The mossy slopes of Peru’s Putucusi stretch heavenward, high enough to be enshrouded in cloud. Centuries-old ladders built into the face of the mountain have guided countless travelers through its dense vegetation and into its dizzying heights. Kusi takes its name from the mountain and from k’usi, the Quechua word for “happy.” Its ladder of colors presents a similar conduit between the earth and the heavens. Perhaps by allowing ascension from the familiar to the beyond, it combines the two realms – the earthly becomes otherworldly – lifted – enlightened.