Entries from Ecuador
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Our Cotopaxi Express trip is under way! Today was the first official day of the trip, and we started it off with an introductory team meeting over breakfast. We spent the rest of the day enjoying an informative and educational City Tour of colonial Quito, visiting various churches and parks, the Presidential Palace and the Virgin of Quito (a large statue situated on a hill above Quito). Our local tour guide, Jorge, is very well versed in the history and culture of Ecuador, and we had great time seeing the city.
We also visited an ethnographic museum located on the equator, where we learned about the different indigenous cultures of Ecuador. We also got a photo of our team straddling the equator, some of us in the northern hemisphere and some of us in the southern hemisphere!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Our team is back in Quito, safe and sound after a successful and challenging Cotopaxi summit today. The weather looked perfect when we woke before midnight but that didn't last long, as a storm began to brew as we were climbing. Most of the climb, we were in the clouds with light precipitation and moderate winds. It never got bad enough to turn around; instead, it just made our climbing harder. We didn't need any help making the route harder, as we encountered ladders spanning crevasses, steep slopes, and open crevasses, in addition to the extreme altitude that is always present on Cotopaxi.
All in all, we had a fun and safe climb. We were climbing for more than 12 hours, so we're all bushed. Hopefully showers and a quick nap will rejuvenate everyone so that we can enjoy our celebration dinner tonight in Quito. It's been great spending the past 10 days in Ecuador with our team. We enjoyed a ton of different activities, both cultural and adventurous. Thanks team, for being an integral part of a great trip.
Hasta la próxima montaña,
Adios.
...stay tuned for the Cotopaxi Express trip's blog, starting this weekend!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
We just enjoyed a much needed rest day at the Hacienda, Chilcabamba, a beautiful rural farmhouse/bed and breakfast situated just outside of Cotopaxi National Park. The serene location is perfect for relaxation and recuperation, in preparation for our summit attempt on Cotopaxi. We have enjoyed good views of Cotopaxi and our climbing route from Chilcabamba all day today.
Tomorrow, we'll pack up and head to the climbers' hut on Cotopaxi, at roughly 16,000'. An early alpine start on Thursday will see us ascending the steep, glaciated slopes of Cotopaxi, hopefully en route to a successful summit. We'll keep you abreast of our progress. Stay tuned!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
For Jeff Oderman:
Your fan club here in SoCal is sending you lots of push energy for the next summit. Good luck on the ascent and lots of love from here. Kit, Art and Lynn
Posted by: Kit Spaulding on 6/28/2013 at 8:53 am
what an amazing trip! love the pics.
Posted by: Theresa Sparks on 6/27/2013 at 11:07 am
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hey, this is Mike Walter calling on Tuesday the 25th of June. We are all at Chilcabamba Hacienda outside of Cotopaxi National Park. We spent two days at Cayambe, sleeping up above 15,000'. Yesterday we went out for our summit bid on Cayambe, we had a great day of climbing. The winds turned us around above 18,000'. We were within about 1,000' of the summit maybe 700' of the summit. But the winds, a cloud cap and some riming ice on our clothing turned us around. We are back at Chilcabamba resting and we'll head to Cotopaxi tomorrow to attempt that one. We are all doing well and enjoying our climbing here in Ecuador.
RMI Guide Mike Walter checks in from Ecuador after Cayambe climb.
On The Map
Oh, that sneaky Cayambe. Give the doggy a pet for me at Chilcabamba, and sending good weather thoughts your way for Cotopaxi. xoxo K2 & Kobi
Posted by: K2 on 6/25/2013 at 8:32 pm
Posted by: Mike Walter
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
After a relaxing night at the hotel Casa Sol, we headed to the world famous market in downtown Otavalo this morning. Here the indigenous Otavaleños display their artisan craft goods, including ponchos, blankets, and sweaters woven from the wool of sheep and alpaca, jewelry, paintings, wood carvings, and the like. We spent the morning exploring the market, and now we're about to head out to the climbers' hut on Cayambe, where we'll spend two nights and hopefully get good weather for a shot at the summit. Cayambe sits at an elevation of 5,790 meters, with massive glaciers flowing from the summit. It is the 3rd highest peak in Ecuador, and also holds the distinction of the highest altitude on earth over which the equator passes.
The weather today is beautifully warm and sunny, and we are optimistic that the good weather will continue while we are up on our climb.
Hasta luego...
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Exciting to watch and hear your progress!! Glad to hear everyone is moving strong and feeling good. Looking forward to seeing you at the top and celebrating your summit!! go, Go, GO!!! Lumley
Posted by: Jennifer Lumley on 6/25/2013 at 5:12 am
Been following and envious! Sorry to hear just 300ft short of Summit - better safe. We will hope for the best on the next climb. Be safe & enjoy!
Posted by: Dan C on 6/24/2013 at 10:17 am
We packed up our luggage this morning, checked out of our hotel in Quito, and headed north, towards the town of Otavalo. As much as we enjoyed our time in Quito, I think we all are very excited to leave behind the hustle and bustle of car horns and traffic, get out into the mountains, and enjoy the views of the snow covered peaks of the Ecuadorian Andes. That is, after all, why we’re here.
We summited our second peak today on our final acclimatization hike. Fuya Fuya was the objective this time. At just over 14,000’, the old volcano is lower than yesterday’s climb of Rucu Pichincha but the climbing was consistently steep, from the trailhead to the summit. The trail gained elevation quickly as it climbed thru high Andean grasses, culminating in a short rocky scramble to the summit. Although the summit was in the clouds once again, the weather was terrific for the climb. We were treated to stunning views of the Laguna Mojanda below us, a large lake formed in an ancient volcanic crater. Our team also caught a brief glimpse of an Andean Condor soaring in and out of the clouds around Fuya Fuya.
Now we’re all settle in at our tranquil hacienda, Casa de Sol. We’ll have a relaxing morning tomorrow, visiting the Otavalo market, before heading up to the climbing hut on Cayambe for a couple of nights. We’ll keep you posted as always...
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Well rested from our recent international flights, our team went for our first acclimatization climb today, summiting Rucu Pichincha. Rucu is a volcano that is located just outside of the city of Quito, and the gondola-assisted approach allowed us to enjoy some very high altitude today. The summit sits at 15,413', and was a personal altitude record for many members of our climbing team; we should break that record a few more times during our stay here in Ecuador.
After riding the gondola, the climb consisted of a relatively moderate ascent on good trails to a small Col just shy of the true summit. From the Col, we scrambled for about 15 minutes up 3rd class volcanic rock to the summit. Clouds obscured our views from the top, but added to the ambiance of our team's first Andean summit. Other than some high clouds, the weather was great for our climb today. The temperatures were quite comfortable for climbing, and we had great views of Quito from nearly 6,000' above.
Our team climbed very strong today, without exception, and it is obvious that everyone has been dedicated to their training programs in the past few months. The climbers on this team have a ton of experience in the mountains, from Rainier to Aconcagua, and it definitely shows.
Tomorrow our crew will pack up in the morning and leave Quito, traveling north to our next acclimatization hike of Fuya Fuya, en route to our first major climbing objective, Cayambe.
At the risk of sounding redundant, these climbers are strong and well-prepared for this trip. Sure, we all feel the affects of altitude at this point, but that is expected. The team's collective dedication to climbing and training is allowing us to fully enjoy our experience here in Ecuador.
Thanks for checking in, and we'll provide an update after our next climb. But for now, the well-oiled climbing machine is on track.
Hasta la proxima cumbre,
RMI Guide Mike Walter & team
Ola Amigos! Greetings from 1100.00000 elevation in the Allegheny Mountain Range of NW Pennsylvania, USA. Awesome photos—you guys rock! Go Larry! How much do they pay you for that awesome mug shot that now tops their web site? Endorsements forever!
Posted by: Patti and Joe on 6/21/2013 at 9:31 am
The Ecuador Volcanoes climbing (and all of our luggage) has arrived in Ecuador! Everyone arrived in the country by early this morning and hit the ground running. We spent the bulk of the day on an interesting and educational tour of colonial Quito, visiting the Presidential Palace, the Basilica, and various other points of interest in southern Quito, also known as Old Town Quito. Our local city guide, Jorge, is extremely knowledgeable and happy to share the wealth of information he has about the history, culture, politics, and religion of Ecuador. As always, it's a pleasure to work with Jorge.
After a typical Ecuadorian lunch of empanadas, locro de queso (potato soup with cheese & avocado), and fritada (fried pork with corn and plantains), we headed to the Equator. We visited an ethnographic museum and stood straddling the Equator, with a foot in each hemisphere (see photo).
We're all still a little weary from a long travel day to get here, and I'm sure everyone will sleep well tonight. Tomorrow we had head out on our first acclimatization hike. We'll be in touch tomorrow to let you know how it goes.
Cheers,
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Ken! Amazing to read, incredible to SEE!! Great job everyone!
Posted by: Carlo Barone on 6/24/2013 at 10:46 am
Thinking about you Ken! Be super careful. What an experience! Jan
Posted by: Jan Swenarton on 6/23/2013 at 3:23 pm
Greetings from Quito!
Early this morning (or rather late last night), our team set off to try to climb Cotopaxi. When we woke there was a little precip, but we knew we could handle it and continued with our preparations to go see what we could do. Breaking trail through the new snow for hours this morning did little to slow down this team and we found ourselves high on the mountain before the sun had risen. At around 18,400 feet above the sea, crossing a reactive windslab above a gaping crevasse stopped us in our tracks, too risky to chance a crossing and our high point today. The team impressed me with their dedication to safety and a good time in the mountains over standing on a summit and Cotopaxi rewarded our judgment with a break in the storm to take in the sights of this beautiful mountain. Crossing crevasses, down climbing ice steps and navigating seracs in the early morning light was a real treat and we appreciated these features of the route even more as the weather rolled in for our last few moments before returning to the hut. A short nap and then down to the bus in the snow, so much for life in the tropics. It has been a real treat to share these climbs with such a good team, thanks everybody.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Brilliant decision, team and leaders: L’chaim!
Posted by: nsb on 2/19/2013 at 5:41 am
Hurray! Great job, everyone!
Posted by: Caroline on 2/18/2013 at 1:22 pm
Hello, this is Jake Beren in Ecuador calling in for the RMI team down here. We had a fantastic day yesterday just resting and recouping after a pretty big week so far here in Ecuador. And this morning we're going to head up to the hut on Cotopaxi. And with any luck, tonight we will be making our bid for the summit. So wish us luck and keep sending those good weather vibes down here and I will check in tomorrow.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Jake Beren checks in from Cotopaxi's High Hut.
On The Map
Best of luck and may the gods and goddesses of good weather smile upon you!
Posted by: Christina Doren on 2/17/2013 at 7:04 pm
Anxious to hear how every thing went
Love, Mom and Dad
Posted by: Dianne and George on 2/17/2013 at 4:58 pm
Looks intense! Awesome job guys!
Posted by: Kim on 6/28/2013 at 8:13 am
Congrats!! Look at that snow!
Posted by: Jan on 6/27/2013 at 6:05 pm
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