Into Thinner Air

Wow what a day! We had one goal today: climb a mountain. Did we do it?

With llamas!

Our guide, Remy, picked us up in his 4WD vehicle at 8am, and we started our two-hour drive to the hike starting point, through the city, then onto country roads, then a winding cobblestone road, then a more narrow, rough dirt road, over a bridge and past so many llamas until we reached a lake that we had a good spot to park the car.

Passed the softness test

That road...

Keep going

We all agreed the mountain was not what we expected visually - it was so green and bright. I was shocked to see people live that far up in the mountain. Dad nearly got a rock tossed at him by an unhappy farmer who did NOT want his picture taken. Further up Remy pointed out the tiny stone houses we could barely see, they blended into the mountain so well, and he told us they are really just "modern" Inca.

At the lake Remy gave us some breakfast - api - a warm corn juice. It was good, and light enough to not start out on a full stomach. We said hi to more llamas and were off! Two black dogs found us and decided to join, and they stayed with us the whole time!

Almost immediately I was out of breath. What? We just started! Remy pauses and explains that it is essential to take regular breaks. Within a minute I'm back to normal and can keep going. The pace just got slower the higher we climb. On more level sections it was like normal, but as soon as I would be climbing I was out of breath. And the headache, and the stomach ache. Yep, altitude kicked my butt. It was rough for sure; much, much more difficult than I had anticipated.

Don't drink it!

Llamas on the top on the ridge

Our tour guide was so patient, and so fun. How did everyone else feel while climbing?

"Excruciating"  -- Bob
"So glad I'm doing this, but why am I doing this?"  -- Casie
"I hope the Isovitschs don't die"  -- Dave

We're fabulous

There was a point, about halfway, when I couldn't find the energy, or the oxygen to talk. It was just a whisper, or a thumbs up. It was such a weird feeling to be that "sick" but at the same time not really anything wrong. It was so hard to walk. Remy kept saying "we're almost there!" and then we reached a point and looked up to see we had so much more to go. That probably happened like ... 5 times.

We finally reached the snow! Dave promptly did a snow angel, and I collapsed on the ground. I was done. I felt terrible, my whole body was so exhausted. I literally was taking one step, and taking a break. ONE STEP was my pace. Remy was so positive, "you're almost there!"

So close

OK! We were all determined. One last ascent and we were there. We all went as slow as we had to, but finally, one at a time, inch by inch we all made it to the top! Hooray for us! 16,582 feet high

Yay

We took a long break, had some lunch, enjoyed the view, listened to the quiet, felt the clouds, reapplied sunscreen, [the sun feels like a spotlight right above your head] contemplated what caused us to do such a thing, you know, mountain stuff.

The clouds started filling in, and Remy announced it was time to go. He took us a different way, and we actually slid down the first bit. It was like skiing in gravel. Once we got the hang of it we had fun, and it was a great way to descend fast. Then it was more treacherous, then through grass, then big rocks, then down around the lake, then up and down to the next lake. It took us around four hours to climb, and two to get back. It started thundering, and then snow/freezing rain at the end. Thanks, Tunari. It did add some needed motiviation to move faster ...

Slippery slope

Footloose

 I was so tired, and cold, and eyes burning and nose running and stomach churning and lungs aching. I was the last one to get to the car. And I had to just close my eyes and not move for about an hour while Remy drove us back down the mountain. He has climbed to the summit more times than he can count, and he didn't even seem phased by today's trek.

But all in all we loved it! I am satisfied with my mountain climb, and do not forsee another one in the future. Ever. But the view, the experience and the feeling of being on top of the "world" is indescribable.