![ECUADOR - COTOPAXI [3530 EC] Cotopaxi is Ecuador's highest active volcano at 19,388 feet and is located in the Eastern Cordillera. It is a stratovolcano (very similar to Mt. Fuji or Mt Shasta) with an almost perfectly symmetrical cone, rising from a highland plain of 3800 meters and covered by a glacier starting at a height of 5000 meters. It's a moderate glacier walk with a short steeper section close to the top.](../imgThmb/3530_EC_O.jpg)
![ECUADOR - COTOPAXI [3531 EC] If reaching the summit isn't enough, seeing this crater from the top is!](../imgThmb/3531_EC_O.jpg)
![FRANCE - LOST ON MONT BLANC[3070 FR] The fog was so thick that for a while we could only see a few feet in front of us. It was just starting to clear but too late to continue on to the summit.](../imgThmb/3070_FR_M.jpg)
![NEPAL [3500 NE] PRAYER ROCKS - Throughout the day and into the night, you could hear the tapping on the rocks as they are hand carved.](../imgThmb/3500_NE_MV.jpg)
![NEPAL [3501 NE] Mount Everest, at 29,035 feet, is the highest mountain in the world and is located on the Nepal/Tibet border. It was named in 1865 after Sir George Everest, the British surveyor general of India. The Nepalese name for the mountain is Sagarmatha, which means Goddess of the Sky. The Tibetan name is Chomolungma, which means Mother Goddess of the Universe. Photo taken during my first trek to Everest BC in 1999.](../imgThmb/3501_NE_A.jpg)
![NEPAL [3502 NE] CLOUDS SURROUNDING EVEREST - I was descending 18,192 foot (5545 meters) Kala Pattar when I noticed the clouds part just enough to show Everest's summit (back left). I quickly threw down my bag, pulled out my camera, and shot two black and white photos (this and the next one), using two different lenses. Then I changed the film and took the same with color. Within minutes, the summit was gone. Sometimes taking photographs in the mountains is more exhausting than hiking in them!](../imgThmb/3502_NE_MV.jpg)
![NEW ZEALAND - MOUNT COOK [3085 NZ] We were up early racing to go fishing on a river near Twizel on an unusually clear and sunny day. 'Hey, is that Mt. Cook?' 'I don't know. I think so. In the 6 years that I've been here I've never seen it.' 'Pull over, please.'](../imgThmb/3085_NZ_O.jpg)
![PERU [3041 PE]](../imgThmb/3041_PE_A.jpg)
![PERU [3040 PE]](../imgThmb/3040_PE_O.jpg)
![PERU [3042 PE] Our guide, Val Pitkethly](../imgThmb/3042_PE_M.jpg)
![PERU - TOCLLARAJU HIGH CAMP [PETOC077] This is the team at high camp.](../imgThmb/PETOC077.jpg)
![RUSSIA - MOUNT ELBRUS - EARLY MORNING CLIMBERS [3030 RU] That is 18,510 foot (5642 meter) Mount Elbrus, known as the highest mountain in Europe and one of the seven summits. Elbrus is located in the Caucasus Mountains. There has been some dispute as to whether the Caucusus Mountains are considered part of Europe or Asia. If they were considered to be in Asia, then the highest mountain in Europe would be Mont Blanc (15,771feet) in the Alps. I took this photo on another climb just across the border in Georgia.](../imgThmb/3030_RU_M.jpg)
![RUSSIA - MOUNT ELBRUS - MEG GONE WILD [3031 RU] There are two ways to get to the hut on Mt. Elbrus - you can walk or you can take the snowcat. The strong girl walks. The smart girl hitches a ride with the gorgeous Danish guys she met on the chairlift.](../imgThmb/3031_RU_M.jpg)
![RUSSIA - MOUNT ELBRUS [3037 RU]](../imgThmb/3037_RU_M.jpg)
![RUSSIA - MOUNT ELBRUS [3021 RU]](../imgThmb/3021_RU_M.jpg)
NEPAL [3500 NE] PRAYER ROCKS - Throughout the day and into the night, you could hear the tapping on the rocks as they are hand carved.
NEPAL [3500 NE] PRAYER ROCKS - Throughout the day and into the night, you could hear the tapping on the rocks as they are hand carved.
