Two weeks ago we summited Mount Tunare which is the tallest peak in the central Bolivian Andes. We parked the bus at 14,000 feet and began to wander trailess up the mountain.
Along the way we encountered many fiercely dangerous and incredibly wild animals.
(Are you talking to me?)
We decided the best way would be to climb straight up.
Did I mention we climbed straight up?
We summited the 17,000 foot mountain after right around 2 hours. I have never been at such an altitude and the last bit was the hardest. The air was so thin and my legs felt leaded down. At the top, a beautiful thing was waiting.
After Rusty joined us at the top we all sat watching the clouds. The sheerness of the cliffs gave us the vantage watching the wind move the clouds over the jointed cliffs. We could literally see each wisp of cloud crawling over the mountains. Suddenly there was a clearing and Rusty stood up announcing to all of us “We are literally ABOVE the clouds, like, literally. We are seeing the type of things you see out your plane window and we Walked here! Can you believe how good God is? Can you even understand what we are seeing?”
We took a photo of all the survivors, ate our lunch, then prayed and sang the song, “How Great is Our God” in a “love huddle” for warmth.
Enjoy the rest of these photos from the top of the Andes!
Rusty and Becky on the opposing ridge.
Our bus was parked at the left edge of the lake pictured.
TEAM OPEN ROAD!
