CraigBILL

It is definitely a privilege to hike among the elevated landscape of Peru’s Andes Mountain Range. Hiking above 14,000ft is a most challenging but rewarding experience - especially if you are not used to this planetary height - and I was not.

On this multiple day hike, we stopped by the colossal Ausangate Mountain and Glacier and continued along winding minimal trails spotted with Lamas. It was our goal to get to the 15,420ft Ananta base camp as timely as possible to allow ourselves rest and chef prepared meals. This was the time to explore, scout and capture the evening moment. Now this was challenging enough... several people were cringing from altitude sickness. And one of those symptoms was a crazy throbbing headache - which I had.

I was surprised how quick the sky around the peaks surrounding our base camp colored up as I struggled to unpack and setup my camera gear. Head pounding, I clicked away various exposures. before the colorful clouds completely flicked out like a light switch. By this time I just left my camera on the tripod as I crashed out in my tent not even confident I was successful at all.