Entries from Ecuador
Hello, this is Eric Frank and the Ecuador crew checking in from climber's hut here on Cayambe at 15,300'. The sun's just gone down and we had a pretty restful day. We slept late this morning, had a big breakfast, and then climbed for about an hour and a half to get up to the toe of the glacier. We trained for a couple hours, talked about the climb and then came back to have a big dinner. We're hoping to be in bed in the next thirty minutes. And we'll be getting up in the middle of the night to make our attempt to climb Cayambe. So check back tomorrow, hopefully will be giving a call down sometime in the mid morning to early afternoon to let everyone know how things are going. Have a great night.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
RMI Guide Eric Frank checks in from Cayambe.
Hello again from Ecuador. Today we are greeted with a beautifully, clear sky and amazing views of Cayambe looming far above us. We packed up all of our climbing gear, and loaded up the vehicles and headed into the town of Otavalo. Otavalo is home to one of the largest open-air markets in all of South America. The team spent about 2 hours shopping and trying out our bargaining skills with the locals. From the sounds of it, some of us did better than others. After town we started our two-hour drive through the beautiful countryside of Cayambe. The road slowly climbs up the ridge line that allows us access to this massive mountain. Due to the tough conditions of the road, we hiked the last little bit, which helped out with our acclimatization process. We are currently relaxing in the Cayambe's climbers hut at about 15,300' that overlooks a lot of the many glaciers here. The team is doing great and everyone's ready to go to bed after an enjoyable dinner of pasta, vegetables and chicken. To top it all off, we were treated to an amazing sunset tonight that reminded me of the sunsets in central Oregon. Buenes noches and we look forward to checking in with you guys tomorrow. Have a good night.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Casey Grom checks in the Cayambe Hut.
On The Map
Things are winding down for the night here at the beautiful Hacienda San Luis -
The team had a big day. By 8am we had eaten breakfast and loaded our duffels into the bus transporting us for the day. A two hour bus ride brought us north of Quito to our second acclimatization climb on Cerro Negro, 13,976 feet. Despite being lower then our previous days climb, the team found the terrain quite challenging. The trail led us up some slippery, nearly vertical sections of grass and short bits of rock climbing before the summit cone. On top we were treated with clear skies and stunning views of a nearby lake. We all felt that we had put in a hard days work by the time we returned to the bus 3.5 hours later.
After stopping for some roadside refreshments, we arrived at Hacienda San Luis, a working Ecuadorian ranch that also boasts modern amenities. We spent the afternoon relaxing, getting gear in order and catching up with the outside world.
We hope all is well and appreciate everyone who is following along on our adventure.
RMI Guide Eric Frank and the Ecuador Team.
On The Map
Hola from Quito!
We started the day with another wonderful breakfast here at the hotel full of fruits, eggs, fresh baked breads and plenty of coffee. We then took a short cab ride to the Teleferico and rode the gondola up to around 13,500'. From here we hiked for about 3 hours to the top of Rucu Pichincha (15,696'). It was mostly cloudy on our acclimatization hike until we nearly reached the summit. The clouds broke up a bit and allowed us a few views of the surrounding valley. The team did great on the hike and a few team members reached new altitude records. We spent the rest of the day doing a little shopping, sightseeing and a few of us took siestas.
All is well here in Ecuador and we are looking forward to tomorrow's adventure.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Hello everyone. After a day of long flights, our team arrived in Quito last night and moved into the Hotel Mercure Alameda to rest and recover.
This morning the team indulged in a great breakfast including various local fruits and dishes. After a quick orientation meeting, we headed out for a city tour and visit to the Equator. Warm weather and a sunny day made our time walking around the city enjoyable. We were able to visit Independence Plaza, the Jesuit church La Compania, and the Virgin of Quito - a 100+ foot statue with gorgeous views overlooking the city.
Seated at 9,350 feet, the air in Quito is thin, especially for those of us coming from sea level. The city tour, in addition to exposing us to some of the best sights in Quito, gave us a chance to stretch our legs and aid in the acclimatization process. The time that we spend here is building the base to increase our chances of success later in the trip.
We spent the afternoon exploring the Equatorial line and phenomenon associated with it. We watched basins of water, only a dozen feet apart, swirl opposite directions on each side of the line and learned when the indigenous people first discovered their location.
After taking a few hour siesta, the team met for our first dinner to round out the day. The conversation and laughter at our table made it feel like a group of old friends, who will only grow closer in the coming days.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Posted by: Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
The team made great time descending in near perfect snow conditions and watched the weather close in after summiting in what had been the most pleasant weather I have seen on the mountain. We lost one teammate before our summit attempt due to illness but everybody else's summit success is indebted to his superhuman cloud-bending abilities. After bailing out of the Refugio we hustled down to the van where Victor was waiting to whisk us away to Hosteria La Cienega. Cienega was apparently built sometime in the 1700's but for us it simply means a warm bed in a beautiful historic hotel with delicious meals. As far as mountaineering goes the Jose Ribas Hut is luxury but now that we are off the hill the team is really enjoying true luxury. After a fat meal, most of the gang has hit the hay trying to recuperate for a BIG celebratory dinner with the entire team tomorrow night in Quito.
Buenos nachos,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Congrats to my twin and one of my fave nephews - from 88 degree Vermont! Bet it feels good with the snow, after the 100s of Colorado. Safe Travels! (Cathy Chamberlin Foutz)
Posted by: Cate Foutz on 7/6/2012 at 6:19 pm
Hey!
It’s Billy giving you a call from the summit of Cotopaxi. We are on top in beautiful weather, sunny skies and calm winds and a very happy crew. Not much else to report. We are gearing up, getting some sunscreen on, getting some food and water and preparing for our descent back to the hut. We will give you a call when we are back to the hut safe and sound.
Until then… chao,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent calls from the summit of Cotopaxi!
Congratulations, Gail and team!! We are looking forward to seeing lots of pictures to go with your stories of this adventure! Stay safe and have fun!
Posted by: Laurie and Mark on 7/8/2012 at 5:30 pm
Congrats to the team on a successful trip! Kevin—I hope you had fantastic time!!! Please say hello to Victor and Freddie (if he’s along on this trip) for me. Safe travels back to Texas!
—Lauren
Posted by: Lauren on 7/8/2012 at 3:30 am
Hey everybody, it's Billy calling in with another dispatch here from the Jose Ribas Hut on Cotopaxi. We went out on the glacier today out and did some training. Got ourselves back up to speed with all the fun stuff in a typical climbing school: cramponing, ice axe arrest and basically getting used to working with our tips. The crew did really well despite the high elevation. We just had a great meal here, courtesy of the caretakers at the hut and we are going to be early. We are getting up in the middle of the night to take a crack at the summit. So right now I'm outside looking at nothing but stars. We are hoping this weather holds for us... We'll see what happens and we'll give you a call tomorrow and let everybody know what came of us. Signing off for now.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent checks in from the Jose Ribas Hut on Cotopaxi
On The Map
Hey Everybody Billy calling in with another dispatch this time for the 4th of July. Happy Independence Day everyone back home! Hope you guys are celebrating properly with barbecues and blowing things up as it typical custom. Not so much of that here in Ecuador. We actually left the Chilcabamba Eco Lodge this morning and headed up to the Jose Ribas Refugio. The team is getting settled in we had a great dinner and we are looking forward to that first rough night at a new elevation. Hopefully the team will do well and make it through the night. Tomorrow we plan to head out and do a little training as we continue to acclimatize and get prepped for our big summit push.
We will call and check in tomorrow after our training day and let you know you how we did. Again, Happy Independence Day to everyone back home.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent and Team.
Billy Nugent checks in on the 4th of July.
On The Map
Hey there! This is Billy calling in with our dispatch for July 3rd. The team woke up pretty early here in Quito. We got out of the hotel pretty quickly after a nice breakfast. We headed south of town to the Illinizas which is a really cool park to do another training hike. We ended up hiking for a few hours, climbing up above 15,000’. We made it to a Refugio which sits right in the saddle between Illiniza Norte and Illiniza Sur. We had some hot drinks then cruised on down. The team performed super well and so we were really psyched. After that we descended where Victor, our driver, rendezvoused with us again at the trailhead and we headed up to the Chilcabamba Eco Lodge where we had a fantastic meal and an awesome night! We are really enjoying the super, super bright full moon and amazing views of Cotopaxi which is our next big adjective. Tomorrow we are planning on heading that way, towards Cotopaxi, so we will give you a call and let you know how things are developing. That’s all for now, bye.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
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Billy Nugent checks in from Chilcabamba Eco Lodge
Looks like Kristen and Chris made it. It looks beautiful. Glad to see everyone is OK. Love to all and stay safe.
Posted by: SaSa on 12/17/2012 at 8:30 pm
Hi Scott & Kelly,
looks like you have a great team and leader to take on the summit. I am so glad the weather has been good. Excited to see the pics from the summit. Keep on treking…
Keith
Posted by: Keith Kite on 12/17/2012 at 6:37 am
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