With Christmas behind and 2011 ahead, new year’s resolutions announced and goals set, tis’ the season to commit to making the next 11 months exactly what you want them to be. For all of us who declared that the year ahead would contain ‘more exercise’, ‘less work’, ‘more adventure’, ‘less grind’, you may have just stumbled upon the opportunity that meets them all!

Mountaineering in the Andes

Machu Picchu

Travel is the answer in 2011, but perhaps not the kind you’ve seen on the beach resort catalog. We’re talking about the kind of travel that feels good: not sedentary, not gluttonous, not what everyone else is doing… Think international, think adventure, think exercise, think accomplishment, think of the photo on your office wall of you atop a high glaciated peak or camped beside a shimmering lake with condors flying overhead…

Huanchaco with the kids!

Peru is fast becoming the destination for international travelers, both the “experienced” type as well as those who are doing it for the first time. With a fantastic infrastructure for moving around, high quality airports and first class busses, luxury lodging at low costs, multiple languages spoken as part of most touristic services, what could be holding you back? Peru has beautiful beaches in the North, the high Andean mountains in it’s central range, the Machu Picchu complex (which is a must-see in one’s lifetime) & all of Cusco and the Sacred Valley’s treasures, the Amazon jungle, and more. They have a colorful & rustic, friendly & curious culture, one that is happy to have you come and share some experiences with them.

If you’re looking for a way to make 2011 unforgettable, lend Peru a few moments of your time & interest. Skyline Adventures can connect you to any of these places and will be waiting for your emails or calls to start making it happen!

For the second year now, Skyline Adventures (in conjunction with On Belay Peru) is organizing a 9-day Wilderness First Responders Course to the local guiding community here in Huaraz.  The first one was held in November of 2009 with 15 participants, the second is set for March 2011 and will hopefully enroll to 25 students

This intense course gives participants a chance to learn and practice the appropriate response to almost all medical incidents and emergencies which can unfold in the backcountry.  From a personal standpoint, of all the courses and trainings that I have taken over the last 13 years, the WFR that I took back in 1997 still stands out as the most important, useful, and professional delivered course that I have been apart of.  It would appear that I am not alone in this sentiment, as the WFR has become an international requisite for almost any job in outdoor programming and has done more to aid in rescues and medical dilemmas in the back country then any other device or innovation in the same time-frame.

So what is it that makes the WFR so GOOD?

1 – The WFR teaches you to understand the human body and how it works.  What each organ does and how to recognize the symptoms of malfunction based on logic verses simply memorizing a long list of ailments.  The information, learned as such, stays with you for a long long time.

2 – The WFR teaches you a logical way to organize your thoughts in often very emotional and chaotic situations.  A simple, well-designed step by step approach that works in every medical emergency, whether you are the first on the scene at a car crash or approaching some one who has just stumbled upon a hornets nest.  The model is taught and then practiced religiously throughout the course until by the end you feel it has become second nature.

3 – The WFR is very hands on.  While time is spent in the classroom setting, (50% – 60%) the rest of the course occursoutside, practicing the material taught in very realistic scenarios.  The instructors go to great lengths to add an element of realism to each simulation through the use of dramatic cosmetic make-up  and realistic scene creation.  It does not take long before the participants are swept into the spirit of acting and one gets accustomed to the emotions, blood and gore that is sometimes encountered in an emergency situation.

4 – The WFR is fun!   The information flow is designed to making learning easy and rewarding.  The simulations are dramatic and allow a rare chance for everyone to ‘put on a show’ and get into the roles of the victim.  Whether you are rolling around the ground in agony from a fractured femur, or projectile vomiting from increasing intracranial pressure, it never hurts to howl and moan at your fellow WFR students and watch them running around trying to console your pain.

5 – The WFR instructors are simply great.  I have yet to meet one who does not exude 110% enthusiasm for the subject matter.  These people are beyond enthusiastic and the lessons flow accordingly.  They are fun loving adventurers with plenty of stories and real-time experiences to back up the lessons.  Many have worked for years as climbing, paddling, or ski guides.  They are mountaineers, ambulance drivers, and teachers all in one package.  In general, they are the ones that you feel make the course special and are responsible for driving home the information.

Skyline Adventures and On Belay Peru, are proud to promote and organize these courses here in the Cordillera Blanca and help to encourage a culture in the local guiding community of seeking professional development and staying current with international standards for work in the outdoors.  As such, we all have safer and more enjoyable experiences in Peru’s little mountain paradise!  The WFR course will run March 5-13, 2011 in Huaraz.  Get in touch with Skyline Adventures for information on enrollment, pricing, and details:  info@skyline-adventures.com

Being tribal creatures, we naturally seek out opportunities to capture that sense of belonging and connectedness to others. Often in our work lives, the need to produce results is put in conflict with the need for friendship, thus in our busy lives it is common to really crave true simple bonds with others.

We did it!

After over 12 years of guiding and leading expeditions, the one commonality between nearly all the trips that I have been a part of is the amazement that expedition members feel and often express at the closeness they feel in their newfound friendships. Comments like, “I can’t believe that we have only known each other for 2 weeks” or “I feel like we have known each other for years” seem commonplace at the end of a stressful, exciting wilderness adventure. Suddenly the work relationships seam flabby and superficial in light of the bonds that seam so quickly established when you are literally tied to some one with a 4600kg test climbing rope and are ascending up an icy slope at 3am or struggling to set up a tent at 20,000 feet as the storm is barreling down on you and your team.

In these moments there are no statistics being recorded. No one is concerned about your annual income, your title, or the neighborhood you live in. The pressing matters are far more immediate and seem far more relevant – are you a team player, do you grumble and complain, can you be positive, are you careful to keep your team members safe, do you try hard. If the answer is yes to these, you will be a welcome asset on any one of Skyline Adventures expeditions. And look out, because it can become a double addiction. Not only do we get addicted to the excitement of the unknown, we also find that the sense of deep friendships and rewarding relationships are something that we continue crave throughout our lives.

By Ted Alexander ~ Mountain Guide and Generally Amazing Human Being

Mountains, pure, clean, crisp white surrounding as you soar though the thin air to new heights dreamed of, yet unattained to date. All that stands in your way is …. well the proper training. Now many of us has an across the globe selection for this training, the US, Europe, South America – so why come to Peru you may ask? Valid question, which I myself had before venturing into the Cordillera Blanca outside of Huaraz, Peru.

As you walk the streets of Huaraz you see dozens of guiding companies offering all that is under the sun. Trekking, climbing rock, ice, or alpine, gear rental, so why venture a few minutes north to a small storefront of Skyline Adventures you say? Well first off they are the only US based company that is in Huaraz, ensuring the same standards as anywhere in the US you might climb, Colorado, Alaska, California only at a fraction of the cost. All of their guides are fully fluent in English, not the case even if told so by many other outfitters of the area. They meet all standards set by their US based insurance company not only for guiding practices, but equipment, safety ratings, satellite phones, the whole works. You are as safe in Huaraz Peru as you would be anywhere in the US climbing.

Ken on Yanapaqcha Summit

Now that gives you their background but does not really tell you why you should climb with them. The alpine environment is not one intended for human habitation. It is a place we venture at our own risk and only for a short time. Skyline offers a strong acclimatization program to ensure that not only you are well prepared for the courses and climbs they offer but that you enjoy them as well. No one wants to be sick in the mountains and to the best of their abilities they will make sure you are fully prepared to tackle all that you dream to achieve. That being said, one must heed their advice given their many years of experience. I have taken their six day mountaineering course which is simply astounding, not because of the technical skills you will learn including crevasse rescue, self and group arrest, knots, rope team travel, but the most important thing: knowledge of the mountains. Now what do I mean by that? There are dozens of schools that can teach you how to hold an ice axe or set up a three or five to one ratio pulley system to pull someone out of a crevasse, or even knots such as clove hitch but few will teach you evaluation of the mountain. What type of conditions are dangerous, the constant need to evaluate the self arrest conditions and run out (if you do not know what I mean ask when you sign up for a course, any course and if they do not tell you I would highly recommend going elsewhere), where to look for the basic avalanche corridors and how to select a route on a mountain.

Now do not get me wrong, it is a beginners course and only six days but you will be much more comfortable after their course than any other. Having continued to climb since, I have seen the limitations of other schools and it is not in how to use crampon or ice axes but the evaluations that makes the difference in my experience, short as it may be, between safe climbers and those who will eventually meet with unpleasantness in the mountains. Those points aside if you are lucky enough to have Don Humberto as your cook, you will be well fed with delicious meals of chicken and beef dishes, starting with delectable soups followed by fresh vegetables, and desserts to please your pallet. There will be more hot tea than you can dream of, all served in a private eating tent just for Skyline. If you have ever spent some time in the backcountry their course will make you feel like a king with the staff catering to your every desire, or at least it feels that way. You will not go away displeased, with the guides, the instruction, the food, or the shear joy of climbing mountains … all at a fraction of the cost of anywhere else in the world.

If I have not convinced you yet, just email Ted or Jenn (info@skyline-adventures.com). To be honest their prompt response and professional correspondence is why I went with them in the first place. Perhaps they can convince you where I have failed.  Beyond that, best of luck in your pursuits of climbing!

Ken Denison, 6-day Mountaineering Course Alumni – July 2010

Tis’ the season to plan your next adventure (at least for those of you dreaming of a trip to Peru’s Cordillera Blanca), but with so many classic climbs and treks available, how to choose and how to know that what you’ve decided upon is actually right for you??

Here’s is part 2 of this blog, comparing the most popular trekking routes & itineraries in the Huaraz area to help you begin to narrow things down. As always, more information is only an email away (info@skyline-adventures.com) or for those of you who enjoy surfing the web, our blog-site is full of highlighted trips, literal praises for the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash, Huascaran National Park insights, and more – if you’ve got the time, read and enjoy!

Huayhuash Trek:

Trip Length: 18 days Lima to Lima / 11 nights in a tent

Difficulty: Moderate – 1 high pass per day

Prerequisites: None. Participants do not need previous experience trekking or camping as our guides will teach techniques for staying healthy, clean, comfortable, and most importantly, enjoying every minute of the adventure! We recommend a level of fitness which supports walking 10 km a day with a light pack – the better shape one is in, the more they will be able to appreciate the amazing scenery of this part of the world!

Highlights: The Huayhuash (pronounced why-wash) mountain range is one of the more remote and spectacular areas accessed from Huaraz. The trek circumnavigates a skinny strip of mountains, taking hikers to the very foot of enormous peaks like Yurupaja, Jirishaca, and Siula Grande – the setting for a popular climbing film, Touching the Void. The highpoint of the walk is 5000 meters in the Cuyoc pass where you’ll actually be able to touch a glacier. Each day of the trek offers breathtaking views, friendly encounters with local people living along the way, and the opportunity to breath fresh mountain air on your path to re-connecting with the natural world.

Santa Cruz Trek:

Trip Length: 11 days Lima to Lima / 5 nights in a tent

Difficulty: Easy to moderate – 2 high passes in total

Prerequisites: None. Participants do not need previous experience trekking or camping as our guides will teach techniques for staying healthy, clean, comfortable, and most importantly, enjoying every minute of the adventure! We recommend a level of fitness which supports walking 10 km a day with a light pack – the better shape one is in, the more they will be able to appreciate the amazing scenery of this part of the world!

Highlights: The Santa Cruz valley is probably the most visited place in all of the Cordillera Blanca. Both trekkers and climbers from around the world come to experience its beauty and seek out an adventure. The trek can be done in 4 or 6 days, depending upon your final destination; we recommend the extended hike which allows passage through the Ulta Valley, a beautiful and much less-traveled area offering one additional high and stunning pass. The popular Alpamayo basecamp is located just off the main trekking route and is often explored as a side-trip during the hike. The highpoint of the trek is 4850 meters in the Yanayacu pass.

Los Cedros (the Alpamayo Circuit):

Trip Length: 15 days Lima to Lima / 9 night in a tent

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult – 1 or 2 high passes per day

Prerequisites: None. Participants do not need previous experience trekking or camping as our guides will teach techniques for staying healthy, clean, comfortable, and most importantly, enjoying every minute of the adventure! We recommend a level of fitness which supports walking 10 km a day with a light pack – the better shape one is in, the more they will be able to appreciate the amazing scenery of this part of the world!

Highlights: The Los Cedros trek is the least visited and perhaps the most gorgeous walking route in the Cordillera Blanca. The hike is less-popular for reasons of time and difficulty and in some ways this is the very secret to its greatness. Camps are not crowded as they are in the other areas and the people who live along the way are thrilled to stop and chat, organize a game of football (soccer), or simply smile as you pass by their homes. A rest day is typically built in along the way to visit the view of Alpamayo which gave the mountain its title “most beautiful in the world”. A lovely hike for those with the time and energy to devote to their adventure.

While these three routes are the most popular, within the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Huayhaush exist unlimited opportunities to hike, camp, and explore. The treks described above are all donkey-friendly, meaning you won’t carry more than your necessities for the day (water, sunscreen, camera) and your camp will include extravagancies like an eating tent with tables and chairs, gourmet and balanced meals with fresh veggies, meat, and sometimes recently caught fish from one of the many lakes, room sleeping tents, comfortable air mattresses, a bathroom tent, and more. For information on these or any other hiking options in the area, please feel very free to get in touch or to peruse our page of treks here: www.skyline-adventures.com/guidedtreks.asp

Tis’ the season to plan your next adventure (at least for those of you dreaming of a trip to Peru’s Cordillera Blanca), but with so many classic climbs and treks available, how to choose and how to know that what you’ve decided upon is actually right for you??

Here’s a quick comparison “chart” of the most popular climbing routes & itineraries (trekking to come in the next blog) in the Huaraz area to help you begin to narrow things down. As always, more information is only an email away (info@skyline-adventures.com) or for those of you who enjoy surfing the web, our blog-site is full of highlighted trips, literal praises for the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash, Huascaran National Park insights, altitude information, and more; if you’ve got the time, read and enjoy!

Pisco / Chopicalqui:

Final push to the summit of Chopicalqui

Trip Length: 14 days Lima to Lima

Difficulty: Pisco (PD) 5752m / Chopicalqui (AD-) 6354m

Prerequisites: None. Great for novice mountaineers and a favorite of old salts (not necessarily old in age) alike!

Highlights: A stellar combo trip for those seeking low technicality on world-class mountaineering terrain. Pisco serves as a great introductory or refresher climb for those with or without previous alpine experience and also acts as a great acclimatization peak. Chopicalqui’s southwest ridge offers a moderate climb with just enough exposure to keep climber’s adrenaline levels up, without crossing the line of “technical” and thereby scaring novice mountaineers away.

Alpamayo/Quitaraju:

Alpamayo as seen from Highcamp

Trip Length: 15 days Lima to Lima

Difficulty: Alpamayo (D) 5947m / Quitaraju (D-) 6036m

Prerequisites: Previous climbing experience and comfort in exposed terrain. A 6-day Skyline Adventures mountaineering course is a great way to get prepared in minimal time.

Highlights: The Cordillera Blanca is home to several mountains known ‘round the world’ for their stunning beauty and exceptional climbing. Alpamayo is one of these illustrious peaks. Just short of 6000 meters, Alpamayo’s French Direct route is indeed an exquisite climb, with snow and ice slopes up to 70 degrees, fantastic views, and a picture-perfect (literally) summit. Quitaraju’s north face offers nice 40-55 degree snow climbing, and tops out after a short traverse of the mountains knife-edge summit ridge. This itinerary is dramatic, technical, and exciting and often calls climbers back to the Cordillera Blanca if they were unable to give it a try on their first trip(s) to the area.

Tocllaraju (with Urus /Ishinca):

Descending Toclla's NW ridge

Trip Length: 15 days Lima to Lima

Difficulty: Urus (PD-) 5495m / Ishinca (PD-) 5530m / Tocllaraju (AD+) 6032m

Prerequisites: None. A great itinerary for those seeking a good progression and a partly technical summit of a 6000 meter peak

Highlights: One of the most popular itineraries in the range, the combination of Urus, Ishinca, and Tocllaraju makes for a phenomenal climbing itinerary with minimal approach time. The basecamp for all 3 routes lies at the head of the Ishinca valley, a 4-5 hour mellow hike from the trailhead in the small village of Pashpa. Urus is a fantastic peak for acclimatization as well as for refreshing and/or learning the skills you need for glacier travel. Ishinca follows, offering a higher summit and a slightly steeper climb. These two are great predecessors to Tocllaraju, the grand finale of the expedition. The northwest ridge of Tocllaraju offers a pleasant combination of rolling, non-technical terrain and sections of steep climbing where the skills you have practiced on the other two mountains will be called upon.

Huascaran (with Ishinca / Tocllaraju):

Huascaran... seen from, EVERYWHERE!

Trip Length: 19 days Lima to Lima

Difficulty: Ishinca (PD-) 5530m / Tocllaraju (AD+) 6032m / Huscaran (AD-) 6768m

Prerequisites: More than technical experience, this itinerary requires a high level of fitness in order to meet the physical demands of two long ascents.

Highlights: Three well-known peaks combine to create a perfectly balanced expedition with an intelligent progression that leads safely to the top of Peru’s highest mountain, Huascaran Sur. Ishinca’s northwest face provides a nice non-technical warm-up climb with a 45 degree slope just below the summit. Follow-up this climb with an ascent of the normal route on Tocllaraju’s northwest ridge to gain more altitude and to test out your skills on steeper, more exposed terrain. Huascaran, unlike any of the other ‘trade’ routes in the Cordillera Blanca, requires the use of several high camps in order to acclimatize well and give the summit a proper shot. You’ll move from a basecamp at 4150m, to your first glacier camp at 5200m, then through the legendary “garganta” or “throat” of the mountain to your final camp at 6000m located in the saddle between Huascaran’s two summits. The climb to the summit from there is non-technical, however, the highest altitude in the country will test your limits with each step you take.

There are many more routes to choose from here in the Cordillera Blanca, but in the interest of time, space, and attention span I’m only including these four popular packages here. A similar formatted trekking comparison blog is coming soon so for all the World’s hikers… stay tuned!

Your friends at Skyline Adventures!

You’ve been planning your trip, leafing through guidebooks, scanning the web, talking with friends or fellow climbers and trekkers… The big question at hand: How will you make the most of your precious vacation time in Huaraz, the Cordillera Blanca and/or the Cordillera Huayhuash?

Introducing Skyline Adventure’s new topographic maps, designed specifically for climbers and trekkers who want to know distances, altitudes, camping options & classifications, trail choices & conditions, park entrance locations, and more. These are the details which help you be better prepared, make more informed decisions in the mountains, and have an all around higher quality trip as such!

The scale is 1:7500. The size is user friendly ~ 43cm x 60cm (17in x 23.5in). The paper is water-repellent. The cost is $12USD each. We are currently offering a Northern Cordillera Blanca map and a Southern Cordillera Blanca map, and working hard on a Huayhuash map which should be out by April 2010. Next on the docket is the Cusco area including the Inca Trail and other popular treks and climbs in that area.

For any and all questions on the maps (i.e. “I want to trek the Los Cedros / Alpamayo Circuit, then climb Chopicalqui… which map(s) do I need to buy?!?), or to purchase them, feel very free to send us an email at maps@skyline-adventures.com or head right to our website here: www.skyline-adventures.com/maps.asp to read some more and make the purchase! Maps are also available in Huaraz at various tourist shops, cafes, and hotels.

Have fun planning and we’ll see you in 2010 in one of the Worlds finest adventure playgrounds, Peru’s high sierra. The Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Huayhuash await!

While sitting here in the airport in transit to Mendoza, a lively Argentine city known for remarkable wine, soft tender steaks, stunning women and of course the start town for the great Aconcagua adventure (the trip I am on my way to guide), my thoughts inevitably drift North to where the 6 expedition members who have signed up for this big climb are in their final stages of prep, counting out their socks, double checking their boot laces, figuring out how to pack a therma-rest in the same duffle as an ice axe, and wondering if the airline will forgive the 12 lbs of excess luggage or will that extra bag of gorp cost them $90 in fees?!?

A chilly ascent up the mighty Aconcagua

Before any trip I wonder what is going on in my clients minds these last few days? What are they expecting? Will they like it? Will we like each other? I am sure they are thinking the same!

I too underwent this very process not more than 10 hours ago; the loving caress given to each piece of gear has become a ritual of sorts, gathering my climbing essentials and carefully placing them in their respective place within my pack and duffle. Knowing that the next time I unravel my sleeping bag I will be on the approach to Aconcagua added its due sense of excitement to this age old process.

Summit day

Aconcagua is a mountain unto itself with up to 300 people reaching the summit on a good day. In the high-season months of January and February, Aconcagua climbers swarm to its slopes for as many reasons as there are climbers. For some Aconcagua has become the testing grounds for future expeditions to the higher peaks in the Himalaya, for others it represents the climax of a lifestyle change made long ago to be more active, fit and daring. For many the draw of Aconcagua is that it is one of the few “7 summits” that can be climbed without a long resume of technical accomplishments under your belt. For whatever reason, a climb up Aconcagua is a chance to test your endurance, perseverance and survival-ability on one of the most widely known, bitter cold slopes in the Americas.

The popularity of Aconcagua generates a sense of community among those whom are striving towards the summit. The basecamps of Aconcagua are places where an encouraging word, a congratulations, a good luck and be safe, are spoken in earnest and whether you are a friend, from the same country, or speak the same language, the backdrop of the mountain reminds everyone of their common objective and fills in the difference between climbing parties with a warm sense of bonhomie that is perhaps the essence of why we are drawn to such an adventure in the first place.

For more information on scheduled departures to Aconcagua or anywhere within the Cordillera Blanca with Skyline Adventures or any questions, check us out at www.skyline-adventures.com or send us an email to info@skyline-adventures.com

100+ kilometers South of Huaraz looms the magnificent peaks of the Cordillera Huayhuash, a range of mountains boasting some of the best climbing and trekking in the world. This range of rugged and remote peaks has lured the brave and strong for decades and now, with its popularity soaring, the Huayhuash has taken on almost a cultish following of fans. Due to the rugged passes, the remote nature of the area, and the propensity for occasional theft, the lure of the Huayhuash tends to capture only those that foster a true sense of adventure and an appetite for all that is wild.

Camp at Laguna Carhuacocha

Joe Simpson propelled the Huayhuash into the lime light with first his book – Touching the Void, chronicling what is perhaps the most epic of all climbing survival tales, and then in 2006 with movie rehashing the same bone-grinding story. While only a handful of those who have read the book made the pilgrimage to the range, those that did could easily imagine the events that punctuated its pages, the impossible slopes of Siula Grande sweeping upwards against the cobalt blue sky and the jumbled moraines leading to the slow, creaking glaciers.

Yes, the Huayhuash is one of the few remaining the wild Wests of our world, where Gore-Tex jackets and Vibram Soles still can mingle amongst crude stone shelters of a culture unchanged by the modern world. Where the word ‘recycle’ is met with puzzled looks…

After 15 years of working in the outdoors, guiding some of the worlds finest and wildest rivers, climbing in some of the most pristine mountain ranges, I begun my first trek around the Huayhuash range 6 years ago, expecting to enjoy the serenity of the extended stay in the mountains but unprepared for the dazzle of unbridled beauty and unparalleled solace of the sweeping and endless landscapes. For me, my trek through the Huayhuash stands out today as one of the most remarkable hikes I’ve done. A grand expedition into the wilds of both the unmatched natural splendor and the uncompromising will of the Huayhuash people.

Skyline Adventures offers both private and group treks to the Huayhuash range in Peru. In 2010 we have 4 programmed trips running in May, June, July, and August. For more information or to sign-up for this spectacular hike, visit us at www.skyline-adventures.com/huayhuash.asp.

For those of you who haven’t heard of this wonderful organization, the Make A Wish foundation is dedicated to fulfilling the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions, enriching their lives with happiness, hope, and strength to carry on with their fight for health another day or month or year.  You can read about the first wish they ever granted here: www.wish.org/about/the_first_wish but make sure to have a tissue near by!    

Skyline Adventures began raising money for Make a Wish in 2009, running a really fantastic trip with 5 women up the Santa Cruz valley and donating all proceeds to the charity at trips end. (To read a testimonial from one of the trips participants, click here).  It was a roaring success, full of happy hikers, sunny days, beautiful vistas, and cultural awakenings, all back-dropped by an enchanting cause.   

In 2010 we are planning another trek to the same area and are looking for folks who want to experience a great adventure in the Andes of Peru and know that the proceeds from the trip are going to help put a smile on the face of a child.  The itinerary is 9 days long, Lima to Lima with all services included.  The difficulty of the walk is moderate, with a highpoint of 4750 meters (15,583 feet).  You’ll only carry a small daypack so you can enjoy the views to the fullest, and you will be stunned & amazed at the delicious cuisine your expedition cook prepares for you three times a day!  In just a week and a half you will get to know a new country, culture, and breathtaking environment – no previous experience needed, only an adventurous spirit and a comfy pair of boots!

�
For more details on the trip:  www.skyline-adventures.com/featured.asp. 

 Happy 2010 from your friends at Skyline Adventures!