For those who are curious, the approximate statistics for the second (blue) leg of my tour, from Santiago to Osorno, are 1625 miles and 103,000 feet of elevation gain/loss during 47 days. That’s about 35 miles and 2200 feet per day, which is not so bad considering that some of those miles were over ridiculous terrain like the Paso de las Damas.
Unfortunately I only summited seven peaks, which makes me question whether I can still call myself a peak-bagger. This was partly because I did not have a “mother lode” of peaks like the Puna de Atacama on this leg, but mostly because I was burned out on high-altitude choss. By the time I reached Bariloche, where both the rock and my motivation greatly improved, COVID-19 and the world’s response to it cut my travels short. I explored the Andes from about 25 to 41 degrees south on this trip, but there is a lot more left to see. Hopefully I will be able to return sometime in the future. With almost 3000 miles under my belt on this trip, I can almost call myself a real bike tourist, though I’m nowhere close to matching Daniel, Marilyne, Kevin, or some of the others I have met down here.
Don’t let imposter syndrome get you down, SeanO! You’re as much of a peakbagger and bike tourist as anyone else I know. I think that’s a sentiment most of your friends would agree on too. Sorry current events cut your travels short. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading about your South American travels and I hope you do more bike-touring/peakbagging trips in the future (like the Andes 4000m peaks FKT). All the best to you.
Thanks! Nothing’s certain, but I definitely have some ideas for a lot more bike-peak-bagging in the future. It really opens up a whole new world in terms of cost and mobility. (And suffering… ;-)