Part 3 - The Journey Makes the Destination Possible

It's the eleventh hour.  We will board our plane in less than a day.  The excitement ensues...

As I reflect on the past year and a half it amazes me how quickly it has passed and yet how much ground we have covered from the inchoate skills of prior memories.

In order to incisively execute a honeymoon of this stature, we began by having a team meeting.

First official team meeting (April 21st, 2012):

-begin learning, or in most of our cases relearning, Spanish
-begin physical conditioning no less than 6 months prior

-schedule a team training once a month or every other month in an effort to learn each other's styles and practice rope skills as a team

-determine and acquire the appropriate vaccinations

-create a mountaineering gear list

and,

-as far as the trek(s) goes, we will be taking two tents (Jenna was very grateful for this decision for many reasons).

Now it was time to make it happen...The year and 2 months that followed proved to be very valuable...

Roping up for the climb (July 1st, 2012):

"Climbing is as close as we can come to flying." - Margaret Young, aviator and alpinist

Rock climbing is one of the preferred activities among the group.  As serious as climbing a sheer cliff can be it is more often a session of making fun of the other in a playful way.

Shanty Cliff, Southern Adirondacks

Practicing the proper technique for relaxing

Out for a hike (November 23rd, 2013)

"It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out; it's the grain of sand in your shoe." - Robert W. Service

Some of the best training ground (minus the altitude) resides in NY's back yard, the Adirondacks.  We chose to take a Thanksgiving retreat to Big Slide Mountain and surround each other with laughter and talk of what the next 6 months will bring.

Be prepared for anything

Practicing our trail singing Ms. American Pie style

The Trap Dyke, minus 18F (January 25th, 2013)

"When your feet are cold, cover your head." - Inuit saying

Part of what we tried to focus on was enduring the cold while climbing as a team and coordinating our efforts to safely overcome the quandaries of the challenge (in this case Mt. Colden)

We also learned that a harness is a valuable item to include on the ever expanding gear list :)

The approach

Come on fingers!

Our fearless leader

Traveling safely

3500' view

I'll let this picture speak for itself

Frozen smiles

Training that's worth a thousand pictures (March 23rd, 2013)

"Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory." - Ed Viesturs

We wouldn't be where we are today, or at least as well trained, if it weren't for a weekend excursion to the white mountains of NH to spend time with a good friend Jim Gagne.  

In mountaineering it is often the case that the little things will perturb the success of many climbing teams; understanding the effects of altitude on the body; properly communicating to your team when you can't see or hear them; the quickest way to melt snow for drinking and cooking thus saving fuel; avoiding sickness and knowing when to take a break.

Understanding the complete picture is what we set out to do...

Mt. Gear

...and here we have...a properly rigged glacial travel system

Look Ma! No hands! :)

Snow anchors stronger than us all!

The sum is greater than its parts...

The love bird test

Crevasse self rescue training

Smile if you learned something!

Fred Becky (left) and our coach (right, Jim Gagne)

Team meeting at headquarters (June 28th-30th, 2013)

"There are big ships and small ships. But the best ship of all is friendship." - Author Unknown

This is it.  Our last time together before we board the bus out of Troy.  Our objective for the weekend is to thoroughly waste as much time as we can while preparing for the honeymoon of a lifetime.

Thanks for the hats Mark!

We love them...no seriously :)

On belay!

A little route guidance from below

Leading away

Thirsty pup

What next?

Grassy yard travel, revisited one last time...

Route marking wands...check.

Marking gear and drinking beer

Through periods of rather intense indecision we have managed to accomplish all but one of the items on our list: Spanish...Nuestro Espanol es pobre...

To Peru we go!

Part 2 - Huarez Awaits

The Team: 4 good friends (Justin, Jenna, Ethan, Nick)

The Occasion?                      ^         ^

                                         |         |

                                    Their honeymoon

The Destination: Huarez, Peru

The Activity: Mountaineering

The Date: July 5^th, 2013

'Viva el Peru...Carajo!' (Long live Peru...Damn it!)

Peru

The Republic of Peru (Population 30.5 million, National dish - Cuy or Guinea Pig) is located in western South America with 1,500 miles of Pacific coastline and occupying an area 5/6^th the size of Alaska. The geologic force that perturbs the surface of the Earth in Argentina and Columbia, works its magic especially well in Peru. 

The longest chain of mountains on Earth, the Andes (4,350 miles), bisects Peru creating three distinct climatic zones. The Western region is predominantly arid (Costa or Coast), the central region is graced with a plethora of nature's skyscrapers (Sierras or Highlands), and Eastern Peru marks the most western section of the Amazon and is one of the most biologically diverse regions on Earth, boasting over 21,000 species with almost 6,000 of them being endemic (only found in Peru). 

Huarez

Huarez (waˈɾas, population 120,000) is located in the central western region of Peru (approximately 6 hours north of Lima). 

From our flight to Lima we'll head north to Huarez

In 1970, 90% of Huarez was destroyed by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake.  The international support in rebuilding the city and aiding the displaced and injured was staggering.  Due to these acts of worldly generosity the city was named as the international city of friendship.

Huarez attracts many sports enthusiasts due to the geography surrounding the city.  Among these visiting athletes are climbers and mountaineers. 

Huarez and the Cordilleras

Cordillera Blancas

The mountainous region adjacent the city of Huarez is the Cordillera Blancas contained within Huascaran National Park (established in 1975).  All of the larger peaks within the park are glaciated with sixteen peaks over 6000m (19,685') and seventeen over 5500m (18,044').  

Terminus of a mountainside glacier

Glacial runoff is provides clean water for consumption and irrigation for near and distant valleys in Peru.  Scientists have estimated that 15% of the glacial mass has disappeared due to a changing global climate.

Retreating Glacier and runoff lake

Traveling in such an area requires knowledge of weather, physiological reactions of one's body due to altitude, glacial travel (traveling safely on a rope team), ice and snow climbing, alpine navigation, and mountain camping...It's time to get training...

Where the air gets thin...

Part 1 – 4 friends, 3 weeks, 2 tents, 1 honeymoon

The Team: 4 good friends (Justin, Jenna, Ethan, Nick)

The Occasion?                             ^             ^

                                                          |             |

                                                 Their honeymoon

The Destination: Huarez, Peru

The Activity: Mountaineering

The Date: July 5^th, 2013

January 2012

This story begins with a phone call (may or may not be the exact phrasing).  

My phone rings…

Nick: “Hey Justin.”

Justin: “Hey Nick.”

…

Justin: “I have something to ask you”

Nick, intrigued: “Oh yeah?”

Justin: “Do you want me to tell you over the phone or on our trip to the ‘Dacks this weekend?”

Nick, accepting suspense: “Let’s save it for our road trip!”

…

I arrived at Justin and Jenna’s home on a Friday night.  We shared what little of the evening was left talking about our plans for the weekend, laughing, and finally sleeping.

The following morning we embarked on our journey to the high peaks region of the Adirondacks to partake in some winter hiking, ice climbing, being sick (Jenna J), enjoying Lake Placid Brew Pub treats, and riding the adrenaline charged wave of the Banff Film Festival World Tour. 

View of Gothics from the top of Cascade

3/4ths of the team on top of Cascade

Justin pretending to climb some ice :)

During our travels I broached the topic…”What’s the big news?”  Without much hesitation, “Jenna and I would like you and your brother to join us on our honeymoon.”

In my mind (a bit shocked): Your honeymoon?  You want my brother and I to go with you on your honeymoon? 

If there was ever a time when making a decision came easy for me it was when one of the options was laced with great friends, adventure, and exploration…

“Ahem, well…I’m in.”  “Where are we going?”

“The Andes.”  “More specifically, the Cordillera Blancas in Peru.”

The excitement from that moment is still coursing through my veins.  Predicated on our passions, this was sure to be an unassailable adventure.  If a weekend with two great friends and equally as great activities could get any better, this was how.

Ethan was quickly brought up to speed and just as quickly accepted the invitation.

It was set; the four of us were going on a vacation honeymoon!

The proceeding 18 months were destined to be a disastrous quandary of decisions.  If the sum is greater than the parts then four indecisive decision makers equaled a whole lot of rock, paper, scissors and coin flipping.  Let the fun begin…

Clockwise from upper left: Justin, Nick, Jenna, Ethan

Moments of Impact

Recently after telling two of my brothers a story they said to me, “you really need to share this kinda thing with others so you can inspire them!”  It is true that for the most part resist sharing a lot of things publicly or with various people in general because I do not ever want to be mistaken or perceived as the type of person that does things for people for the sake of essentially implying “look at me, look at what I am doing” or viewed at as "tooting my own horn." That is not me. However, with that said, today I feel quite compelled to share a short story with all of you. Okay, well, who am I kidding there is never a “short” story when Brandi is talking… ; ) So please bear with me. My hope with this message is to help inspire compassion by sharing an experience through the words in this message. : )  Some of you may know that 2012 was a killer rough year for me.  In fact, it was the hardest and most emotional year of my short number of years on this earth.    By October, I began to emerge from a deep, deep depression as a result of my grandfathers passing.  I recognized while I was back home for his funeral that although he lived a wonderful 95 years on this earth, his life was short!  MY life is short!  I woke up and realized that I could not be miserable anymore and I was going to turn things around in my life. My mantra from that day forward has been “change your perspective, change your life.” Due to all the pain I experienced in 2012 and this recent revelation related to my grandfathers passing, I have made a promise to myself that 2013 will be a year of physical, mental, and spiritual transformation. So as part of my “plan” to make this happen and also to make up for my lack of doing good for others in 2012, I have decided to commit 365 random acts of kindness in 2013.  Every. Single. Day. this year I will do something to make someone’s day special.  One of my other goals is not unlike most people’s “new years resolutions." It is to shed some of this extra weight I am carrying on my body.  So as I was cleaning out my cupboards I was trying to figure out what I could do with the opened food items considering you can’t donate that kinda thing.   So I took an inventory of what I had… some bread… some baking supplies…some potato chips, etc. Then this idea popped into my head…  Here in Anchorage we have a disturbing number of homeless folks.  : (  Can you imagine?  It is winter here like 8 months out of the year and there are homeless people here?  It breaks my heart! So on Thursday night I stayed up late making homemade chicken salad and I assembled 15 sandwiches, made a homemade dessert, among other things. The next day around lunchtime, I called up a friend to serve as my accomplice. Some of the areas of town I needed to go are, well, not the safest, so I decided to invite a co-pilot along for the ride, just in case.  So we did!  And let me tell you! It was the biggest blessing I can remember receiving in a very long time.  After I had dished up everyone’s plates and passed out the food, every single one of them (9 folks in total) came up to me to say “Thank you” or “God Bless You” “Are you with a church? Why are you doing this?”  I even got a hug from several of them! Mind you, a slightly smelly hug, but the BEST hugs I can remember getting in a long time! : ) The message in this bottle I am sending is not about me, it is about compassion and being the world to someone for just a second or two between the busy moments of our lives.  Otherwise life's distractions may prevent us from enjoying the act of sharing and caring for one another.  Is there really a greater purpose in this life than to serve one another?   I said all of this to hopefully encourage and inspire each of you to commit a random act of kindness every now and then. Big or small, it doesn’t matter! And if you need ideas – please feel free to contact me. I have over 5 pages of ideas scribbled out and more ideas keep coming to me every day. I wish nothing but many blessing to each of you in this New Year.  We have so much to be thankful for in our lives! In closing, I will leave you with some photos from the day, a favorite quote and an article that I found tonight to help give you a little more inspiration. Luceat lux vestra!  (Latin for "Let your light shine!") "To the world you may just be someone, but to someone you may be the whole world." - Unknown http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/moments-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-y
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