Breaking the Cycle – The Andes, the Altiplano & the Atacama

Breaking the Cycle

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his project started in Peru, at the beginning of the Covid19 pandemic. We were able to shoot through Peru securely and into Bolivia. Once in Bolivia the crisis expanded and the project had to be cancelled.

Spanning over 7000km, the Andes is the longest mountain chain in the world and boasts some of the highest peaks. The range also has the world’s highest volcanoes. Ojos del Salado on the Chile-Argentina border measures 6,893m and there are more than 50 volcanoes that reach 6,000m. The Andes is also known for its ruins of ancient civilisations and the source of a malaria treatment. The word altiplano means “high plain” in Spanish. The Altiplano is the area in west- central South America where the Andes are the widest. The bulk of the Altiplano lies in Bolivia, with its northern and western fringes extending into Peru and Chile respectively. The Altiplano merges with the Puna de Atacama (Atacama Plateau) region of northern Argentina, Chile and southern Bolivia. It is the highest, driest desert on Earth. The journey will be a bicycle exploration of these high regions, from the rainy, potentially muddy Peruvian highlands, across the Altiplano (average altitude 3750m) and its mountainous fringes, the Puna de Atacama and finishing by cycling as high as possible up Ojos del Salado. The current cycling altitude record is 6233m.

Each challenge has been designed to be a credible stand-alone expedition as well as an appropriate training. The last and perhaps the most physically challenging preparatory expedition in the series will be the Andes, the Altiplano and the Atacama (South America).