-Jeffery Rasely
In this case, I was chasing an angel. While there's much to report these days, I thought I’d start with a fine little tale about a well-traveled ring and how it finally made it to the place it belonged.
The South of America |
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“Chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains.” -Jeffery Rasely In this case, I was chasing an angel. While there's much to report these days, I thought I’d start with a fine little tale about a well-traveled ring and how it finally made it to the place it belonged.
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"Los Andes son como una mujer" ("The Andes are like a woman.") -Juan Andres, an Ecuadorian friend from work, sharing some local male insight "Zack, you've got to get down here," and the wheels were set in motion. Zack and I don't travel together unless hiking boots and a harness are on the packing list, so we expected no less than an adventure on this trip. He arrived Friday, and our plan was to hit Ruccu Pichinca (15,406 ft.) Saturday, Cerro Imbabura (15,190 ft.) on Sunday, and attempt Nevado Cayambe (18.996 ft.) on Tuesday night. The first two went off without a hitch, almost too smoothly. The last, and the subject of this photo-tale, turned out to be 36 hours of intense highs and lows that only a glaciated peak over 5,000 meters on the equator could provide. Here's the story... “Ver el esfuerzo y sacrificio de personas que luchan por su propia cumbre, y no hay mejor escuela para la vida, que la propia madre naturaleza.” "To see the effort and sacrifice of people who fight for their own summit, and that there’s no better school for life than Mother Nature herself." - Fernando Campoverde, Ecuadorian Mountaineer and Club Sangay guide reflecting on why he loves mountaineering. For those of you that don’t know the first half of the story, Lynsey and I attempted the summit of Cotopaxi last December. If you’d like to read the original entry, you can find it here. To recap, we basically encountered a “perfect storm” of shabby equipment, unprepared lungs and legs, frozen hands and feet, and indescribably sickening digestive gas (from me, to be clear). We didn’t make the summit, and left knowing that we had underestimated the mountain. Nearly a year later, I was resolved to make a return, prepared this time, and see what was in the cards for me in the slopes of this icy giant. “The old school of thought would have you believe that you'd be a fool to take on nature without arming yourself with every conceivable measure of safety and comfort under the sun. But that isn't what being in nature is all about. Rather, it's about feeling free, unbounded, shedding the distractions and barriers of our civilization—not bringing them with us.” -Ryel Kestenbaum Most of our friends, and most of the country for that matter, decided to head to the beach for Carnival. Somehow the promise of crowds, cocktails, and 24/7 bass beats didn't inspire Lynsey or I, and luckily our friends John and Janet proposed an intriguing alternative: hiking Ecuador's Inca Trail for three days to Ingapirca (Ecuador's most famous Inca ruins site). Vamòs, it was decided - we would spend Carnival with good friends and open space through yet another spectacular portion of this little gem of a country. Thanks to good buds at C3 (Cuenca Climbing Center), a sunny and blue Sunday was spent climbing the cliffs of Paute, a small town about an hour outside of Cuenca. These guys go nearly every weekend, and if they're not climbing they're probably kayaking, hiking, or mountain biking. In short, the topography and weather of the area allows for outside ramblings year-round, and this is what I (and hell, we all) need more of.
Here are a few snapshots that capture the day: “...just the bare bones of a name, all rock and ice and storm and abyss. It makes no attempt to sound human. It is atoms and stars. It has the nakedness of the world before the first man – or of the cindered planet after the last” ― Fosco Maraini, Secret Tibet We met our guide, Cristian, at about 10:30 am for a gear check at the hosterìa before heading to the mountain. Gulliver Expeditions, the guide service, promised to provide the technical and high-cold equipment, and we were responsible for the rest. As Cristian went through the checklist I quickly pulled them from my pack - layer after layer that would keep up warm above 15,000 feet. Cristian looked our personal gear over and commented, “You have good equipment,” to my immense pleasure and satisfaction. I stole a glance at Lynsey to say, “see, this is why we have all this stuff!” but she only gave a slight roll of the eyes at the positive gear reinforcement I'd just received from our guide. We packed up a beat-up Land Cruiser and headed for the park.
We are thankful for old friends and new amigos, for comfortable places and exciting new ones, for loving families who support us regardless of country or continent, and for the good fortune that has brought us and sustained us where we are. -- Lynsey + Josh -- *turkey designed by Lynsey* Thanksgiving abroad can be a bittersweet event. Of course, no one here celebrates this holiday, so you just do your best to explain the connections between Pilgrims, turkey, football, and overeating. Polite Ecuadorians smile and say it sounds nice, though I'm not sure how much of the essence our explanations capture. However, the one part universally understood was family. Families here are generally very tight-knit inter-connected units that influence every facet of life. Our students were able to empathize fully when we commented that the hardest part of Thanksgiving was being so far from families and friends. They got that, and probably most wondered if or why they would ever live outside of Cuenca - so far from everything and everyone they've ever known. Lynsey and I also ponder that question from time to time, but knowing that it comes inherently with living abroad . Despite the dull bitterness of missing loved ones, we do want to share some tidbits from Cuenca that we're certainly happy (and thankful) for - here they are:
"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts."
-H.D. Thoreau This mega entry will do its best to catch everyone up on our first week in Cuenca! It's been seven full days of exploration and learning without work, and to sum it up: we're very happy we chose this place. Here are some observations on the four C's that have been the highlights of our week - read a little or read a lot, como quieres! |
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