Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

CaptainMoeswae t1_j6b48aw wrote

Reply to comment by iminyourbase in At least 25 die in Peru when bus plunges off cliff, police say by Vegeta9001

If you're going up from Agua Caliente you could hike up the stairs which cut through the switchbacks described. It's a tough climb (1200ft worth of stairs if I recall) and best started super early in the day.

206

merit33 t1_j6bkm5t wrote

In the Andes, everyone's got some story about the rare event when a condor knocked some animals or farmers off the mountain.. watch your back!

93

StuckinPrague t1_j6bm87m wrote

I didnt want to wait for the bus to go down so walked it. It's was an hour or two downhill.

86

tuxman20 t1_j6cwbmo wrote

It’s a long walk up but not hard. I’m a computer nerd with pretty much no workouts in my day to day life and I did it twice.

Wayna Picchu on the other hand…. Daaaaaamn!!

44

SpeedflyChris t1_j6cmc2n wrote

1200ft really isn't all that much height gain, should be under an hour for anyone reasonably fit? Or is there just way more to it than just stairs?

2

Colonel_Saito t1_j6cxv1p wrote

Jesus it's still like walking up 100-120 flights of stairs. Certainly not nothing

21

SpeedflyChris t1_j6el6um wrote

It's not nothing but it's not a lot either.

−3

NPD_wont_stop_ME t1_j6f0j9h wrote

I would be afraid of losing my footing, falling backwards, tumbling down and dying.

3

CandlesInTheCloset t1_j6cxqev wrote

Isn’t that like 100-120 flights of stairs? That sounds like a lot of upward height gain to me.

I hiked a trail that had like 800 feet gain in about 45 minutes and that was considered “moderate” already.

11

magicone2571 t1_j6d895d wrote

It's a lot. And their steep. Once you get up though it isn't over, the climb through is a chore also. I hiked up the mountain also, that was something else.

8

jordenk6929 t1_j6e35de wrote

Elevation is a problem too right?

2

magicone2571 t1_j6e7gf8 wrote

Not really. When you leave Cusco you're over 10kft. It's about 8k at Machu, maybe 10k at the very very top. It's an amazing place. The town though can be kinda rough as it's jam packed with tourist all the time.

https://imgur.com/a/OrgPto6

1

grandramble t1_j6e888b wrote

Machu Picchu is at around 8k ft elevation. Cuzco is a little short of 12k.

1

magicone2571 t1_j6e8tz8 wrote

Ah. I stand corrected. Got meters and feet mixed up. Still 8k isn't too bad if you're healthy. Cusco kicked my butt but I was fine hiking Machu Picchu.

2

victorialandout t1_j6dhoct wrote

User doesn’t understand the scale here. Or altitude involved. It’s like the uneducated saying it ain’t so bad outside a submarine at max depth.

8

SpeedflyChris t1_j6ek4e9 wrote

Lol, I spend a fair amount of time in the mountains, I know from experience that on a reasonable trail (certainly worse than something resembling stairs) I'll average about 500m/hour altitude gain if I'm not pushing too hard, and I'm not by any means seriously fit (I have a largely titanium spine following a paragliding accident a couple of years back). A 1200ft ascent I could take my 70 year old dad up no problem.

Looking it up, it's at about 2400m, so a 1200ft/400m ascent at those altitudes should be easy for all but the most couch potato of redditors.

2

victorialandout t1_j6f2i8g wrote

I’ve done the four-day hike. It’s fine. But don’t assume it’s not for people in shape. We had several couples get severe altitude sickness by the time we got MP. Why? Several reasons. No time to acclimate but also acting like they were locals by pushing to keep up with the porters (bad idea) at every turn.

So, don’t get all mathy and arrogant when conditions are variable for all.

3

-emanresUesoohC- t1_j6e5md3 wrote

It’s also at a high elevation to start, so you feel short of air until you aclámate.

2

SpeedflyChris t1_j6ekyu4 wrote

Fair, it's still only ~2400m, so that wouldn't be particularly hard.

1

LurkingFromTheGrave t1_j6dkshu wrote

Try doing 1 hour at your gym's stairmaster and tell us how you feel. Then imagine doing that in higher altitude.

0

SpeedflyChris t1_j6eku2o wrote

I spend a lot of time in the mountains, 1200ft/hour would be pretty poor in terms of altitude gain hiking. At 3000m if you're not acclimatised it's probably not far off.

−3