Entries from Ecuador

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 - 4:29 pm PT

Greetings!! 

Today the team woke up early and dawned crampons and ropes for the first time this trip before summiting Illiniza Norte (16,800ft) at 8 am this morning. The weather was beautiful and the summit was another high point for a lot of our climbers. We had an amazing lunch in Machachi where some of our climbers got a taste of magic chocolate, which is hot chocolate with marshmallows and cheese. It was indeed a magical experience. We made our way to Chilcabamba where the team gets to enjoy showers, another delicious meal, and separate rooms. Tomorrow we will make our way to the Jose Ribas Refugio on Cotopaxi.  For now, the team bonds over Monopoly Deal and complimentary ponchos. 

Cheers! 

RMI Guide Mac Nolde 

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Move on up! 

Today the team packed up all their gear, loaded Victor's magic school bus, and departed from the comfort of Quito, making our way to the base of Illiniza Norte. A speedy ascent put us at the Illiniza hut early in the afternoon, giving the team time to rest and relax before indulging in a local dinner and playing some cards.

After the evening briefing on tomorrow's objective, the team hit an early bedtime in preparation for the alpine start. Hopefully tomorrow brings good weather and fair climbing conditions! Regardless, we will see you on the other side. 

RMI Guide Mike Bennett 

¡Buenas! 

Today the team met up with our local guide Jaime, who has summited Cotopaxi over 400 times, and had our first acclimatization hike to the summit of Rucu Pichincha, (15,696 ft or 4696m).  The weather was great with some clouds lingering but no precipitation which is amazing for this time of year in Ecuador. Today’s summit was the highest elevation a few of our climbers have ever been to, but the whole team did an amazing job. Luke even made a friend on the summit with a Carunculated Caracara, a falcon found high on the grassy slopes of Ecuador. 

The team has been taking advantage of the spa and cold plunge back at the hotel with Eric taking his first cold plunge yesterday and loved it so much he tried to go again at 5am this morning! (The spa was closed). 

Tonight the team continues to settle into life at high elevation, enjoying dinner in Quito, and packing for our move to the Illiniza Refugio (15,100’ or 4600m) tomorrow.  

¡Adios! 

RMI Guide Mac Nolde

Sunday, October 18, 2026

The fall Cotopaxi team has arrived in Ecuador and is settling in and acclimatizing in the city. We spent the morning getting to meet one another, covering some basics on travel and culture in Ecuador, and then venturing into Quito to explore.

A local tour guide provided the team with great insight and education on various cultural and religious point of Quito. Additionally, the team visited the Equator and spent some time learning through interactive exhibits and displays. The late afternoon was occupied by a team gear check before being cut free to rest and indulge in local cuisine before resting for the evening.

All is well and the team is doing well and looking forward to the big days to come. 

RMI Guide Mike Bennett

Monday, June 15, 2026 - 3:57 pm PT

Our climb of Cotopaxi was a resounding success. After making out way to the Jose Ribas Refugio at 15,950' on Saturday, we woke to high winds and blowing moisture. Not knowing exactly how things would progress, we donned our shell layers and headed out to attempt the peak. The weather remained the same throughout our climb and despite the fact that a thick layer of ice built up on every vertical surface, the team trudged on, reaching the summit at 6:30am on Sunday.  

Yesterday afternoon we returned to Quito for a celebratory dinner, some thicker air, and a collection of flights to our various corners of the country. 

On a personal note, I wanted to say thank you to this team for an amazing week of climbing. In many ways, this was a textbook trip: we had 100% success on each of the four peaks we climbed. That doesn't mean that the climbs were without challenge, but rather that each teammate showed up fit and ready to climb. Even when things were in doubt, they kept positive attitudes and were willing to make the best of every situation. I feel fortunate to have spent the week getting to show them around one of the best climbing areas in South America. Cheers!

RMI Guide Eric Frank

Antisana was a challenging, but rewarding experience for the entire team. In contrast to multiple other parties of the previous peaks, we had the mountain to ourselves. A midnight start allowed us to climb the route in only six hours, summitting right at sunrise. The route on Antisana is a great mixture of rocky moraines, glacial ice, big crevasses and steep pitches. We felt fortunate to have it on the itinerary for this trip. 

Today, we are at an eco lodge several hours from Antisana recovering from our efforts and preparing for the next mountain. We had a lazy breakfast with lots of coffee and group yoga. This afternoon we plan to nap, read books, check email and catch up with friends and family. 

RMI Guide Eric Frank & Team

Frank & Team reached the summit of Antisana, fourth highest volcano in Ecuador, this morning. They summitted at 6:50 am GMT in 6.5 hours. Nice work team!

RMI Guide Eric Frank left a voicemail from the summit, scroll below the next photo to listen!

Photos by Local Ecuadorian Guides, Reynaldo Camacho and Jaime Avila

The last 24 hours have been a bit of a blur, but we are happy to report that everyone on the team summited Illiniza Norte this morning. It is only an "acclimatization peak" on our itinerary in preparation for the upcoming attempts on Antisana and Cotopaxi, but this morning's climb was exhilarating in its own right. 

Yesterday morning we left Quito under sunny skies with high excitement and a questionable forecast. Midway through our approach to the Illiniza Refugio the skies opened up and we walked in a deluge for 30+ minutes. The rain tapered a bit for the final hour, but we arrived at the refugio quite wet. Gore-tex can only stop so much water! 

Nevertheless, the team did a great job staying motivated and even though it rained off and on through the night we woke up at 5am to make the best of it. Our motivation paid off and by 6:15am we were headed uphill under partly clear skies. The rain through the night did leave a nice coating of snow over the entire mountain, which added to the challenge. Scrambling sections that normally would be easy were slick with slush and required careful movement. 

Two and a half hours of climbing later, we reached the summit and quickly decided to descend before the weather turned on us. A slippery and muddy descent brought us back to the trailhead. 

RMI Guide Eric Frank

We summited Illiniza Norte at 8:30am this morning. Cloudy and threatening but we started dry and had a great climb.

I'll write a proper dispatch once we get down to the refugio and send some photos.

RMI Guide Eric Frank

6/7 - Given a questionable forecast, the team met at 5:30am this morning for a quick coffee and early launch for Rucu. It turned out to be a great decision as we were rewarded with spectacular views of the other Ecuadorian volcanoes and dry conditions for our climb. After traversing the grassy plains below the peak, we linked together sections of easy trail with some short rock scrambles until we arrived at the top in only 3 hours. 

Everyone performed well and felt strong despite the fact that we are only on our second day in country. After returning from the climb we gorged on pizza and look forward to an afternoon of relaxing before we pack up to head to our next peak - Illiniza Norte. 

- RMI Guide Eric Frank & Team