Mountaineering in the Andes

Machu Picchu

Travel is the answer in 2011, but perhaps not the kind you’ve seen on the beach resort catalog. We’re talking about the kind of travel that feels good: not sedentary, not gluttonous, not what everyone else is doing… Think international, think adventure, think exercise, think accomplishment, think of the photo on your office wall of you atop a high glaciated peak or camped beside a shimmering lake with condors flying overhead…

Huanchaco with the kids!

Peru is fast becoming the destination for international travelers, both the “experienced” type as well as those who are doing it for the first time. With a fantastic infrastructure for moving around, high quality airports and first class busses, luxury lodging at low costs, multiple languages spoken as part of most touristic services, what could be holding you back? Peru has beautiful beaches in the North, the high Andean mountains in it’s central range, the Machu Picchu complex (which is a must-see in one’s lifetime) & all of Cusco and the Sacred Valley’s treasures, the Amazon jungle, and more. They have a colorful & rustic, friendly & curious culture, one that is happy to have you come and share some experiences with them.

If you’re looking for a way to make 2011 unforgettable, lend Peru a few moments of your time & interest. Skyline Adventures can connect you to any of these places and will be waiting for your emails or calls to start making it happen!

This intense course gives participants a chance to learn and practice the appropriate response to almost all medical incidents and emergencies which can unfold in the backcountry.  From a personal standpoint, of all the courses and trainings that I have taken over the last 13 years, the WFR that I took back in 1997 still stands out as the most important, useful, and professional delivered course that I have been apart of.  It would appear that I am not alone in this sentiment, as the WFR has become an international requisite for almost any job in outdoor programming and has done more to aid in rescues and medical dilemmas in the back country then any other device or innovation in the same time-frame.

So what is it that makes the WFR so GOOD?

1 – The WFR teaches you to understand the human body and how it works.  What each organ does and how to recognize the symptoms of malfunction based on logic verses simply memorizing a long list of ailments.  The information, learned as such, stays with you for a long long time.

2 – The WFR teaches you a logical way to organize your thoughts in often very emotional and chaotic situations.  A simple, well-designed step by step approach that works in every medical emergency, whether you are the first on the scene at a car crash or approaching some one who has just stumbled upon a hornets nest.  The model is taught and then practiced religiously throughout the course until by the end you feel it has become second nature.

3 – The WFR is very hands on.  While time is spent in the classroom setting, (50% – 60%) the rest of the course occursoutside, practicing the material taught in very realistic scenarios.  The instructors go to great lengths to add an element of realism to each simulation through the use of dramatic cosmetic make-up  and realistic scene creation.  It does not take long before the participants are swept into the spirit of acting and one gets accustomed to the emotions, blood and gore that is sometimes encountered in an emergency situation.

4 – The WFR is fun!   The information flow is designed to making learning easy and rewarding.  The simulations are dramatic and allow a rare chance for everyone to ‘put on a show’ and get into the roles of the victim.  Whether you are rolling around the ground in agony from a fractured femur, or projectile vomiting from increasing intracranial pressure, it never hurts to howl and moan at your fellow WFR students and watch them running around trying to console your pain.

5 – The WFR instructors are simply great.  I have yet to meet one who does not exude 110% enthusiasm for the subject matter.  These people are beyond enthusiastic and the lessons flow accordingly.  They are fun loving adventurers with plenty of stories and real-time experiences to back up the lessons.  Many have worked for years as climbing, paddling, or ski guides.  They are mountaineers, ambulance drivers, and teachers all in one package.  In general, they are the ones that you feel make the course special and are responsible for driving home the information.

Skyline Adventures and On Belay Peru, are proud to promote and organize these courses here in the Cordillera Blanca and help to encourage a culture in the local guiding community of seeking professional development and staying current with international standards for work in the outdoors.  As such, we all have safer and more enjoyable experiences in Peru’s little mountain paradise!  The WFR course will run March 5-13, 2011 in Huaraz.  Get in touch with Skyline Adventures for information on enrollment, pricing, and details:  info@skyline-adventures.com

We did it!

After over 12 years of guiding and leading expeditions, the one commonality between nearly all the trips that I have been a part of is the amazement that expedition members feel and often express at the closeness they feel in their newfound friendships. Comments like, “I can’t believe that we have only known each other for 2 weeks” or “I feel like we have known each other for years” seem commonplace at the end of a stressful, exciting wilderness adventure. Suddenly the work relationships seam flabby and superficial in light of the bonds that seam so quickly established when you are literally tied to some one with a 4600kg test climbing rope and are ascending up an icy slope at 3am or struggling to set up a tent at 20,000 feet as the storm is barreling down on you and your team.

In these moments there are no statistics being recorded. No one is concerned about your annual income, your title, or the neighborhood you live in. The pressing matters are far more immediate and seem far more relevant – are you a team player, do you grumble and complain, can you be positive, are you careful to keep your team members safe, do you try hard. If the answer is yes to these, you will be a welcome asset on any one of Skyline Adventures expeditions. And look out, because it can become a double addiction. Not only do we get addicted to the excitement of the unknown, we also find that the sense of deep friendships and rewarding relationships are something that we continue crave throughout our lives.

By Ted Alexander ~ Mountain Guide and Generally Amazing Human Being

As you walk the streets of Huaraz you see dozens of guiding companies offering all that is under the sun. Trekking, climbing rock, ice, or alpine, gear rental, so why venture a few minutes north to a small storefront of Skyline Adventures you say? Well first off they are the only US based company that is in Huaraz, ensuring the same standards as anywhere in the US you might climb, Colorado, Alaska, California only at a fraction of the cost. All of their guides are fully fluent in English, not the case even if told so by many other outfitters of the area. They meet all standards set by their US based insurance company not only for guiding practices, but equipment, safety ratings, satellite phones, the whole works. You are as safe in Huaraz Peru as you would be anywhere in the US climbing.

Ken on Yanapaqcha Summit

Now that gives you their background but does not really tell you why you should climb with them. The alpine environment is not one intended for human habitation. It is a place we venture at our own risk and only for a short time. Skyline offers a strong acclimatization program to ensure that not only you are well prepared for the courses and climbs they offer but that you enjoy them as well. No one wants to be sick in the mountains and to the best of their abilities they will make sure you are fully prepared to tackle all that you dream to achieve. That being said, one must heed their advice given their many years of experience. I have taken their six day mountaineering course which is simply astounding, not because of the technical skills you will learn including crevasse rescue, self and group arrest, knots, rope team travel, but the most important thing: knowledge of the mountains. Now what do I mean by that? There are dozens of schools that can teach you how to hold an ice axe or set up a three or five to one ratio pulley system to pull someone out of a crevasse, or even knots such as clove hitch but few will teach you evaluation of the mountain. What type of conditions are dangerous, the constant need to evaluate the self arrest conditions and run out (if you do not know what I mean ask when you sign up for a course, any course and if they do not tell you I would highly recommend going elsewhere), where to look for the basic avalanche corridors and how to select a route on a mountain.

Now do not get me wrong, it is a beginners course and only six days but you will be much more comfortable after their course than any other. Having continued to climb since, I have seen the limitations of other schools and it is not in how to use crampon or ice axes but the evaluations that makes the difference in my experience, short as it may be, between safe climbers and those who will eventually meet with unpleasantness in the mountains. Those points aside if you are lucky enough to have Don Humberto as your cook, you will be well fed with delicious meals of chicken and beef dishes, starting with delectable soups followed by fresh vegetables, and desserts to please your pallet. There will be more hot tea than you can dream of, all served in a private eating tent just for Skyline. If you have ever spent some time in the backcountry their course will make you feel like a king with the staff catering to your every desire, or at least it feels that way. You will not go away displeased, with the guides, the instruction, the food, or the shear joy of climbing mountains … all at a fraction of the cost of anywhere else in the world.

If I have not convinced you yet, just email Ted or Jenn (info@skyline-adventures.com). To be honest their prompt response and professional correspondence is why I went with them in the first place. Perhaps they can convince you where I have failed.  Beyond that, best of luck in your pursuits of climbing!

Ken Denison, 6-day Mountaineering Course Alumni – July 2010