Long Treks on Skate Decks Episode 7: High Altitude

Persevering onward after Aaron's flesh wound, and a medical stop in Pucuio, our favorite longboarders challenge the 3rd mountain pass, climbing 70 km in 1 day to a plateau amidst 18,000+ ft snowcaps. Flabbergasted with oxygen deficiencies and cold headwinds, Episode 7 shows how exhausting high altitude really is. The three dirty compañeros aventureros endure a night in the negative degrees, sleepless at nearly 4000 meters. Their boards, tents, and backpacks are covered in frost in the morning, and they must straddle alpacas all night for warmth. Check out Episodes 1-6 in our blog archives.



Getting more and more into the heart of the Andes is a beautiful thing and a bit scary--such a raw environment with little to no comfort. You end up seeing more alpacas than people. This part of the trip was really epic in scenery to all of us. This was our first time seeing huge massive 18,000+ ft mountains surrounding us. It was when I personally really started to see the magnitude and the power of the Andes. Sleeping that night at 14,000 ft was amazing, I will always remember that sunset, it was heavenly and the clouds surrounded us and sat so close to the ground glowing amazing colors of red, yellow and orange. The morning we woke up frozen and we were so stoked to feel the warmth of the sun as it defrosted our gear. Humor and chasing alpacas kept us sane. Pushing to Negro Mayo will always be in our hearts because in Episode 8 you will know why.

-Adam