade of exotic animals. There are over 500 animals in their care, cared for by a dedicated group of international volunteers as well as over a dozen Bolivian employees. We had an incredible time interacting with and learning about these exotic animals from the Bolivian Amazon. By the end of our two week stay, we felt that La Senda Verde was a sanctuary for weary travellers too. We were thoroughly refreshed and disconnected from the hectic nature of backpacking. We met so many incredible people from the four corners of the world and had a great time getting to kow them :)

The spectacled bear (Andean bear)

One of the many tortoises

Capy the Capybara, the largest rodent in the world. She´s about the size of a mid-sized dog with large yellow beaver teeth

Coati

Spider monkies love lounging and cuddling

Cat enjoying a mokey cuddle sesh

This little spider monkey isn´t camera shy

Cat with Olivia, her baby, and another spider monkey

The capuchin monkeys were the stars of the show. These small monkeys have the intelligence and curiosity of 6-8 year olds and incredibly mischievous.

Caiman

I love how spider monkeys can effortlessly hang from their tails...

Macaw

Margay

Cat with Aruma, the spectacled bear

Squirrel monkey

Me with two curious squirrel monkeys

Practically all the animals at LSV went crazy for peanuts, and this squirrel monkey was no exception

Maaike, Cat and the macaw enclosure

Sam the beautiful toucan

He would eat fruit from your hand so gently

Owl monkey

Beni Titi monkey

Owl monkey

Maaike enjoying some quality time with Olivia and her baby

Ciara with three-way monkey cuddling action

Just monkeying around

Cat and Pimienta (Pepper)

Albifrons monkey, a type of Capuchin monkey. Apparently it is the smartest of the Capuchin species

Caroline and an Albifrons monkey in the Capuchins area

Balu, a playful Howler monkey. This is apprently the loudest mammal and its howl can be heard up to 5 km away. Once the alpha starts howling the rest of the pack joins in. Howling occurs in the morning and evening to signal feeding and sleep times, at least at LSV where they have no predators.

Mad spider monkey cuddle sesh and butt rubbing

Ashlee and her favourite Albifrons monkey, the trouble maker

Part of the group of volunteers

Pablito, ladies man and Tinto photobombing

A group shot from inside the restaurant. We´ll miss you all :)

The Illampu Circuit

2016-04-19T08:43:00.003-07:00

We got dropped off the highway at 4000 meters to avoid having to start in Sorata at 2700m. Just lifting our backpacks was difficult; hard to breathe at this elevation.

Illampu 6300m. As we passed several villages we were asked for money to which we pretended that we didn´t understand. We just kept telling them where were going and asking for directions, completely ignoring their requests.

Sunset view of Lake Titicaca and a few farms far away. The going was so hard that we considered bailing. We could hardly walk 2 km a hour.

Wet terrain near Laguna San Francisco

Breathing is so hard

Climbed up a dusty 200 meter hill and collapsed at the top even though we took breaks ever 30 steps.

Small mountain village; each property divided by rock walls. They raise llamas, potatoes and quinoa to survive

Valley leading to Cocoyo, a small mining town.We were greeted by drunk miners requesting a "passage fee" of 200 Bolivianos (approx $40). Cat started crying so they let us off with just a tenth of that.

We were thoroughly freaked out by that encounter so we vowed to push on to the next pass. We had planned to save it for the next day but at this point we wanted to get as far away as possible. So we climbed 1000m at the end of our day, making it a 12 hour day. Here´s Cat looking a bit exhausted and hangry after the climb.

On our way up the pass a saw a large animal in the fading light. I couldnt tell what it was at first, but then concluded that it must be a wild pig based on its snout and general shape. Moments later I heard a squeal next to me on the trail, and looking over I saw mama and baby pig literally pigging out on the carcass of a cow. This thoroughly freaked me out for the rest of the night and explains why we camped at the cold and windy pass near 4700m. I couldn´t fall asleep for hours as I waited for the ravenous pigs to devour our bodies in the dead of the night. The entire valley had been excavated by these pigs and I had reason to believe that they ventured as high as the pass to find food. Not a comforting thought as I tried to fall asleep.

Final pass on the circuit! So wasted.

The Himalaya in disguise

Above the clouds at the final pass. Still 23 km, 2000 meters downhill still to go, but feeling happy!

Sucre to La Paz

2016-04-19T08:32:00.001-07:00

Cute kid on the ride to Sucre

His mom walked onto the bus with two parrots on her shoulders

We loved this fruit juice and salad market in Sucre

You wouldn´t think that this is Bolvia.

She looks like she loves her job... Unlike me, she could sleep on the job and not get fired.

Sunset views in Sucre.

Welcome to La Paz, the craziest, most chaotic, and indeed interesting city I have ever visited.

Where you can buy a llama fetus in the market to bury under your new home to appease the Gods

Crazy busy and colourful everywhere

The slums are built on the sides of the hill. Building codes are unheard of and slope stability is a problem you deal with after the fact

Rich and poor

The central cathedral

Your friendly neighbourhood pet store in the market

The 6000m+ Illimani in the background

We rode the Death Road (ie. Worlds Most Dangerous Road) which, when it still had vehicular traffic, saw about 300 deaths a year from cars and buses falling over the edge. Unfortunately during our bike ride, one of our fellow riders saw his demise when he rode off the cliff in possibly the worst spot he could find: a sheer drop of 300 meters with no vegetation to arrest his fall. Our condolences to his friends and family. We were deeply moved by his accident which happened so close to us (I was the second rider behind him).

You begin the ride at La Cumbre, The Summit, near 4700m and follow pavement for some 16km downhill.

The site of the accident. Rescue gear consisted of a few carabiners, an old rope and a harness. I had to show them how to tie the know and rappel on a Munter hitch since they had no descender or ascender. Bringing the rescuer back up was a hand over hand affair for the people up top. Sketchy!

But the show went on... somehow. It started to rain and thunder and based on our experience with Bolivian standards of safety, we werent surprised that this posed no issue for the company operating our tour.

We finished the ride in a tropical world of coffee, coca leaf and other plantations.

Next we visited Tiwanaku with possibly the worst guide in La Paz. Listening to him talk about the ruins and its history was like listening to someone recite Pi to 9E99 digits. I don´t think anyone tipped him.

On our way back from the ruins we stopped in El Alto, the city above La Paz, which itself looks like a war zone and in ruins. It´s worth driving through this place just for the shock factor. It´s sad that so many people live like this. But they had Cholitas wrestling!

There´s nothing like seeing two indigenous women beating the $%&? out of each other. Especially that Cat has a grudge against them since theyve been rude and refused to sell us produce on numerous occasions.

Pure entertainment.

They loved the gringos too. At one point a gringo with a mask comes on stage and takes part in the mayhem.

Salar de Uyuni to Potosi

2016-04-03T18:09:00.001-07:00

One of the highlights of our South American trip has been the 3-day 4x4 trip from San Pedro de Atacama to Uyuni, Bolivia. The trip started at 2500m in San Pedro and quickly climbed up to a volcanic plateau at 4000m.

Welcome to Bolivia

We traveled to numerous lakes that featured surreal colours and flamingos, a geyser field, and the worlds largest salt flat... the Salar de Uyuni. The nights were cold and the altitude made it hard to sleep--we spent the first night at 4400m and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest all night long.

We formed groups of six and got into these old Toyota Landcruisers. There must have been over 50 Landcruisers going our way, all laden with tourists coming to Bolivia.

We saw dozens of high altitude lakes and volcanoes along the way, to the point that they became less impressive with each day.

Amazing hot spring on day one, but unfortunately the UV was maxed out and we couldn´t dip for too long

A thermal area to rival small parts of Yellowstone NP... and no guardrails. The driver told us of one tourist that was pushed into a bubbling mudpot by a creature possed by the devil, el Duende.

We made a bunch of new friends: Frederico, Silas, Sara, Sofie and Joel

Our first night was spent in the middle of nowhere at this hostel made for the fledging Uyuni 4x4 tour industry. It was cold and hard to breathe at 4400m that night. I barely got any sleep... and I saw a Duende when I went to the bathroom. Scary!

Arbol de Piedra

Freestyling in the desert

Llamas!

Growing quinoa

The second night was spent in a hotel made from salt which was a peculiar sight.

On our last day we ventured out onto the Salar de Uyuni to catch the sunrise and visit the Isla Incahuasi, an oasis of life among an otherwise dead expanse of salt.

Our new friends: Frederico, Silas, Sara, Joel and Sofie

Isla Incahuasi. Apprenately giant hummingbirds frequent this place during the spring cactus bloom

Can you spot the Landcruisers?

Cat is so lovable even the llama loves her. (the tip jar hanging off its neck is just out of view... smart Llama)

2001: A Chocolate Odyssey

The Dakar passes through here and Argentina. Incredible landscapes and roads in Bolivia (if you have 4x4 and high clearance)

Everything is made from salt bricks

The train cemetry in Uyuni

We travelled to Potosi, home of Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain), a mountain that has been mined for over 400 years. An estimated 8 million indigineous slaves are estimated to have died from mining accidents and poisonous working conditions (mercury poisoning and silicosis of the lungs). We paid a visit to one of the many mines thats still operating and witnessed working conditions that have changed little since colonial times.

Casa de la Moneda, the former mint where they made silver coins

Buying some dynamite for the miners

A visit to the concentrator plant

Ball mills

Froth flotation

Found an exciting job in the mining sector! Life expectancy... 15 years before silicosis.

Miners pulling a cart of ore weighing 1000kg

Notice the ball of coca leaves in his cheek. They dont bring food down into the mine so they use the stimulant to suppress hunger and fatigue. We had a go at pulling and pushing the cart and it wasn´t hard for us four guys... for approximately 20 meters before we ran out of breath at the 4000m altitude.

Excellent mine shaft stabilization efforts

Climbing up from one shaft to another was terrifying on old broken ladders and crawling up through a tight passage. Im not normally claustrophobic when caving but this had by heart racing. The mask also made it hard to breathe which probably also contributed to the fear of suffocating in the tight passage.

El Tio, the uncle... ie the devil who the miners make offerings to underground. They believe that underground is the realm of the devil and thus they need to appease him with gifts of alcohol and coca leaves.

Were finally out... so happy to see the light of day again.

A view of Potosi from the mine

Cerro Rico, a mountian transformed by mining for over 400 years

Sights around Potosi

La Casona, the nicest hostel weve ever stayed at.

A restaurant built for two... literally

We visited a nun convent in Potosi

Ojo del Inca hot spring

Valparaiso to San Pedro de Atacama

2016-04-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

After several weeks of hiking in Pucon with my dad we headed North, finally leaving Patagonia after about three month of incredible scenery.

A $20 night bus got us to Valparaiso, port city and cultural capital of Chile.

Next we headed to Santiago where we spent two days walking around and looking at a few museums. The smog was horrible and visibility was limited to a few kilometers.

Next we travelled to San Pedro de Atacama, the Northern tourist hub of Chile. We broke up the 24 hour bus ride with a stop in the coastal town of Bahia Inglesa.

The scenery surrounding San Pedro de Atacama reminded us of Death Valley NP in the US. Salt flats, curious shapes eroded by water and layers folded and upturned by tectonic forces.

We visited the Chuquicamata copper mine in nearby Calama. This is the second largest open pit mine in the world according to Wikipedia with a depth of 1000m, length of 5000m and width of 3000m. Theyve been digging this hole for about a hundred years and they have the piles of waste rock to prove it. Only 0.5 to 1% of the ore thats mined is of any value (ie. copper).

The mountains of waste rock finally ate up the miners village

Size matters

Bariloche to Pucon

2016-03-12T05:42:00.000-08:00

Weird trees with orange bark

Argentine Lakes District

San Martin de los Andes

The start of the Villarrica Traverse in Pucon, Chile

The Araucaria tree, otherwise known as the Monkey Puzzle tree

We were treated to a wonderful sunset on our first night

A 30 second exposure reveals the glow from this active volcano

Pehoehoe flow

So much lava...

Lava tube

Volcan Lanin

Pinion nuts from the Araucaria tree. Excellent when roasted

Near camp on our third night

Basalt columns on day four

Laguna Azul, created when lava dammed a stream

Fishing using dental floss and a stick, MacGyver style

An oasis in the desert

Thanks for the Kindle Sorin... this will make travelling more entertaining

Of course, lamb bbq after a long trek made using Romanian fire tending techniques

Ojos de Caburgua near Pucon

Amazing tree on the three day Huerquehue NP hike to remote hot springs

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A night shot at the Rio Blanco hot springs

Puerto Varas to El Bolson

2016-02-22T06:35:00.003-08:00

We stopped in Puerto Varas for one night between trips.

That night we hiked up towards the cabin on Volcan Puyuhue

Volcan Puyuhue last erupted in 2011 spewing lava out from its NW flank

Heading up a moraine to the volcanoes summit

Summit crater

Black lava flow and fierce winds causing dust tornados to rip across the plateau

It was a tough hike up loose volcanic earth to the summit!

The landscape was starkly desolate and lifeless. Water was scarce for most of the hike

Approaching the lava flow (chunky obsidian like rock) and our campsite

Some strong winds blasted through our unsheltered camp that night covering everything in volcanic ash, inside and outside the tent

Our worst fear materialized the next day. Rain, wind and complete whiteout. We spent a day in the tent waiting for better weather but then came out in the fog and wind the next day. We used the compass to find the trail that traverses the volcano and made it out without a problem. The terrain was surprisingly complex due to water erosion in the soft soil.

Relieved to make it out, we decided to spend the night in this cabin where we met some guys from Victoria

Next, we headed to Bariloch where we started the 5-day Nahuel Huapi traverse

Refugio Frey on day one

Refugio Jakob on day two

The third day was the most challenging as it involved some class III scrambling to gain a ridge

But the high level route was scenic throughout

Traversed from one notch in the ridge to another

Dropped down a loose narrow valley and climbed up this switchbacked path to the third refugio near Laguna Negra

Laguna Negra

Monte Tronador in the background

The last day had a tough climb to 2500m on steep talus

The beautiful multi-armed lake near Bariloche

Next stop, El Bolson for rest and our next hike

This place has a thriving artesenal market thanks to the resident hippie population that moved here from Buenos Aires in the 70s

We went on a little three day hike near El Bolson

Found some blackberries...

Made some jam and juice

Hippie cabins up in the woods...

In some spectacular locations

Chaiten to Cochamo

2016-02-09T11:23:00.005-08:00

Picked up some salmon and made a decent meal at this nice hostel... before the power went out in Chaiten.

Luxurious rainforest near Chaiten...

with flowers...

and nice waterfalls...

and ancient Alerce trees

Then we hopped on a five hour ferry to Hornopiren where we met up with 3 old travel buddies we met weeks before

The harbour at Hornopiren

I need to learn how to do this

Campsite views over the ocean

East towards the mountains

Theres always a reason to celebrate in South America... and we happened to arrive in time for one.

Out on a 3 day kayaking trip we saw a lot of wildlife including seals, dolphins, penguins and birds.

Volcan Hornopiren

Stopped for lunch and boiled a few pots of fresh mussels with wild garlic

We landed on a small island with a penguin colony

Penguin island

We kayaked into a fjord on our second day

Sunet from camp on our second night

Tired on the return trip... 8 hours of paddling in a straight line. We had to stop for a few hours when the winds were the strongest.

Arriving in Hornopiren around sunset

Next we took a bus to the island of Chiloe to check out a large penguin colony and eat lots of food

The boat tours to the penguins were cancelled because of high winds but luckily we had our tent and spent the night

Cat paparazzi

The penguins!

Sea lion

Famous Chilote food: Curanto

Chiloe is also famous for its intricate wooden churches

As fresh as it gets

Creative way of making more real estate

Next we went to Cochamo for a few days to explore the Yosemite of South America

Big granite

Very big

Lakes, volcanoes and lots of granite

Really fun waterslide near camp... the highlight of my Cochamo trip!

El Chalten to La Junta

2016-01-26T05:51:00.001-08:00

It´s been a while since we´ve had internet access and a lot has happened:

Welcome to trekking and climbing capital of South America

Exploring the other side from Laguna Torre

To get to this view of Cerro Torre and the glacier

In front of Laguna Torre

From Mirador Maestri... king of alpine bolting

Cerro Torre!

Fitz Roy at sunrise

The approach... one day

At Lagune de Los Tres on a fine day

We left El Chalten and began hiking towards Chile via a remote border crossing

Still hiking towards the border, but looking back at Fitz Roy

Sweet campsite on our first night

To finish the border crossing we took a 2 hour boat ride across Lago O´Higgins

Villa O´Higgins is at the end of the Carretera Austral, a 1200km dirt road in Chile

After several hours we managed to hitchhike out of Villa O´Higgins which has one bus per week. This was the start of a great adventure. We got picked up by a Chilean family on vacation and spent the next three days together touring Northward. One of our stops was this farmstay where we got to experience an authentic ranchero lifestyle...

Complete with horse rides...

Cordero asado (Patagonian lamb bbq)...

Fishing...

And a boat ride to the Capilla Marmol...

Where we saw these interesting marble formations against the glacial hue of Lago General Carrera.

They also dropped us off at the start of our 3 day trek at Cerro Castillo.

Day two at the pass

Lots of glaciers of day 2

From the second camp

We hiked up even higher for closer views

On the third day, another pass, then a knee jarring descent of over 1000m

Just north of Coyhaique

Sometimes hitchhiking looks like this for hours

Other times you have to camp next to the road when night falls

A quick stop in Puyuhuapui for salmon, a micro brew and kayaking.

Alfombras... a hand made wool carpet shop started by German settlers in the 40s

Family restaurant

They´re still using the original equipment here... 9 hours per rug!

Just out for a rip...

Near La Junta... awaiting our next ride North

To be continued

Ushuaia to El Chalten

2016-01-06T08:16:00.000-08:00

We finally arrived in Punta Arenas after three flights

Reconstruction of the Victoria, first ship to sail around the world and through Magellan´s Straight

We took a bus South to Ushuaia and got on the Sierra Valdivieso trek

It´s a wilderness trek with no markings or paths to follow

Endless beaver dams to cross and wet ground to navigate

Spent a cold night up here all by ourselves hoping for good weather for tomorrow´s pass

Ushuaia, Argentina

Another view of Ushuaia, world´s most Southern city

We hiked the W trek in the Torres del Paine

The fierce wind gusts knocked us off balance and picked up lake water

But the views were worth the effort

Grey Glacier

Caiguen in front of Los Cuernos

Conger eel soup

Puerto Natales

Patagonian lamb bbq

We decided to splurge $100 to see this massive glacier regualrly calve into the lake

Perito Moreno glacier

Argentina has the best deserts at their bakeries

By our campsite in El Calafate

Trekking in Patagonia sometimes has tyrolean traverses. This was on the adventurous and scenic Huemules Circuit.

And glacier crossings

And views of continental ice caps. This is the only trek in El Chalten that lets you see the ice field.

Mind boggling view from the Paso del Viento on the Huemules Circuit

Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy, among other towers

Part Two: South America

2015-12-08T11:53:00.001-08:00

After five months on the road in the Western USA we've returned to Calgary to pack for our next adventure: South America. Thanks to our friends for hosting us during our time in Calgary :)

USA was an incredibly easy place to travel to by car. There's loads of free camping, food and gas was cheap and the sights were incredible.

The next part of our trip won't be quite as easy but I'm sure that will be part of its charm. We fly to Punta Arenas in Patagonia and generally head North to Quito, Ecuador.

Tour de Hot Springs

2015-11-25T18:01:00.002-08:00

What better way to wrap up our five month long road trip than to visit every hot spring on our way back home?

Our first stop was Meadow Hot Springs, 2 hours south of Salt Lake City on the I-15. This is my new favourite: deep, comfortably hot, clean water, great views and easy access.

This is the best of the three pools at Meadow. To find it head South of the first parking lot for about 100m.

Getting my splash on

Another pool at Meadow. This one is the coldest of the three and has multiple types of fish swimming in it.

Up next were the Goldbug hot springs in Idaho. A storm blew through and turned the I-15 into mush. We saw a couple of fresh accidents as we drove north of Salt Lake City. We had a scary moment where the highway went from clean to unplowed all of a sudden. We were fine but there were a few cars in the ditch at that spot. We spent the night at a motel in Challis as the mercury dropped below -20C and we were tired of roughing it. The next morning we hiked to the hot springs and met some British Columbians hiking out with their camping gear. I wondered if they just slept in the hot water given the overnight temps. After an hour hiking uphill through this barren valley we got to the steaming hot springs gushing out of the ground near a stream. There were waterfalls, an infinity pool and even a natural shower... and the views down the valley were great.

Straight from the source!

Our last stop was the Renova hot springs near Butte, Montana. We found these roadside hot springs without any trouble but unfortunately the water was unbearably hot. I couldn't keep my foot in for more than a few seconds without feeling burned. We tried to boil some eggs in the bubbling water but that didn't work either. This would be a good soak when the river's water level is a bit higher.

Renova hot springs: too hot for a soak but too cool for cooking

Climbing at Red Rocks

2015-11-25T17:56:00.000-08:00

We ran out of things to do so we decided to head South to Las Vegas and check out the rock climbing at Red Rocks. We spent the first three days cragging in the Black Corridor, Stratocaster, Magic Bus, Dog Wall and The Gallery. Huecos, face climbing, overhanging jugs, crack, corner, roofs... this place had it all! We also really enjoyed climbing the Great Red Book 5.8 2p, and Frogland 5.8 6p. We really want to come back and try some of the longer and harder routes like Epinephrine and Dream of Wild Turkeys.

Cat posing at the Gallery on a fine November morning

Cat's Minion

A pretty tough 5.11b that I tried in the Stratocaster area. The hard part was getting past the first two bolts which are on overhanging terrain.

Cragging in the Black Corridor area.

Red Rocks has Joshua Trees too!

The second pitch of Great Red Book 5.8. You climb in the corner until you're forced to move onto the face.

Distant view of Great Red Book

P1 of Frogland (5.8 6p) follows the corner with face climbing and hand crack goodness.

Successfully completed Frogland. Gotta come back and do the longer classic routes on the wall behind me!

Cut Loose 5.11a

We also spent a rest day in Las Vegas, gambling, eating and going to a show. Staying at a casino hotel was extraordinarily cheap ($35) and their $7 buffet had over 30 dishes to choose from.

We got a hotel room one night and had an excellent view of the city of AC's

Finishing off my 3000 calorie buffet lunch with some delectable delights.

All you can stuff down your throat for only $7!

The Bellagio

I'm particularly proud of my "beginner's luck" having turned $5 into over $30 in a matter of 5 minutes on the slot machines. Thanks to my coach (cleaning lady) who walked me through playing since it was my first time!

Jackie. my gambling coach and cleaning lady, led me to victory against the titans of Las Vegas Blvd.

That's right, I turned $5 into $30 and got my original investment back too. Time to retire from this foolishness.

Climbing in St. George

2015-11-25T17:36:00.000-08:00

Vlad and Bevin showed us this cheap Mexican place in Hurricane, Utah called Alberto's and it quickly became our go-to whenever we passed though, to or from Zion. A deliciously large burrito for $5 is never a bad thing.

Yum yum

There's a ton of crags in St. George and our favourite one we climbed at was the Chuckawalla wall. There's a high concentration of climbs in the 10's and 11's on huecos. I challenged myself on an 11b and took a few falls up high but managed to finish the route in good style.

Chuckawalla Wall

We tried some multi pitch sport climbs on the Prophecy wall as well. It was cruisy climbing and Cat certainly enjoyed it.

Prophecy Wall. Fun sport climbing on desert varnish edges

Zion National Park

2015-11-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

We met up with Vlad and Bevin to do some hiking and climbing in Zion. The park is known for its incredible hikes, slot canyons and sandstone climbing.

Sunrise in Zion

Angle's Landing is one of the best hikes we've done. It would be a class 3 scramble if the chains weren't there. The views from the top are incredible.

Coming down from Angel's Landing

Sunset

The Subway

Looking up the Subway

Slot canyon forming?

The girls went for a hike while Vlad and I went climbing


Zion's Weeping Wall. Not as cool as the one on the Icefields Parkway :)

Cherry Crack 5.9

We also climbed two routes to the left of Cherry Crack: The Fat Hedral 5.10c/d and Tales of Flails 5.9. I managed to get half way up the Fat Hedral but ran out of big gear in the offwidth section and came down. It was a struggle even on top rope with the top crack being too wide for fingers but too thin for hands.

On our last day in Zion Vlad and I climbed the classic three pitch route called The Headache 5.10+. Vlad let me lead every pitch since he had already climbed the route. It was a super fun and challenging route, pretty much at my limit. The crux for me came on the last pitch where I had some insecure jamming moves that led into a wide section.

Pitch 1 of The Headache (source: Mountain Project)

Pitch 3 and the crux on The Headache (source: Mountain Project)

Photo of the Headache taken from road. It's the small crack on the right near the arete.

So much rock...

We hiked up to Observation Point

View across the canyon from Observation Point

Bryce Canyon National Park

2015-11-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

The colours of the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon NP blew me away. Fall and winter are a particularly good time to visit since the snow adds some extra contrast to the already beautiful features.

We arrived around 2pm and started looking around for nice sunset views

Living the hatchback life ain't easy but it's awesome!

We were surprised with an overnight snowfall which made the scenery even more impressive

An arch seen from the scenic drive