Vancouver 2010

Wow. It's true: mountains hosting the Olympics are empty!

We had an amazing blue sky day of skiing on Monday at Whistler-Blackcomb and never ever had to wait in  any line up! If it was always like that I would spend way more skiing time there. Yes, during the Olympics you pretty much have to take a shuttle up at $70 round trip it's expensive, but no line ups, so I figured, it's well worth the extra cash.

And we had a fantastic time in downtown Vancouver and with our friends in Deep Cove (what a pretty place!), too. Awesome Olympics. Go Vancouver!

Hiking Whiteface Mountain

When we skied at Whiteface recently, we were remembering a somewhat epic hike up Whiteface in October 2009. It was part of our training for hiking in the Grand Canyon the following month.

The elevation gain on Whiteface, the second highest mountain in the Adirondacks, is about 3,600 feet over 5.2 miles. Large sections are quite flat while the steep sections are very steep and toward the top require some serious scrambling - as this photo shows.

As we moved up higher, it began to snow, the wind blew very hard and it was cold. Smartly, we always carry extra clothing. Of course, carrying about 40 lbs each significantly adds to the aerobic qualities of hiking.

It was a challenging and a great day. In the end, we covered the final mile on the way back in a near jog and got to the trailhead with, oh ... 5 minutes to spare before dark.

One of our objectives in training for our South American adventures is to hike a few more of the Adirondacks' 46ers. (46 mountains over 4,000 feet). We have hiked 5 of them already.

Preliminary itinerary

What we are thinking re: itinerary (subject to completely changing our minds)

October - Week 1-2: Costa Rica
November - Week 3-5: Peru (Cordillera Blanca)
November/December - Week 6-7: Bolivia
December - Week 8-10 - Chile (Atacama Desert, Torres del Paine)
December/January -Week 11-12 - Argentina (Aconcagua, Tierra del Fuego)

The Chile and Argentina parts might go back and forth, across the border a couple of times, as Aconcagua is located half way between Atacama and Torres del Paine. Also, we really liked Santiago when we visited in 2006 and I would be happy to spend a couple of days in the city. Santiago is a good starting point from which to get to Aconcagua.

In terms of Bolivia, good friends of ours are planning a trip to visit their family in Bolivia in November. We don't have their dates yet, but hope to meet up with them for a few days. Depending on timing that might reverse the Bolivia and Peru parts.

Parque Nacional Huascarán

This is the shortlist for us in Peru, I think:
Parque Nacional Huascarán contains the Cordillera Blanca. That is the highest range of the Peruvian Andes and the highest range in the world's tropical zone. All in 1,300 square miles or 340,000 hectares. That's big.


Huaraz which is the hub city for the Park is situated at 3,052 m high. We will pay lots of attention to acclimatization, as the affects of mild AMS while not dangerous can put a kink into the fun. To get there I am wondering whether we should plan on spending a couple of days at 2,500 m, before going there. After all from there we only go higher.


I am excited about the mountains - 30 are over 6,000 metres. And I am excited about the trails. There are short day hikes, there are 2 to 4 days that get you into amazing vistas, high places and there are 10 days circuits.


One of our hopes is to do much of the hiking on our own and in self-sufficiency mode. Then again, what will the reality be of carrying 30 kg backpacks over 4,800 m passes? And, just how much might some of those summits beckon us?


We will be preparing over the next few months with staying and getting in shape for hiking, carrying heavy packs and dealing with the camping gear in any weather. We figure good preparation is what will make these 3 months great.

Cordillera Blanca sounds amazing

We've been reading up on the area around Huaraz in Peru. Actually, Jan's been doing most of the actual reading and then reading aloud the best snippets. It sounds amazing. "The Cordillera Blanca is full of striking views and unique adventures. Hikes from one day to 10 are possible, combinations producing even more possibilities if desired. Here limitations are only the result of a lack of imagination."


We're told that "The highest mountain in Peru, Huascarán at 6,768 meters (22,200 feet), and what many consider to be the most beautiful in the world, Alpamayo at 5,945 meters (19,500 feet), are just the toppings on an already rich cake." 


We are probably not going to summit these sorts of heights. Well, unless we hired professional guides, which is a consideration throughout our trip. But, I am stoked about being in Peru and exploring that part of the Andes on foot.


So different from Aconcagua, where we went to base camp at 4,365 m in late 2007; the arid desert climate of Aconcagua made the altitude so much more challenging. I learned that I need a bit more time to acclimatize by running up to 5 points on the AMS scale some days. Peru's climate is very different with vegetation growing much higher and farming in some amazingly high places.

Whiteface Mountain Special

Downhill skiing at Whiteface on Sunday. They've got a few super cheap Sundays with $35 life tickets. Guess they figure the Super Bowl keeps so many glued to their TVs - that the skiers deserve a big break on price.

Peru mudslides

The Canadian media articles on the Machu Picchu mud slides are finally starting to acknowledge the hardships Peruvians are enduring during this year's rainy season. In particular the deaths in the Machu Picchu area are finally being acknowledged - I hesitate to call it reporting as the media information is so sketchy. Rescuing tourists by helicopter is valiant and a good move by the government of Peru to protect its reputation among tourists and try to protect an important source of income for many Peruvians who make a living from tourism.

Yet, these floods and mudslides are making life tenuous for Peruvians in much more immediate ways: "An estimated 25,000 people have been left homeless and another 37,000 have lost at least part of their property in the past two weeks." according to genevalunch.com. Link to Peruvian Times for more details.

I suppose we'd not hear about this at all if it were not for some Canadians among the evacuees.