Thursday, June 26, 2014 - 10:07 AM PT
The Ecuador team is back at Cotopaxi's high camp. All is well.
Thursday, June 26, 2014 - 7:01 AM PT
RMI Guide Mike Walter checked in this morning from the summit of Cotopaxi!
We look forward to hearing from Mike again once the team is safely off of the mountain.
Congratulations team!
Congratulations Shobita and to all the members of your team!! Not only did you summit, but you did it in some very brutal conditions. Great job. I guess now you’ll enjoy some great food.
Randy
RMI Guide Mike Walter and Team are checking in with the RMI office as they prepare for their summit bid on Cotopaxi:
June 25, 2014 5:38am PT
We enjoyed a relaxing rest day at the Hacienda Chilcabamba. Today we will head into Cotopaxi National Park and prepare for our summit bid. We'll be in touch!
June 28, 2014 - 3:01pm PT
We we're treated to good views of Cotopaxi and five condors as we drove into the National Park. We are at the hut now, going for the summit tonight.We'll be in touch soon!
Stay Tuned!
Glad to hear you’re all well and rested. Sending love and support! Go team go! One foot in front of the other all the way to the top! Can’t wait for the updates!
We had an alpine start this morning, waking up in the middle of the night for our summit attempt on Cayambe. At midnight the winds were moderate and there was a beautiful, clear, and starry sky above us. We were psyched to see the clear sky, and we hoped that the winds would subside a bit throughout the day.
By the time we left the climbing hut (15,300') at a little before 1 a.m., a cloud had settled in on us and it was raining lightly. As we ascended, the wind and rain increased in intensity and the temperature kept dropping. After about a thousand feet of climbing, we were soaking wet and the wind speed was strong enough that it made climbing difficult. With another couple thousand feet more to climb, we turned around and headed back to the comfort of our climbing hut. Wet and cold, we drank some hot tea and then crawled in our sleeping bags for a few hours of well deserved sleep.
We are all off of the mountain now and headed for the Hacienda Chilcabamba, located just outside Cotopaxi National Park. We will take a rest day there tomorrow, drying out our clothes and getting ready for our climb up Cotopaxi.
We will be in touch again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Hi Dan! Bummer about Cayambe, but I am glad to hear you are playing it safe. The exact same thing happened to us! We got up at 9am and had big plans to spend the day on the beach. Just as I was getting really settled into my lounge chair with a tasty beverage, a big storm cloud rolled in! The temps dropped to like 75F and the winds were blowing beach toys everywhere. Overweight beach goers were waddling about the sand in a panic. It was pandemonium. We had to ride out the storm sipping our cocktails on the balcony. It was really rough, but I intend to press on. We plan to attempt more lounging today. I am with you in spirit, my brother! I will have an extra margarita in your honor and keep my fingers crossed for better weather in Cotopaxi! Love, your big sister.
Posted by: Tera on 6/25/2014 at 11:04 am
Gook luck with Cotopaxi. Thinking of you. Love Mom and Dad
We had a very windy day today amidst the clouds at 15,300'. Despite today's weather we're optimistic about our Cayambe summit attempt for tomorrow. Caio for now!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Hola from the climber's hut on Cayambe! We just enjoyed a high-altitude soup and bread dinner at 15,300'. Everyone is doing great up here. We'll touch base soon.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Hi Tommy! Thinking of you :) One foot in front of the other all the way to the summit! Stay strong! Can’t wait to hear all about it when you arrive home. Have fun and be safe! Good luck tomorrow! Sending love and support from MN! Miss you!
Posted by: Lizzie on 6/22/2014 at 8:00 pm
Hi Shobita and Team,
It looks like your goal is getting closer. That’s a nice picture of the summit. It looks like you’ll have good weather for the summit. Stay strong!
After a couple of nice days in Quito, our team packed up early this morning and left the city life for more rural flavors. We traveled north a few hours from Quito to the beautiful mountain lakes of Lagunas Monjanda and went for a great acclimatization hike up Fuya Fuya.
The hike consisted of a steep trail through high altitude Andean grassland, or "paramo", followed by a rock scramble to the summit...with great views of beautiful lakes below us. Everyone climbed really well as we made short work of the 14,000'-plus peak.
Now we're resting at the tranquilo Casa Sol, watching Ecuador play Honduras in the World Cup. Buena suerte Ecuador!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Hola from Ecuador. We had great weather today as our team went on our first acclimatization hike, summiting Rucu Pichincha, a volcano that forms part of the western perimeter of Quito's valley. To start our hike, we took a gondola from Quito up to an altitude of around 13,500'. Then a well-maintained trail with stunning views led us out onto a ridge toward Rucu Pichincha. An easy rock scramble later and we were on top, at 15,700'.
Our climbing was very strong today, making quick work of the altitude. We had good views of volcanoes Cotopaxi, the Ilinizas, Pasachoa, and Ruminuai the south, and Cayambe and Cotacachi to the north. We will leave Quito tomorrow morning, heading north towards Cayambe. But, before we get to Cayambe, we'll take another acclimatization hike tomorrow on Fuya Fuya, and then visit the market in Otavalo the next day. We'll keep you posted!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Greetings from Ecuador! Our team all arrived in Quito, Ecuador yesterday, and we met for our first official team meal this morning. After introductions and reviewing trip logistics, we departed the hotel and spent the day on a city tour of Old Town Quito. We visited the Basilica, the presidential palace, and various other historically significant locales while learning about the foundation and history of Quito and Ecuador from our very knowledgeable local guide, Jorge.
After lunch we headed north to the Equator, and visited an ethnographic museum where we were able to straddle the Equator, as well as learn about various native cultures of Ecuador. A fun day of sight seeing was just what we needed, as we get used to the altitude of Quito (9,000') and recover from a long day of travel yesterday.
Tomorrow we will venture out on our first acclimatization hike up the Volcano Rucu Pichincha. We'll keep you posted with updates along the way.
Hasta luego!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Well, we are off the mountain safe and sound back at the hotel in Quito. Our descent went extremely smoothly with the snow conditions making for a much easier time than we had on Cayambe. At our lunch pit stop on the way back to the city we happened to randomly run into another RMI team headed by Casey and Topo that was headed from Illiniza Sur into Cotopaxi. I hope they come across the same great weather and conditions we enjoyed today. Anyway, we are all resting and cleaning up at the hotel before we meet one last time as a team tonight for a celebratory dinner.
Until next year...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent & Team
Hey, it’s Billy here checking in with our crew 100% on top of Cotopaxi. Enjoying another gorgeous day and another summit of an Ecuadorian Volcano! We have been taking probably hundreds of photos here on the top and we are going to gear up shortly and begin our descent. We will check in when again when we are down safe and sound, so wish us luck.
Ciao ciao!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent & Team
Congratulations Shobita and to all the members of your team!! Not only did you summit, but you did it in some very brutal conditions. Great job. I guess now you’ll enjoy some great food.
Randy
Posted by: Randy Shetter on 6/26/2014 at 3:54 pm
Congratulations! Looks beautiful!
Posted by: Magda on 6/26/2014 at 10:21 am
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