If I just shared these images everyone would think it was all rainbows and butterflies. My six weeks spent in Peru were with some amazing people and surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountains in the world but there were some ups and downs. Covid weeks before I left for Peru maybe is to blame for the first string of bad luck. My lungs weren’t ready for the high altitude of the Peruvian Andes so within a week I got HAPE and then Pneumonia. I still had hope I’d be able to salvage the trip and join Josh Wharton and @icevince on Jirishanca but then with two separate cases of some very violent food poisoning leaving my body depleted, I called it off. I still managed to join a crew of amazing people at the base camp of Jirishanca in the Cordillera Huayhuash and get some images lower on the mountain. Josh Wharton, @icevince , @alikberg , @quentinclimbing , @cheynelempe , @chrisalstrin and an amazing local Dionicio Huaranga all brightened my spirits everyday. Josh Wharton and @icevince did the first integral ascent and first free ascent of the Italian route "Suerte" (5.13a, WI6, M7, 3,500 feet) on Jirishanca’s (20,100 feet) South Face then finished on the Northeast ridge. This was Josh’s 4th time traveling to Peru for the route and 2nd time with Vince. They both had turned around together just four pitches from the summit in 2019. @quentinclimbing and @alikberg joined Josh and Vince on the summit only minutes later, having just established a new route called Reino Hongo (M7 5.8 90°) up the mountain’s east side, also in alpine style. Spending time with these friends and watching them succeed brought me so much joy and made me thankful for this life I get to live. @patagonia @patagonia_climb