Latest news with #PeruvianAndes
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
St. Paul woman asks help to find ex missing while climbing Andes in Peru
A St. Paul woman and local university researcher has set up a GoFundMe account to help in the search for her former husband and Minnesota resident, after he went missing while climbing a mountain in the Peruvian Andes. Natalia Mossmann Koch of St. Paul said that her former husband, Edson Vandeira, is a professional mountaineer who was on the mountain for practice. Vandeira, a native of Brazil and a former Minnesotan, was with two other climbers from Peru. The three were part of an expedition with recognized technical expertise. The trio has been missing since June 1 on Artesonraju Mountain, which is reportedly one of the most demanding peaks in the Cordillera Blanca, a mountain range in the Peruvian Andes. The team's tent was found empty and there are 'signs that the group had reached the summit and that something serious had possibly happened during the descent,' according to the fundraiser, which had raised nearly $3,500 as of Friday. When her former husband and the two other climbers didn't return on June 1, Koch set up a GoFundMe at ( to provide aid to rescue teams that are searching for Edson. 'The search is in full swing,' Koch wrote. 'Rescue teams are being mobilized urgently, involving local climbers, guides, police officers, friends and family. However, high mountain rescue is extremely complex, demanding intense logistics, specific equipment, food, high altitude travel and a lot of human and technical commitment.' The money raised, Koch wrote, will cover the operational costs of the rescue and the costs of family members traveling to Peru. DNR officer, Kittson County deputies rescue orphaned bear cubs Men hit by lightning plucked from mountain in a record-high Colorado helicopter rescues St. Paul firefighters nationally recognized for carrying kids from house fire Abigail R. Hall: Police use of military tools presents a growing danger Washington County Sheriff Dan Starry will not run for a third term
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Travel + Leisure
2 days ago
- Travel + Leisure
Why 'Challenge Travel' Is Trending Among Adventure Lovers—and Some of the Best Experiences to Book
'People want bold and challenging travel experiences,' says Tom Marchant, cofounder of the outfitter Black Tomato. The company debuted its Get Lost itineraries in 2017, giving a select few clients the chance to role-play survival situations in the Peruvian Andes or Mongolian steppes. Travelers on these journeys get dropped in the wilderness and then navigate their way back to civilization. Marchant says interest in the trips has spiked, with 2024 bookings up 40 percent from the previous year. Black Tomato is far from the only operator dreaming up next-level challenges, as travel advisors, tour companies, and even cruise lines are tailoring their offerings to what some call Type 2 fun: experiences that are difficult in the moment, but enriching in hindsight. 'Adventurers are seeking true challenge and isolation,' says Pelorus Travel cofounder Jimmy Carroll. 'These are trips where endurance, strength, and adaptability are essential.' Here are six experiences guaranteed to test your mettle. A CMH adventure in western Canada. Andy Cochrane/CMH Heli-Skiing& Summer Adventures HELI-SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA Founded in 1965, CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures has grown alongside interest in backcountry skiing, and the company now has more than 150 certified mountain guides who can safely lead fresh-track, deep-powder runs across some 3 million acres of the Canadian Cascades. CMH also has a network of comfortable backcountry lodges for multiday adventures among the iconic granite spires of the Bugaboos. A campsite on Kubu Island, in Botswana's Makgadikgadi Pans. OPEN-AIR CAMPING IN BOTSWANA Many safari camps offer indoor-outdoor suites that let in the sounds of nature. Then there's Jack's Camp, the storied Botswana lodge on the edge of the Kalahari Desert. From Jack's, guests can embark on a two-night foray into the vast Makgadikgadi Pans in a convoy of ATVs before making camp on Kubu Island, an outcropping of granite that rises from the arid plain. 'They call it a 'five-gazillion-star bedroom,'' says Mark Lakin, a T+L Travel Advisory Board member who recommends the trip to his clients. One outpost of Utah's Western Uinta Hut System. Inspired Summit Adventures HUT-TO-HUT TREKKING IN UTAH The Western Uinta Hut System is a collection of strategically placed yurts that open the door to more than 100,000 acres of high-altitude terrain. The first of their kind in the state, these rustic lodgings afford adventurers comfortable (if not luxurious) places to overnight during mountain-biking, hiking, and fishing forays deep into the wilderness, says Shaun Deutschlander. She's the founder of Inspired Summit Adventures, which pioneered the growing network and offers guided trips into the mountains. IMPOSSIBLE MISSIONS IN MOROCCO Scaling the exterior of Dubai's Burj Khalifa may be out of reach, but doing your own stunts is possible. Working with crew members from the Mission: Impossible franchise, Pelorus Travel has put together an adventure that involves trekking in the Atlas Mountains, racing across sand dunes in Predator X-18 buggies, and rappelling from a rooftop in the Marrakesh medina. 'It will be a super immersive and high-octane experience,' says Carroll, the Pelorus cofounder. Taking the plunge with Aurora Expeditions in Antarctica. SCUBA DIVING IN ANTARCTICA If simply visiting the seventh continent isn't enough, Aurora Expeditions has trips that also go under it. The expedition cruise line was the first mainstream operator to offer scuba diving in the frigid waters off Antarctica, where the sea life includes spider crabs, soft corals, and walls of giant kelp. It's also possible to spot penguins and seals, says Edwin Sargeant, an ice diver and guide with Aurora Expeditions whose favorite thing to see is the undersides of icebergs. GOING OFF THE GRID IN PERU Black Tomato can coordinate wilderness-survival adventures that push participants' limits. After a safety briefing led by a former officer in the Royal Marines, guests are dropped in the Peruvian mountains with little more than a map and a compass—and orders to get back to an extraction point several days' hike away. For safety, participants are shadowed by a team of pros. 'You won't see them, but they'll always be there to help at a moment's notice,' says Rob Murray-John, head of special projects for Black Tomato. A version of this story first appeared in the July 2025 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline 'Pushing the Limits.'
