Huaraz, Peru

After reading some of our recent blogs, some of you may be asking "Why on earth do you climb?" Sitting in Huaraz is a perfect place to ponder that question. As far as the tourism industry goes, this is a city made for climbers. Yes, there's trekking, day-hiking, and mountain biking, perhaps even a store or two, but the reason people come here from all around the world is to climb... and the city has catered to that call.  The main reason, of course, is it's proximity to the Cordillera Blanca, a mountain range so high and vast that guidebooks only name the highest and most popular peaks - there aren't enough pages (or long enough attention spans) to name every glacier-covered, snow-capped peak.

Sunset over Huaraz, from our hotel

Capitalizing on this asset, the streets of Huaraz are littered with guideshops and gear-rental shops, with more opening every day as the height of the climbing season draws near. Sun-burnt and disheveled tourists with backpacks and dark glasses wander the streets and occupy the restaurants. Pictures of mountains, action shots of climbers and maps of the mountain range decorate the walls of hostals, restaurants and shops.  The town is alive with excitement, adventure, and opportunity.  Michael and I feel very at home here.

The day we arrived, we had a stroke of luck - we found the La Casa de Zarela, our hotel for our time here in Huaraz. Not only do we have the comfort of routinely coming back to the same room (the closest thing we have had to a home in 3 months), we also have access to a full kitchen and tiers of open-air patios for eating, relaxing, and drying out wet gear. Zarela, the owner, has been nothing short of an angel. She is extremely connected and has acted as our agent throughout our time here by translating and organizing all of our taxis, burros, cooks and porters. On top of that, she is an extremely cool person. I don't know how we would manage without her.

Zarela's casa is a hub of climbing activity with all sorts of folks of different nationalities coming in with various plans and ambitions. Michael and I are certainly not the craziest or the most ambitious. The climbing community here reaches a whole new level. After our intense climb of Ranrapalca, we went to our favorite pizza joint (as pizza and beer cure most climbing ailments) and our now-familiar waiter asked us how it went. We told him the story and showed him some videos we were particularly proud of. He watched, blinked, and then said "So, what's next?" What's next!!?? Isn't that kind of a big deal!? We could have said to him "We climbed the North face of Ranrapalca and, oh, did you see that the stop light is out on main street?" Apparently these kinds of stories are part of casual conversation here! In the States we might at least get some bragging rights, but, here in Huaraz, we are in the middle of the pack.

So, again, this begs the question - why do we climb? Clearly this is not just some random hobby Michael and I have latched on to. While I can't answer the question for anyone else as climbers’ motivations are as diverse and any set of individuals, I can at least speak for myself.

I climb because it takes me to some of the most magical, beautiful and surreal places on the planet that most people never get to experience. To be walking on snow alone in the wee morning hours with the stars and moon above you, witnessing the first rays of the sun peeping over distant mountain tops, standing in awe at what nature created, is a truly spiritual experience.

Huascaran, the highest mountain in Peru, at sunset

I also climb because I like the multitude of challenges it presents. While there are moments with adrenaline rushes, it is a far cry from your typical short and intense sky-dive or bungee jump. It's a slow, sometimes tedious, endurance sport more akin to running a marathon with added mental components that require focus and precision instead of zoning out. There are many forms of climbing - rock climbing, ice climbing, bouldering... the list goes on - but the type of climbing we most like to do (mountaineering) is all-encompassing: it tests you physically, mentally, emotionally and can even touch you spiritually. It can give your soul wings, but can also push the limits of your reserves. The time and effort that goes into every climb makes completing the process a reward in itself, whether or not I set foot on a summit.

Fiery clouds above Vallanaraju, a climb we later did with Matt and Kelsey

Finally, I climb because it connects me to an athletic, positive and inspirational community of people across the globe who love to challenge themselves and experience the outdoors. Meeting people in the climbing community, sharing stories, and reading about others motivates me to keep my priorities straight - to stay physically fit, to apprecaite the natural world around me, to enjoy outdoor hobbies instead of getting trapped in a corporate world, and to spend quality-time with my husband, my partner, instead of being absorbed by work, the internet or tv.

So, yes, it's dangerous at times, exhausting, uncomfortable, and gives me a list of things to complain about from blisters and chapped lips to the pain of snow-blindness, but, at the end of the day, those discomforts don't outweigh all of the things that make climbing worthwhile to me. After a few days or weeks of healing and rest, I´ll be ready to do it again.