We love the San Gabriel Mountains that are in our back yard in Pasadena. We spend an enormous amount of time hiking, camping, climbing and skiing in what we consider Southern California’s greatest range. From the Los Angeles side of the San Gabriels, it would be easy to think that the mountains are only dry […]

We’ve been a few places with breathtaking natural beauty, but few compare to Laguna 69 above Yungay in Ancash Province, Peru. Our trip started in Huaraz at the Casa de Zarela, our excellent hotel/bed and breakfast. One hour later we were un Yungay and started the bumpy climb up into the mountains. Despite the roughness […]

After a day of rest in Lima, we checked out late from our hotel (the Sheraton Lima gave us 8pm, which is unheard of and great service) and headed for the station for an overnight bus to Huaraz, northeast of Lima and a climbing Mecca. Taking a ‘red-eye’ Cruz Del Sur bus was a very […]

The first thing we noticed about Cusco is its role as the hub of this part of the Andes. Like Kathmandu in Nepal, Cusco is the airport, railroad and highway hub that serves the outlying areas like Urubamba, Pisac, and Machu Picchu. It’s where the trekkers and tourists start and end their adventures in the […]

Today we woke to snow in the mountains after a heavy rainstorm last night. ‘Our’ mountain above our hotel, Chi’qun, not only had fresh snow on the glacier but there was also snow halfway down the nearby peaks. We had an absolutely delicious breakfast at our hotel before walking into the town to catch a taxi […]