June 15-18, 2007 (via email) :
We traveled north from the Hacienda La Cienega to the Hacienda Guachalà, and enjoyed a little bit of the vida tranquila, and the warmth of fire places in our rooms. On Saturday morning we traveled to the indigenous town of Otavalo and spent a couple of hours at the market, shopping for traditional Ecuadorian artesenial crafts. Then we travelled in 4 x 4 to the Cayambe Refugio, but were stopped short due to poor road conditions, snow, rain, and winds. Because of the weather, we decided to return to the Hacienda Guachalà for the night and dry out. Yesterday we went to Las Lagunas Mojiendas, and climbed a 4800 meter peak called Fuya Fuya. The weather was cloudy, but it didn´t rain or snow on us, and we enjoyed a fun hike on an exposed ridge with a little rock scrambling to get to the summit. After descending, we returned to Quito and enjoyed an excellent dinner accompanied by traditional Ecuadorian music and dance, before retiring to our rooms and getting some rest for early flights in the morning.

June 12, 2007 :
Hi this is Mike calling from Ecuador. We are currently at the Refugio at 16,000 feet on Cotopaxi. To fill you in on what we have done this week, we left Quito on Monday and drove to Illiniza Norte, a jagged peak just west of Cotopaxi National Park where we went for an acclimatization hike to 14,000’. The summit of Illiniza is at 15,000’ feet but the weather shortened our trip when it started hailing so we descended before reaching the hut. We traveled to the Hacienda Porvenir where we spent the night and enjoyed the comforts of a traditional Ecuadorian farmhouse.

Yesterday we drove to the base of Cotopaxi and made the short 40 minute hike to the Jose Ribas Refugio where we spent the night. We awoke to a dusting of fresh snow here at the hut. The teams that attempted the summit last night were turned back due to new snow and high winds.

Today we will review our basic mountaineering techniques and prepare for an early alpine start for our summit attempt. We will check in again soon.

June 10, 2007 (via email 4:39 p.m.) :
We had great weather today for a good acclimatization hike in Pasachoa Reserve. Everyone is doing well. We are about to go out for dinner in Quito, and then get some rest. Tomorrow we´ll go for another hike at the Ilinizas and then head to a hacienda for tomorrow night, before heading up to the Cotopaxi climber´s refugio.

June 8, 2007:
This is Mike Walter checking in from Quito, Ecuador. Our group has arrived, everyone is doing well and is excited to begin the trip. We will start tomorrow with a tour of Colonial Quito accompanied by an Ecuadorian tour guide. We will check in again soon.

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