Eddie Bauer ski athletes Drew Tabke and Lynsey Dyer shred steeps all over the world. Alpine climbing guide Adrian Ballinger leads summits in the Himalaya, Andes, and Africa. These people are in their element in the mountains. But in Huayhuash, they also wanted to be out of their element.

So, they put away their skis and the impulse to go downhill as fast as possible. Set aside ice axes and the single-pointed goal of reaching a remote summit.

And they just walked—all 85 miles of the Cordillera—to experience the place on different terms. Pure. Simple. Direct. 20,000-foot peaks. 16,000-foot passes. Stunning alpine lakes. This is Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes, where an Eddie Bauer guide and two athletes came to experience mountains in a completely different light.