Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Whatever adventure you choose, be prepared to spend a few days acclimating to the
dizzying altitudes - or face a heavy-duty bout of altitude sickness.
Trekking is most rewarding during the dry season (May to September) in the Andes.
Avoid the wet season (December to March), when rain makes some areas impassable.
TOUCHING THE VOID
What inspires a person to endure inhospitable climes, hunger, exhaustion and a lack of oxygen in order to conquer
forbidding mountain peaks? It's a question explored at length by Joe Simpson in his celebrated book,
Touching
the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
. This gripping narrative tells the story of a climb that
Simpson undertook with his climbing partner, Simon Yates. The climb began well enough - with an extremely
challenging and, ultimately, successful ascent on the jagged and steep Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash.
But it ended in an accident that almost claimed one man's life. The topic examines the thrills, rewards and agony
of mountaineering.
Touching the Void
became an award-winning British documentary in 2003.
