Sunday, May 29, 2022 - 6:33 pm PT

Today we climbed Iliniza Norte to it’s quite pointy summit at 18,818 ft.  The entire group made the top in a mere two and a half hours from the hut.  We began at 6:30 AM in partly cloudy conditions.  It was a little cold and windy at first, on icy and slippery rock and dirt, but things improved.  We got amazing views of Cotopaxi and Iliniza Sur, but the rugged rock scrambling required to get up Iliniza Norte kept us well focused on the task at hand.  We hit the top at 9 AM and spent 30 minutes before beginning a careful descent.  The team moved well, with excellent help from our local guide staff, and we were at the base of the mountain by midday. 

We enjoyed a celebratory steak lunch at a restaurant on the way to Cotopaxi National Park and then made our way uphill and into the park to the Tambopoxi Lodge.  Clouds cleared from the mountain at sunset and we had amazing views of our big objective of the next few days. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn