Artesonraju The Mountain is Only Half the Journey

In Artesonraju, Josh and his climbing partner Adam travel from the United States to South America to attempt to climb Artesonraju, one of the most beautiful peaks in the Peruvian Andes. On their first foray into the mountains, Josh gets dangerously sick from the altitude, and he and Adam must retreat to civilization to regroup. In their subsequent attempts to get back in the mountains and salvage their trip, they encounter bandits that want a horse in exchange for safe passage, share a taxi with a kidnapped puppy, ride the most dilapidated roller coaster in the hemisphere, and eventually climb a mountain.

The unfamiliar environment of Peru often stymies and challenges Josh. As he and Adam navigate setbacks, he learns important things about himself and begins to discover that Adam has much greater intellectual and spiritual depth than he had suspected. Artesonraju's light-hearted and reflective tone will appeal to all lovers of travel, memoir, and adventure writing.