1. All our mountain guides have studied for several years and successfully completed a rigorous course in high mountain guiding and safety, and are certified by AGOEMA (Asociacion de Guias Oficiales Especializados en Montaña - Ancash). They also all have extensive high-altitude mountain experience, including the ascents of Mount Huascaran (Peru’s highest peak at 6768m), Mount Alpamayo (one of the Cordillera Blanca’s most technical mountain) and Mount Chacraraju (the most challenging mountain in the Cordillera Blanca).
2. All our staff are adequately qualified and experienced, and hold the necessary skills required to do their job to a high standard. They are paid a fair wage and treated with respect, because we believe that maintaining a good relationship with our staff is key to the success of our activities.
3. We provide the necessary good quality, specialised equipment for all activities, including trekking, mountaineering, rock climbing, bouldering and mountain biking.
4. We have a low client-to-guide ratio.
5. We have high porter/donkey support.
6. We offer an excellent service in camp, making sure that you feel as comfortable as possible at all times. We bring a cup of tea or coffee to your tent first thing in the morning, as well as a bowl filled with warm water for washing. Washing bowls are also available in the afternoon to freshen up or do your laundry.
7. We offer the best acclimatisation program, to ensure you do not suffer from Acute Mountain Sickness.
8. To ensure your comfort and safety, we review and renew our equipment on a regular basis, and also all equipment is washed thoroughly at the end of every expedition.
9. We only use vehicles in excellent working condition. The type of transport we use varies according to road conditions and the number of people on the trip.
10. We provide plenty of delicious, varied, healthy, high-energy, good-quality food, which is ideal for rigorous activity. The meals are prepared by a professional cook in a hygienic manner.
11. We specialise in designing trips that make the most of the Peruvian Andes. We have many years of experience leading trips in the Cordillera Blanca, Negra and Huayhuash, our unparalleled knowledge of the mountains allows us to take you to places where few other people go.
12. We have a perfect safety record. We have not had any injuries or accidents in 7 years of operations. Your safety is our highest priority.
13. We care deeply about the environments that we travel to and the communities we encounter. We minimise the impact of our presence by taking all the steps possible to leave the places we visit in their pristine original state. We use toilet tents and bury toilet waste, we use gas for cooking rather than wood, we wash everything well away from streams, we carry all our rubbish out of the mountains, we use biodegradable washing up liquid whenever possible (it is not available in Peru) and we recommend that our clients use biodegradable products, such as toiletries. We encourage our guides and staff to pick up the rubbish they encounter along the way. We also organise cleaning up trips with our staff in places where rubbish has gathered. To ensure that our clients understand how to best minimise their impact on the environment, we give them a sheet with tips about how to trek responsibly.
14. We want local communities to benefit from our visit. All the muleteers and porters that we employ are trusted local mountain people that we have known and employed for several years. We make a point of paying them a fair wage, because too often they are the ones who are paid a despicable wage by many companies in Huaraz.
Also we have introduced fees that go directly to the local people, for example in Wilcacocha visitors now pay 2 Soles to visit the lake. That way local communities can benefit from our visit and in exchange keep the place clean
15. Animal welfare is extremely important to us. We have the greatest respect for the donkeys that work for us and make sure they are well treated, fed and not overloaded.
16. We understand that people have different expectations and needs. So whether you have a particular interest in flora, photography, local culture, archaeology, or anything else, we can design an itinerary that is be best suited to your specific needs.
17. We understand that people have different travel preferences and budgets. For these reasons, you have the choice between luxury and basic service.
18. We pride ourselves in giving thorough and accurate information and will do our very best to answer all your questions and meet any special request that you may have. Pre-trip planning is extremely important, for that reason we are happy to spend the time communicating with you to make sure your needs are met.
19. Our company is run by David Lazo (who is Peruvian and speaks Spanish, English and Quechua) and Marie Timmermans (who is Belgian and speaks French, English and Spanish). David’s extensive local knowledge and experience of the mountains combined with Marie’s understanding of foreign travellers needs add up to the best and most complete expertise.
20. Our guides carry various books along on the expedition so that our clients can learn more extensively about the flora and fauna encountered along the way.
21. We are very conscious of the effects of altitude sickness and for that reason, before booking anyone on a trip, we make sure that our clients have adequate acclimatisation. We are aware that a person getting sick will affect the rest of the group, thus we will not book a person that we consider as having insufficient acclimatisation so as not to ruin the trip for them and everyone else.
22. We guarantee that you will experience the trip of a lifetime in comfort and safety.