We had seen pictures of the pass we would ride over to “cross the Cordillera.” We had heard about the 30 switchbacks which would take us up and over the Andes. We knew that we would be making our way up to an altitude of more than 10,000 feet… on our fully loaded bicycles.

A view from on the way up!

Knowing all this, I must admit, I was a bit nervous about riding over the pass from Chile to Argentina. After all, I thought we did a lot of climbing on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which only took us to a height of about 3,500 feet. This was going to be totally different. I also knew, from previous experience, that the Chileans have no clue about grading inclines on their roads. In Argentina, all the climbs are slow, steady, gradual. But in Chile, we’ve decided they look at the map, pick the most direct route from A to B, and that’s where they put the road.

Actually, this is just the first set of 20 switchbacks! There were 10 more after these! Absolutely incredible.

It basically took us two days to climb the 70 kilometers up to the pass at 3,185 meters, or 10,450 feet, easily our highest altitude yet. Actually, the crazy thing is that’s not even the real pass! That just takes you to the “Cristo Redentor Tunel.” The pass itself is another 700 meters up (and 9 more kilometers) on a dirt road. We wanted to ride that part as well, but that morning we prayed that God would give us wisdom on what to do when we reached the tunnel. The guy working the tunnel told us that since it had rained the night before, the dirt road was in bad condition, and he did not recommend it for the bicycles. Plus, it was starting to snow a little bit. Clear enough! So we loaded our bikes in his truck and got a ride through the 3-kilometer tunnel, as they don’t allow cyclists to ride through it.

At the tunnel! 3,185 meters... whew!

On the other side, we were met with more snow, lots of tailwind, beautiful views and 80 kilometers of almost all downhill! Now that is the way to make good time on the bikes! We rode about 85 kilometers in just the afternoon. It still took us a while though because we had to stop to take so many pictures!

At the top and about to head DOWNHILL! Praise the Lord!

Although we might have higher climbs ahead, making this pass was a bit of a milestone for us. It’s so empowering to see a challenge and tackle it head on! I know the Lord is building our confidence and strength… not in ourselves, but in Him. And it’s not just the confidence we need to face what we will ride, but what life will bring in the years ahead. Dave was reminded of this verse from Proverbs 21:31—“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.” We know—not only in this small battle of crossing the Andes, but in the big picture of our entire journey—that we have done everything we can to be prepared, to “make ready for the day of battle.” But ultimately, the victory belongs to the Lord!

What a joy to be going down AND to have beautiful scenery!

The number at the bottom is Dave's max speed on our descent... also max speed for the whole trip! Don't worry, it's in km/h, not mph. But still very fast!