The Team Sherpa Blog

    I was very exited to be invited to participate my first Expedition and especially in Peru and southern America this May. It was organized very quickly and I received the invitation only three weeks prior to the start. Fortunately I had a very good and effective winter behind me doing all sorts of different activities. Mainly on skis, but the basic of the physiques was already established and I knew that three weeks will give me enough time to get my ‘chops’ back up again.
    After a long and somewhat tiresome flight from Helsinki, through London, New York, Lima to final destination of Cusco took good thirty hours. I was expecting some noticeable effects of the thin air because Cusco lies in a respectful height of 3500 meters above sea level and we arrived there straight from zero ground. For instance at the airport they have this small kiosk, where they sell small canisters of oxygen to relief the acute high altitude symptoms.
    Some also choose to take Diamox and other medications for a relief from lack of O2. I however rather just let my body to take its own time to naturally try to cope with the altitude and thus much better be acclimated. Having said that, I did try the only natural help available at the hotel to ease a little light headedness I felt the first day, a coca leaf tea.

10.5. Saturday.
    Arriving in Cusco and getting settled at the hotel. We took the rest of the day easy, walking around the town and letting our bodies getting better accustomed to the thinner air. It was also nice to have time to get to know the rest of the party and especially the other participants. Trent from USA was yet to arrive, but Everett and Breanne seemed to share the same enthusiasm and appetite for hiking as well as exploring new cultures. As I later got to know Trent a little more, he for sure shared the same passion.

11.5 Sunday
     We woke up at six and had early breakfast. We thought that it would be a good idea to stretch our legs after a long travel and also continue the acclimatizing process with a little exercise. My Chamonix High GTX boots also required more braking in, if I was to wear them during the hike towards Machu Picchu which would be our final destination of the Trek.
    Breanne wasn’t feeling too well in the morning and Trent hadn’t arrived yet, so Everett and I took a 45 min taxi ride to the mountains outside of Cusco. The idea was to hike about 8 km back to the town over the high mountain pastures and visit two of the many Inca ruins that surround the ancient capital of once great empire.
   

We started our hike from a place called Tambo Machey which once was a temple of fertility. There still is a deep under ground well which origin to this day remains unknown to men.
    From the well we continued to ‘hill tops’ towards Cuzsco. We reached 3900hm before we started to decent following crests and ridges. On the way down we passed few Sheppard guarding their herds of sheep and lamas on the pastures. It was a great feeling to be out walking over meadows, breathing pure mountain air shy with oxygen. Body felt great after a good night sleep and the absence of Cusco’s exhaust fumes was welcoming change too.

High Chamonix were also working fine, even there still was a little problem with the boots tongue and stiff leather around the angle. I still had not been able to ‘mould’ or soften the front of the boot angle enough. The rigid sole with vibram however was to my liking.
     The weather was perfect, slight overcast with comfortable temperature and we really enjoyed ourselves walking in a tranquil surrounding towards Cusco. We stopped briefly at the site of the Temple of the Moon, which was a rocky structure of caves and hollows. From there we followed the road a little while to reach magnificent ancient dry-stone mason walls of Sacsayhuaman (pronounced ‘sexywoman’ ;))right above the city.

The afternoon we spent with the film crew shooting the Ecco’s street models for the next years catalogue. Totally something that I’ve never done nor experienced before, but the utmost professional crew made us amateurs feel as comfortable as was possible could.

12.5. Monday
     Wake up call  at 5:00. Finally we’re gonna hit the road and head towards the real mountains and the start of the Salkantay Trek. We loaded our gear into two kleinbusses and started the six hour drive from Cusco through little villages and up ever winding road to our first base camp in Soraybamba at 3600-3900hm (I never got the accurate height from our great guide called Leo). We only stopped briefly in a village called Mollepata to set of the cargo mules and their drives.
   

The place was a beautiful valley at the foot of the Cordillera Vilcabamba mountain range. Even though we couldn’t see the peaks because of the almost continuous rain and low clouds, one could sure feel that we were surrounded by the majestic, glaciated high summits. 
    After establishing our campsite, we walked around the area filming and getting used to our new Expedition GTX boots. I had some doubts of putting on new pair of boots straight from a box, but the first impression of them were surprisingly good and ensuring.
    I was positively surprised that we were to sleep in the tents in a camping enviroment during the hike. After having a little wash in a stream, there was a well prepared dinner in a community tent.
    I did retire myself at 20:30 and snuggled up into my one-man-tent. Even though it was still raining I really felt content and fell immediately asleep. I got a rude wakeup call before 04:30 by a crazy rooster (I wondered, what in the world were chickens doing in a remote place like this…) and a mad mule with their own morning cacophonic duet.

13.5. Tuesday
    ‘The great climb’! I knew it was going to be a hard day for all of us as we got ourselves ready before six o’clock. Packed up mules were already protesting loudly underneath their heavy load, since they probably could anticipate the agony ahead.
    We started slowly gaining altitude as we proceeded higher towards a pass between Cerro Salkantay 6271m and Cerro Huamantay 5850m. I was slowly starting to find my ‘Inderbinen step’ and for which I got the nickname from my colleagues, ‘a metronome’ (that probably had something to do with the age difference;)).
    It was still raining flurries and snow as we reached the snowline. The whole path was one continuous stream of slippery mud, water and rocks. We reached the altitude of 4100m in which height one can really start to feel the symptoms of the mountain sickness. Especially for the members of the crew, who were at that altitude for the first time, the effects really started to show.
    Slow steps one at the time, trying to watch out for the passing mules, we progressed higher and higher. It took us little over four hours to reach the Salkantay col at 4600m. I was so proud and impressed of everybody, that with no whining and no complaining despite the pain, everyone walked them selves up to the top. Especially Michael with less experience and Mette suffering from the bad knee really showed true character and tough spirit.
  

Rest of the day was downhill for a couple of hours to our 2nd base camp at 3900m. For a short period of time the weather tried to improve and we stopped to this beautiful valley to admire those gorgeous peaks which were occasionally showing themselves through the clouds. But then the rain continued to pour down as we continued down to the camp site. I was truly impressed how well the Expedition Boots functioned the whole day being put through the mud bath for six hours. With no hot spots not to mention without single skin brake and even my socks were dry. Come to think of it, I probably didn’t even think of my feet once during the day. Tents up and ready for the night. Just before the nightfall, clouds again gave away a little and I could see the magnificent glaciated peaks of Salkantay and Huamantay. My tent canvas was rattling to the sound of falling rain and flurries. It was to be very cold and damp night and as the rain was finally slowing down, I was already sleeping.

14.5. Wednesday
     05:00 and I was shivering from the cold. My summer weather sleeping bag obviously wasn’t adequate. My thermometer showed that it had been -4c inside the tent during the night. Outside temperature was for sure much lower. I crawled out of the tent and looked for my boots. If I was cold and feeling little uncomfortable, my boots have had much rougher night. The yak leather being soaked from wet and covered with mud were now completely frozen solid. I thought that there is no way in hell, I can put them on. Positive amazement once again when I found out that the inside of the boots were completely dry and even being little cold, they warmed up in five minutes and felt perfect.
    After normal morning hassle, we fold up our tents, packed the mules and started the days trek down the mountain. The weather had finally cleared and it looked like it was going to be a glorious day. Now we could see the beautiful white peaks around us as the rising sun was painting them in so many different shades of orange.
   

For some reason I always feel little melancholy and blue when I have to leave the mountains behind. That happens to me in the Alps as well when after the climb, I have to leave the summit and decent back to the village in the valley again.
   

The days hike was easy down hill for few hours. Again that day Peru showed its natures great diversity. In the morning we started in a cold high mountain environment, but in a few hours entered this almost jungle like hot and humid impenetrable vegetation zone. The plants completely changed shape and size in front of your eyes and the amount of different butterflies was staggering. Our superb guide Leon knew pretty much every plant and animal in the mountains and it was really interesting to listen how he explained medical usage and purpose of many herbs and roots. Also to be able to see at the same time tiny little hummingbird hovering above an orchid flower and a majestic condor soaring high in the blue skies imprinted an image to my mind, which would last forever.
    Our third camp was this luxurious lodge on a mountain side facing jungle gorges. It was really pleasant to sit down on a patio with a bottle of Cusqueña and a plate full of barbequed guinea pig and enjoy the warmth of the sun. I for some reason still did miss the higher mountains and the cosiness of my tent in a harsh mountain weather. There is something real in a situation, when you don’t have the luxury of a warm bed and shower and you have to find the pleasure out of the hardship and cope with it. Those are the moments that truly make me feel alive.

15.4. Thursday
     At six o’clock we all stretched our muscles and continued our decent to a cloud forest bio zone. Now we truly were walking in a jungle towards a turn point at the end of remote dirt road, where we were to be picked up the klienbusses again.
    Walking was easy on a hard and dry downhill path. During those few days walking with the Expedition Boots I really did not have any problems with the boots.
    The Expedition boots are without the doubt the most comfortable boots I’ve used on a hike so far and the yak leather proved to be very tough and resilient material.
    We were transported by the vans to the ‘hydro elecktric’ train station for a short train trip to the Machu Picchu town called Aquas Calientes.
    The statue of Gran Pachacutec who united the Inca tribes in mid 16th century was guarding the central square of the Aquas Calientes by of which our hostel located. Pachacutec was an Inca royalty who also after bringing the tribes together in a civil war torn country established the town of Cusco and started to build the Machu Picchu. The whole place of Aquas Calientes reminded me of some forgotten hippie pilgrim town with the whirl of tourists waiting to see one of the world’s seven wonders. The town was guarded by these massive almost perpendicular sugar top mountains, which made the place feel almost like a miniature town with little alleys, shops and restaurants.

    Hiram Bingham discovered the Machu Picchu in 1911 and probably was the first white man ever to set foot on those perfectly carved brick streets. Pizarro and his conquistadores never entered nor tried to find the Machu Picchu even though that Pachacutec had to claim the right to rule that area of Urubamba valley from the spaniards.
    Hiram Bingham, who was a historian from the Yale University, first thought that he had found the last Fortress of Incas, but later archaeologies have come to different conclusion. The studies have shown, that the Machu Picchu most likely has been a holy city and a some sort of a market place, where different tribes from different parts of Peru traded their goods.
    It most certainly was a Lost City and was populated by royalty, priests and craftsmen. There are many indications of the incredible knowledge that the Incas had about geometry, architecture, dry-stone mason and astrology.
    Gods who the Incas worshipped, where mostly in some way nature related. But especially the sun, the moon and the stars with their movement and positions were very important and often played crucial role in the architecture for instance.
    Many of the cities in Peru are in conjunction with each other according to the travel of the sun. They all also have places that tell the exact time of the year by shadows or the illuminations into the walls or hallways. In Machu Picchu the most important one is the Intihuathana stone. 

16.5. Friday
    We all queued amongst the herds of other tourist for a bus ride up to the Machu Picchu. The day once again, like the past two days had been, was perfect. The cloudless sky was turning from pale to bright as the rising sun was starting to chase away the chill of the night.
    The scale of the Machu Picchu is astonishing to experience, even from the countless photographs everybody’s familiar with. But to stand there in person and witnessing the whole panorama is almost incomprehensible. On top of that narrow steep sided mountain watching the perfect architecture of dry-stone mason walls and houses, giant steps of grain field terraces, temples and holy places which combine other cities around Peru with perfect alliance of asthro-geometric order, makes you feel utmost respect towards the greatness and power of ancient Inca civilisation.
    On the narrow passages with hundreds of other tourists we scrambled our way towards the distinguished high peak at the far end of the Machu Picchu. That prominent peak is called Wayna or Huayna Picchu and is a place of important Inca temples.
    Wayna Picchu (the Young Mountain) used to be the residence of the high priest and the local virgin. The summit is some 360m higher than the city of Machu Pichu and lies at the altitude of 2720m. The entry to that mountain is restricted to 400 persons/day and it takes a good effort to climb there along very narrow and steep ancient staircases.
    About half an hour later (we had to queue and thus were very late in our schedule. It was a bit faster than I would have preferred, but these young people have so much more fire power ;)) we reached the top with Breanne, Everett and Trent. Rich and Jon from the crew followed shortly behind.
    The panorama from there was utterly overwhelming. The Machu Picchu looked like a postage stamp photo from a tourist guide. The surrounding of heavily vegetated perpendicular mountains made the scenery look almost ominous. I was deeply moved by all this and when I found a good spot at the end of one rock formation away from the people to sit on, I almost felt the tears in my eyes. The tranquillity, the scale of the site and the fact that you can share this experience with people and friends alike just felt incredibly fulfilling. I have become to be accustomed to high places, but to sit on the edge of 500 year old balcony with your feet hanging some 700m above the ground was really powerful.
  

    Coming down we visited the Temple of the Moon on the other side of the Wayna Picchu and had a pretty good exercise climbing back up to the Machu Picchu it self. Back at the Aquas Calientes we needed to do a wrap up interview with the camera, which turned out to be really hard and emotional thing for me.
    The crazy train trip from Aquas Calientes to Ollantaytambo was at least memorable. Through the class ceiling you could still see the glaciers while enjoying a bizarre theatrical play followed by the alpaca fashion show.
    The van transport from Ollantaytambo village was more than memorable. Since it was Friday, there were these religious celebrations combining pagan and catholic religious features going on in those little villages. Many times we had to stop because of some parade with masked dancers and animal figures causing chaos to the rhythm of drums and flutes.
     In the last village before Cusco we (Sherpas) stopped to participate the fiesta and had a couple of celebration cervezas. The hospitality and friendliness of local people is incredible and we really enjoyed ourselves in that simple little bar with the street side grill and down to business baño. That really put the icing on the cake and made a profound conclusion to our endeavour, most definitely leaving unforgettable memories to last a life time.

 My sincere thanks belong to all of those involved. The crew and the ‘Sherpas’. We’ve climbed and shared wonderful experiences together and that truly reserves a special place in my heart.

 Hope to see you in the mountains somewhere, sometime!

Happy Landings!

Hannu