Led by two Cusco bike guides and one fortune teller, two cycling pros from the States set off to conquer one of the highest peaks in Peru.
Is it possible to circumnavigate an 18,000-foot massif on a mountain bike, and in 2 feet of snow? That’s what pro cyclists Remi McManus and Ian Matteson, led by local bike guides Manuel Aristondo Garate and Pancho Pither Mamani Condori, set off to find out in this third installment of the “SHARED TERRITORY” series by Pearl Izumi.
Auzangate is the fifth-highest mountain in the Peruvian Andes and stands tall to the east of Cusco. The locals call it the Apu, or “father mountain” because Auzangate’s glacier has fed the pastoral societies and their animals for millennia. Along the route, the four men encounter immense altitude, countless alpacas, and more snowfall than they bargained for.
“At about 2:30 last night, type-two adventure turned into type-three adventure when it snowed about 24 inches,” McManus said at one point. “But nothing we’re not ready for — we got wool socks and plastic bags over our feet.”
Curious what else the journey had in store? You’ll have to watch the full episode to find out.
Runtime: 29 minutes
