Ode to the Andes

A Ride into the Sky

November 15, 2005. Today was an unforgettable day, perhaps one of the best ever for me. Our mother earth, the landscapes, the power, the organisms (all of them) made themselves known to me today.

Arriving in Huaraz, a mountain town at 3000 meters elevation (and about 20 people per meter) in the afternoon yesterday, I quickly felt at ease by the kids playing in the streets, the slow pace of life and the fresh, cool air which blew cotton-shaped clouds over the Cordillera Blanca. The Blanca are a range of mountains of spectacular structures, size, and color. The highest peak in Peru, Huascaran, climbs up to nearly 6800 meters, but surrounded by 10 peaks between 5000 and 6500 meters, one hardly notices it standing out among all the other white capped peaks. The trekking here is amazing, world class. Recently, however, glacial retreat is causing instability and some are predicting that Huaraz could be wiped out by flooding induced from glacial collapse. Climate change may be much more real for these villagers than you. But on this day, all of the Blanca were surrounded in clouds. Not true this morning. The sun shown upon the glaciers and me.

I awoke to a spectacular view, no need to attempt to describe it here. I can only say come on down. After some morning fruit, coffee, reading, errands, it was time for (you guessed it) a bike ride. The road through this valley is narrow and busy, so after asking around, I convinced my pal, Don Pepe, a 70 yr old Peruvian with a similar passion for two wheels, to come with me up a dirt road to the Tallan pass - elevation 4200m. We have ridden a few days together and he is jovial, and strong, making for a good cycling companion.

The road to Tallan is one of the ways back to the coast over the Cordillera Negra, so named for their lack of snow. I guess 15,000 feet summits are not enough elevation to garnish snowfall at this latitude.

Don Pepe made it about 5 kms. of the 32 km climb before realizing that the air was thin, he was old, and his 42-23 granny gear was not going to cut it. I slogged on, spending much time in my 39-28, and occasionally choosing the 32 or 24 tooth rear cog. What does this all mean? Climbing an Andean Mt. at elevation, on a rocky dirt road, on a rigid road bike, for 3 straight hours (there was one, ONE flat section that lasted 5 minutes) into a Pacific driven head wind through Quechuan villages should be a requirement for all of humanity. And I wasn’t doing the most work of the day.

There were little girls hauling buckets of water nearly equal their own weight. I stopped to talk to a group of young men cutting, stacking and hauling firewood (on their BACKS and their mules) up steep inclines. Only 1 really spoke much Spanish, but we all managed a few hard laughs. They asked for my help with the wood. I confessed, I’d die trying after a couple hours. I paid my respects and continued upward.

The Quechuan people I met today are direct descendant of migrants out of Asia some 100,000 years ago. They have no electricity, some modern amenities like pots for cooking, but still live in adobe huts much like their ancestors. They are farmers, herders (of sheep and cattle) and living a simple, grueling life that inspired me to keep climbing. My poor climbing abilities were exacerbated by the altitude. My headache, slight nausea, and weak pedal strokes were not enough to stop me today, however. I counted the kilometers ever so slowly and wanted to turn around several times. But after 3 hours, two cliff bars, two gu´s and two bottles of water, I made it.

Relief lasted minutes. The wind was kicking up to 60 km/hr through the pass and I had to descent in the cold air for another 32km with out any fuel. I had plenty of wind, a terribly rocky road, kids yelling, simply, “gringo!” as I passed with trepidation down the dirt roads that are part of their homes. I was motivated by the thought of making it off the mountain before being blown off, driven off, or falling off. I’ll say this much in all honesty, the climb was the second hardest of my life, the descent was harder.

all the way down....

So much more to say about today, the past few, the ones coming. Ask me about it sometime. Riding a bike from Lima, Peru to Quito, Ecuador is an event that along with a handful of others around the world, will glow in my memory banks for a lifetime and inspire other experiences? Anyone down for trekking across Borneo for 3 weeks? Alas, I have to pay my Sol ($0.35) and go get some more food.

Pedro