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A Recipe for Adventure

Take the Grand Canyon, multiply it by 2. Chisel it into the Peruvian Andes. Add in an eruption of the 20,000 ft. volcano, Sabancaya, on the approach across the moonscaped Altiplano. Toss in miles of Class V, boulder-choked gorges and the river plunging over a 500 ft waterfall to disappear below sheer walls. Mix in a dash of the local Indian culture, llamas, Andean condors and numerous unknown Inca ruins. Blend in tales of impassable box canyons, the endemic Chaga's disease and the ever present dysentery. Add a touch of the macabre with unearthed tombs and a pinch of the exotic with places like "Huayrapjunku" -- Wind Gate. Slowly, stir in the continuous disappearance of our gear. Complete the recipe with the constant concern about food shortages and having to climb thousands of feet out of this enormous canyon, and you have a brief description of the first descent of the Rio Cotahuasi: The Jewel of the Peruvian Andes.