Yesterday, ALL TEAM MEMBERS AND GUIDES reached the summit of Cayambe around 6am EST. For those of us living in or around Seattle, we felt accomplished having completed such a hard activity before we would normally even be awake. Most climbers were back to the refugio by about 8am, a very speedy descent. Route conditions were ideal on Cayambe, when you would step out of the trail it was just a light dusting of snow on top of a supportable crust, meaning there was very little plunging, and the crampons would bite into the hard surface during the cold night. Although the route is in great shape, this is always a challenging mountain. At 18,500’ the route ascends a steep headwall for about 300 vertical feet before passing through crevassed terrain. Additionally, sleeping above 15,000’ for two nights and then going to nearly 19,000’ on day seven of an expedition is a quick jump in altitude and everyone seemed to handle it well. Now we turn our sights towards Antisana. 

On our way to Antisana we are staying in two different haciendas. Last night we were at the rustic Guachala, which was built in the early 1500s. It has it’s charm and is steeped in local history; we also enjoyed a quiet dinner and breakfast under the watchful eye of the two house dogs, always hoping for a scrap. This morning we packed up and got ourselves closer to Antisana. We are using the beautiful yard at Casa Ilayaku to learn skills for our next climb (tent setup and running belays) as well as more expedition skills for future endeavors. Tomorrow we will go to Antisana basecamp via 4x4 vehicles and spend the night in tents before taking our shot at the summit.  

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier