Entries from Ecuador
We packed up our gear, loaded up the van, and left Quito, heading north towards the town of Otavalo this morning. On tap was another acclimatization hike up the extinct volcano Fuya Fuya. The hike started at Lake Mojanda, high up in the Andes. The trail wove through the high Andean grassland, with increasing steepness with every step. A short rock scramble culminated in a 14,000' summit with great views and not a breath of wind. A quick descent followed. We are now at our hacienda for the night, Casa Sol, where we are looking forward to a hot shower and a nourishing meal...I'm sure we won't be disappointed.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
We had a great climb today, with everyone climbing strong and reaching the summit of Rucu Pichincha. At a height of nearly 15,700', many of our team set new personal altitude records today. We were working hard and breathing deeply in the thin air of Rucu, which rises abruptly out of the city of Quito. We accessed the upper ridge of Rucu via a gondola ride to over 13,000'.
The weather cooperated with us today, although on the summit the views were obscured by clouds. Lower on the climb we were afforded impressive views down into the Quito valley below.
We're psyched for a little down time this afternoon. We head up north tomorrow to climb Fuya Fuya. We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Wednesday, June 17th
Our Ecuador Seminar trip is officially under way. We met this morning for breakfast and group introductions, and then hit the ground running. First on our to-do list was head out to the Panecillo, a statue and view point overlooking Ecuador’s capital city, Quito. Surrounded by mountains and sitting at nearly 9,000’, the views were beautiful, including a glimpse at tomorrow’s objective, Volcano Rucu Pichincha.
Next up, we toured the streets of colonial Quito. Here we got history lessons from our local guide and visited churches, the presidential palace, independence plaza, and more.
Finally we were off to the Equator to simultaneously place a foot in both the northern and southern hemisphere. At the Equator we visited an ethnographic museum and learned about the various cultures of this diverse country. We also saw some simulations explaining the Coriolis Effect and the significance of being at mitad del mundo …literally at the middle of the world.
The evening ended with a team dinner with traditional Ecuadorian food. One bold team member ordered the local delicacy, cuy, or guinea pig.
With day one in the books, we’re eagerly awaiting our first acclimatization hike tomorrow. We’re headed to the Volcano Rucu Pichincha, one of the major volcanoes forming a geographical boundary of Quito. We’ll be in touch tomorrow!
Ciao,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
The Ecuador Seminar team, led by Casey Grom and Ben Liken reached the Cotopaxi summit this morning! Check out the photos Casey sent us this morning from their summit bid.
Congratulations team!
On The Map
Congrats Luke and rest of team. Look forward to hearing details. Damn I’m jealous.
Jim
Posted by: Jim hill on 2/15/2015 at 10:39 pm
Great accomplishment - all down safe and sound?
Posted by: sally on 2/15/2015 at 7:08 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom, Ben Liken
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Happy Valentine's Day Everyone,
We spent the day relaxing here at Hacienda Tambopaxi that sits just at the base of the beautiful volcano Cotopaxi. It's one of the highest active volcanoes in the world and we've been told that Cotopaxi is a pre-inca name meaning "neck of the moon". The area surrounding the volcano is mostly high plateau grasslands and is home to a thousands of wild horses, which we could easily see just outside of the hacienda.
The team is doing great and everyone is well rested and excited for our last big climb. We'll be waking up at 10pm and hopefully hitting the road shortly after breakfast and if all goes well, standing at 19,347ft above sea level right after sunrise.
We will check in tomorrow when we are safely back down.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Posted by: Casey Grom, Ben Liken
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Greetings from Tambopaxi Lodge,
Today we took a full day to rest our weary legs and heal our slightly sun burnt faces. After a breakfast with a view of Cotopaxi a few of team members went horseback riding while the rest of us drank coffee and swapped stories from our Antisana climb. The riders got all dressed up in Ecuadorean ponchos, cowboy hats, and alpaca chaps. We then wasted no time getting to our next activity...... A four course lunch. We did manage to get in some training in during the afternoon but were easily distracted by views of the mountain and galloping wild horses.
We look forward to a good night of sleep because tomorrow there will be no such luxury. Tomorrow we will be up and at 'em around 10 pm to ascend our final peak, Cotopaxi.
Everyone hear wishes their special someone at home a very happy Valentine's Day!
RMI Guide Ben Liken and Amigos
Congratulations to my Climbing buddies so proud of you have a safe trip home.
Posted by: Wanda Manderson on 2/14/2015 at 7:37 pm
Congratulations to our team of climbers on their climb today!
It wasn't easy, in fact far from it.
We started the day with a 10:30 pm wake up call that no one ever enjoys, but everyone made it to breakfast relatively quickly and seemed excited as the weather looked to be in our favor. We then hoped into our 4 wheeled vehicles and drove about 20 minutes to the start of the climb. The weather continued to improve as we made our way to the the start of the glacier where we put on our crampons and roped up for the rest of the climb. The initial part of the glacier was mostly bare ice which made for rather easy climbing and slowly increased in angle and crevasses. Everyone did a great job of taking care of themselves and stayed calm even though the terrain was challenging.
After several hours of climbing we reached the final headwall that looked to be too much, but with perseverance the team surmounted the last steep slope and made our way to the top of Antisana. All in all it took 9 hard hours to reach the summit where we enjoyed the views and took a few photos. The descent was no easy task either having to reverse the climb, but we all made it back safely in a couple of hours.
Everyone is in good spirits and maybe just a little tired ;)
Special thanks to Sally for the wonderful Sahale mixed nuts that were sent along, we enjoyed them!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy albeit tired crew
Luke and rest of team,
Success in Ecuador! Congratulations!
Jim
Posted by: Jim Hill on 2/13/2015 at 1:45 pm
Brad and Brian;
Simply Amazing…Safe journey home!!
Posted by: Bobbi on 2/13/2015 at 6:14 am
Hello everyone,
Tonight we are heading for the summit of Antisana! We arrived this morning to our camp and did a bunch more technical training. The site is like something out of the Lord of the Rings, with tall grasses, roaming horses, and thatch-roof structures all lit by the glaciers of Antisana.
Wish us luck as you head to bed because we will be waking up at that time to go climbing.
We'll let you know how it goes!
RMI Guide Ben Liken and the team
Meredith and Jeff
Congrats to you and your climb team. Wow wow!
Hugs R &. W
Posted by: Ron and Wendy J. on 2/13/2015 at 4:01 pm
Posted by: Ben Liken, Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hello again everyone,
The team is feeling good and well rested especially after a good nights sleep. Our stay in Papallacta was enjoyed by all even though it was short.
We have traveled back into the countryside to very near our next climbing objective Antisana. Originally we had planned on camping tonight, but due to the forecasted thunderstorms we opted to stay at a wonderful hacienda not far from the mountain. After getting so soaked on Cayambe we thought this would help keep us stay dry and set us up for a successful climb. So we spent the afternoon doing a little technical training and reviewing some of the skills we hope to put to use tomorrow on the glacier.
The valley we are staying in is famous for condors and we even managed to see several gliding not far above us. It was amazing to see these beautiful and elusive birds to say the least.
That's all for now.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
To my climbing buddy, Luke, and to rest of team: Even with rain, sounds like great experience and I’m jealous. Good luck with conditions on Antisana! Be safe.
Jim
Posted by: Jim hill on 2/10/2015 at 9:42 pm
Hey gang,
Being on the border of the Amazon Rainforest almost always keeps some clouds floating around Cayambe, but last night it brought more than just clouds. We awoke to a soaking mist that would have drenched the team within minutes of climbing. So we postponed for an hour and a half until there was a minor let up. Then we gathered our gear and started walking up hill in what can best be described as a "dry mist". For 45 minutes we had optimistic smiles as the moon was poking through the clouds and the team was moving strong. But at the first break the rains came and didn't let up. We pushed a bit further to 16,500 feet until the crew was soaked and the decision was clear to head down. To go higher would mean freezing our wet clothes and pushing the limits of a safe climb.
The descent went well and the whole team is now at Papallacta hot springs, happy and healthy. Everyone is turning their sights to more training and our next big climb......Antisana!
Stay tuned
RMI Guide Ben Liken and the Team
Previous Page
Next Page
Tyler - Ecuador..Mountain climbing?...I guess that means my Fathers Day card will be late… ha ha…Have a great trip and Text when you can. We love you! - Mom and Dad
Posted by: Andy Hardin on 6/20/2015 at 6:29 am
View All Comments