I arrived in Arequipa on Saturday evening, after a 10 hour bus ride from Cuzco through the altiplano of Perú. The landscape was like southern Wyoming most of the way, with snow-covered peaks and grass-covered highlands. As we descended into Arequipa, we could see the high volcanoes, including El Misti, Ampato, Picchu Picchu, and Chachani. The Peruaños were filling me in on all the names.
El Misti
I met Niki, Amanda, and Christine (my Adventure Treks friends) and we began the preparation for our ascent up Chachani. Chachani is one of the easiest 6000+ meter peaks in the world to climb, topping out at 6075m. However, we knew it wouldn´t be easy. We met Iván at Quechua Explorer, who arranged a ride up to base camp for us. We then wandered around and bought food, a map, and other supplies for our trek.
Monday morning, Jacinto and Ínti picked us up in a 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser. We climbed in and got settled for our 3+ hour drive.
We sat next to Clauss, a German who hired Iván as his guide. He arrogantly chatted our ears off, and was perturbed when we stopped to get out his jacket when he complained it was too cold. However, the drive was fantastic. The pavement ended and the road bumped and grinded its way between Chachani and El Misti for 2 more hours up. When we got out, we were giddy and excited, and also breathing heavily. After a labored hour-long hike, we reached campamento base.
After setting up camp, we hung out with the guides from Quechua Explorer. They had a warm and roomy tent, and in it we played cards with another guide, Jávier. It was 5:30 pm, and we decided to hit the sack. Sleeping proved to be very difficult at 5300m. Labored breathing, sore neck, and cold weather made the 7 hours in my sleeping bag rather painful. But, we were fairly rested when we woke up at 1 am.
El Misti
I met Niki, Amanda, and Christine (my Adventure Treks friends) and we began the preparation for our ascent up Chachani. Chachani is one of the easiest 6000+ meter peaks in the world to climb, topping out at 6075m. However, we knew it wouldn´t be easy. We met Iván at Quechua Explorer, who arranged a ride up to base camp for us. We then wandered around and bought food, a map, and other supplies for our trek.
Monday morning, Jacinto and Ínti picked us up in a 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser. We climbed in and got settled for our 3+ hour drive.
We sat next to Clauss, a German who hired Iván as his guide. He arrogantly chatted our ears off, and was perturbed when we stopped to get out his jacket when he complained it was too cold. However, the drive was fantastic. The pavement ended and the road bumped and grinded its way between Chachani and El Misti for 2 more hours up. When we got out, we were giddy and excited, and also breathing heavily. After a labored hour-long hike, we reached campamento base.
After setting up camp, we hung out with the guides from Quechua Explorer. They had a warm and roomy tent, and in it we played cards with another guide, Jávier. It was 5:30 pm, and we decided to hit the sack. Sleeping proved to be very difficult at 5300m. Labored breathing, sore neck, and cold weather made the 7 hours in my sleeping bag rather painful. But, we were fairly rested when we woke up at 1 am. 
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