Fossil Alpinism

At just 6,000 meters it is one of the most sought after Cordillera peaks. I climbed it six years ago with Larry. The first day involves a ...

The guys coming down the snowslopes on Urus late in the day. The 6,100 meter Ranralpaca is in the background.

Traditionally the men drive the mules, donkeys, and horses on the trail, however sometimes it is a family business. As an example our thre...

Shortly after noon we completed the three hour hike from Ishinca valley to Pashpa. Now it's back to Huaraz.

Ending our evening with chai and apple pie. The book collection has quadrupled since my last climbing trip, however the servers are as cut...

After yesterday's debacle on Tocllaraju, Matt feels great on top of 18,300' Urus.

Edward strutting his stuff in sneakers! Not many come to the Cordillera Blanca for the bouldering, but after the big snow and ice routes, ...

As our arrieros were packing up the mules we did some bouldering in the Ishinca valley ... Edward is giving a hard problem a shot!

For me the hike out was muy tranquillo, as I walked slowly, took a bunch of photos, bouldered, and started to mentally transition back to ...

It's a long story; but between Edward struggling with the altitude at our 17,000' bivouac, and my tarp getting ripped apart by vici...

We head out after breakfast. The picture of Zarela's dining room, mostly occupied by this sponsored group.

Artesonraju is the prominent peak behind Edward.

Matt waiting for Edward outside the best B&B in the universe! (A pretty amazing deal at $10 a night.)

La Casa de Zarela is once again the staging ground, as we furiously weed out stuff for out next trip ... To Ishinca valley. On a different ...

The ascent from our moraine camp to the 18,900' summit of Pisco took 4:45, which included two rest stops. (As always you may click on t...

Early morning glacial climbing, with Matt out on the sharp end.

This picture was taken from our moraine camp bivouac. Chopicalqui is 6,354 meters, almost 21,000'.

As you can see, the portion sizes are large. Our lunch consisted of roast lamb, salad, rice, potato salad, chili con carne, mistakenly a d...

We went to a delightful bistro next to La Casa de Las Guias, you can see them cooking up Matt's lamb in the wood-fired ceramic oven.

A few good meals, lots of oxygen at 10,000', and time for reflection has helped me put it all in perspective. First, a big mistake to g...

On our rest day in Huaraz, I was flipping through The La Casa de Zarela registry ... Not many guys of our vintage doing stuff. So, kudos t...

Today we were continually reminded that Peru - since colonial times - has been a very Catholic country. Beginning at sunrise and continuing...

Most folks climb Pisco, by carrying gear to 4900 meters and spending the night. This was our camp ... Edward's sleeping bag was not qui...

Our arriero loading two mules with our gear. After almost a week of sleeping at 15,700' or higher, it's time for a quick 24 hours i...

Bill McKibben's new book - Eaarth - is a must read. The odd title is a result of his belief that our historic earth ( pre-climate chang...

This sunrise shot was taken just outside the Refugio Peru, this view of the multiple 6,000 meter Huandoy peaks is amazing. However, what y...

Edward has been convinced that his climbing prowess has been amplified ten-fold on a steady diet of cuy. This national dish - guinea pig - ...

Edward ran down early to cellopampa, to ask an arriero to come up to get our gear at 15,700'. He also had to arrange a taxi back to Hua...

The enclosed picture is of Edward taping a blister on the Pisco glacier with Huandoy in the background. The official team statistics are a...

The summit views from Pisco are intense, behind Matt and Edward are chacaraju, alpamayo, artesonraju, and piramide.

As you can see from a screen capture of my iPhone, the weather has been glorious. Of course up at the hut at 15,700' and our bivaouc at...

The usual intestinal issues (yahoo for the Cipro) and acclimitization problems slowed us down. However yesterday we had a spectacular climb...

See you in 10 days!

Getting down to the nitty-griity: how many slings, pins, how many gas canisters, and as always, making sure to pack as much fruitcake as p...

Vallunaraju, Ocshapalca, Ranrapalca, and Rimarima off in the distance. Churup is patially visible off on the right-hand corner.

We are heading off to Yungay and then to camp at the trailhead at 13,000'. Tomorrow we'll hike to basecamp at 15,700'.

Spending the afternoon at the California Cafe, then a nap, followed by dinner at Cafe Andino, and dessert and a movie at Huaraz Satyricon.

Edward out for a mid-day stretching of legs and some chai at the Cafe California.

Matt strutting his stuff on Zarela's roof.

Edward enjoying the views from Zarela's roof top garden.

The guys having a first breakfast at La Casa de Zarela.

Matt and Edward posing with the mountaineer's statue in the Movril bus station for good luck.

We are heading over to the bus station for the 8 hour trip to Huaraz. I got in at 4 AM, and by the time I get to the mountains, I will have...

I took Lucy and my neice Lizzy up Owl's Head. The boots, while not fully broken in, do feel good. I am psyched!

Certainly all my fossil friends, and even some of the younger generation know of my penchant for fruitcake. On every serious trip or route i...

I put it all out last night. The rope stays behind in favor of two 8.5 X 60 meter ropes that Matt has. I will also trim a water bottle, two ...

I head out in another 36 hours. Yesterday I wore the new mountaineering boots all day, including two short hikes on the NCS super loop and ...

The Devil's Miner, is a documentary set in Bolivia although it is equally true of Peru, where in fact, mining is an even bigger industry...