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Posted by: Casey Grom, Leon Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Posted by: Leon Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
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Leon, Mike, and the Whole Team,
Sounds like you made a great effort! Congratulations! I’m glad you made it back to Talkeetna safely. The Seminar is a great experience and I hope you enjoyed it. You had some of the greatest guides in the world leading your trip. Have fun!
Eric (from the “previous seminar”)
Posted by: Eric Y. from Texas on 5/27/2014 at 6:26 pm
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Mike Bennett
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 13,986'
Today we traded the bustle of Quito for the serenity of the northern Ecuadorian countryside. Life is a little slower here in Otavalo where we are staying for the night. We sat down to dinner, which felt like a family dinner as we are the only party in this hacienda tonight. Even the house dogs joined us at the table, making us truly feel like we're at home.
Our day consisted of several hours of driving and another acclimatization hike, Cerro Fuya Fuya. The weather remained quite dry today and afforded us seldom seen views from the summit. To the north we could see well into Colombia, to our east a clear view of Cayambe and to our south a variety of other big mountains of Ecuador. In fact, it was nice enough that the bus driver took a swim at the lake while we hiked.
Tonight, I'm enjoying literally the best chocolate bar in the world and tomorrow an affogato at my favorite coffee shop near the Otavalo market. Some nice treats before we begin walking up very big hills.
RMI Guide Dustin Witmier
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Hey Dustin!
Those are some beautiful blue skies!! I sure hope you have that for the rest of your trip!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 1/27/2024 at 3:53 am
Today is the day we finally pack up our chubby duffel bags, steal some chocolate filled croissants from our top notch breakfast buffet and hit the road. Quito is a beautiful city, home to an incredible history and architecture but it is also home to 3 million people. Buses here burp massive diesel fumes imitating tiny volcanoes and the horns are not quite a song bird, so after a few days, the country is calling.
On this note, our team all proved they are a timely bunch being packed and ready by 7:30, so we loaded Victor’s magic bus and headed toward our second acclimatization mountain, Fuya Fuya. If you strapped a gps on crow and flew it to the mountain it would only fly 85 miles or so but on the ground, that distance took three hours or cover. Upon arriving in the small town of Otavalo, our bus head upward into the hills on old cobble stone roads, similar to what you would find in Europe. Halfway to the trailhead we were stopped by a child no older that seven who had a rope tied across the road. In a fantastic show of entrepreneurship, he engaged those tiny arms, pulled the rope tight and forced the bus to a surprised halt. Out of pure respect for the hustling toll collector we paid him his asking price and off we went.
Where the road ends, there is a beautiful crater lake formed by the sinking of the volcano in its last eruption. We parked, shouldered our light packs and made the two hour hike through interesting native fauna and steep grassy slopes to the summit of this 14,000 foot peak. Being an adventurous crew, we then traversed west along a skinny ridge to Fuya’s neighbor peak providing some fourth class rock scrambling and enjoyable steep movements. Unfortunately the clouds decided to join the party and occlude our grand vista of surrounding peaks and the deep blue lake but overall the weather stayed dry and warm.
An hour long descent brought as back to the bus and another hour, back to town. Our toll collector did not greet us on the trip down but his encounter certainly provide a laugh for the rest of the evening.
After a nice lunch we landed at La Casa Sol or the sun house, in English, where we practiced some knots, ate dinner and enjoyed a good nights rest. Tomorrow we move up to Cayambe where things begin to get a bit colder and more real!
More to come.
Posted by: Mike King, Alex Halliday
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
On The Map
Best of luck with your skills, health and weather!
Posted by: kay nims on 7/15/2017 at 11:03 am
Go for it you guys. Casey is the best! Wishing you safe travels tonight
Posted by: John Horgan on 7/15/2017 at 8:27 am
Posted by: Mike Haugen, Pepper Dee, Gloria Roe
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
On The Map
Way to go, Jeff!!!
We are loving tracking your progress.
Posted by: T + A on 6/27/2017 at 5:58 am
We are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather holds for you to reach the summit. Lots and lots of luck and love! Dad and Mum
Posted by: Liz Bannister on 6/26/2017 at 10:39 pm
Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Congratulations from Katie, Claudia, and the rest of OPT!!
Posted by: Claudia Daghofer on 6/4/2015 at 1:51 pm
Congratulations, George Nimmo, for reaching the summit and glad you had a good day, despite the undercast. See you in a couple of days.
Posted by: George Nimmo on 6/4/2015 at 1:36 pm
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Sean Collon
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Way to go V!!!
Enjoy every minute, be safe and I will see you soon! 80 degrees is waiting for you :)
Love you,
Brett
Posted by: Brett on 5/16/2015 at 3:11 pm
Grandma and Grandpa say hi to Taylor and the group. Looks like fun, next time we would love to go with you. Stay safe.
Posted by: Stan & Ruth Briggs on 5/16/2015 at 2:54 pm
Hunny, you have this! Listen to your body and be safe. It’s okay to take things a bit slower for extra precaution. I can’t wait to hear how it went on Friday when you get back and am so proud of you! Love you!
Posted by: Liz on 12/17/2014 at 6:13 am
What a great post!!
I hope Dale got on a horse (he’s never ridden one before!) Enjoy Cotopaxi, team!
Erin
Posted by: Erin on 12/16/2014 at 11:52 pm
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