Mike King

Ecuador's Avenue of the Volcanoes is one of the great mountaineering environments on earth, a chain of glaciated peaks rising above highland valleys that offers more high-altitude climbing variety per square mile than almost anywhere else in the world. This fifteen-day seminar takes full advantage of it, moving progressively through five volcanoes in a sequence designed to build skills, confidence, and altitude experience from the first acclimatization climb to the summit of Chimborazo at 20,703 feet, the highest point in Ecuador and, due to the equatorial bulge of the earth, the point on the planet's surface farthest from its center.

The program is built around progression. The early acclimatization climbs introduce rock scrambling and high-altitude movement before the team moves to Cayambe, where glacier-based skills training prepares climbers for the technical demands ahead. Cotopaxi applies those glacier skills on a bigger, more crevassed objective, and Chimborazo is where all of it comes together on a serious high-altitude climb with a summit that rewards everything the program has built toward.

What sets this seminar apart from a standard Ecuador climbing trip is the deliberate arc from acclimatization to technical proficiency to summit achievement. Climbers leave with a skill set that translates directly to bigger objectives, and the experience of having applied those skills on three of the Andes' most celebrated peaks. The cultural richness of Ecuador, from Quito's colonial streets to the Otavalo Market, is woven into the program throughout.

At 20,310 feet, Mt. McKinley is the highest peak in North America and one of the most serious high-altitude objectives on the planet. The West Buttress is the standard route to the summit, and while it involves no technical rock or vertical ice climbing, that framing undersells the challenge. Miles of glaciated terrain, extreme cold, sustained altitude above 14,000 feet, and weather that can pin a team for days at a stretch are what define this climb. Above 15,000 feet the route steepens considerably, with fixed ropes on the most exposed sections. This is an expedition in every meaningful sense of the word.

Unlike most guide services operating on Mt. McKinley, RMI does not set a fixed end date for this program. The schedule moves with the mountain: conditions, acclimatization progress, and team readiness determine when the team pushes higher and when it waits. That flexibility is not a convenience; it is the approach that gives climbers the best realistic chance at the summit. Guides monitor performance and altitude response throughout, adjusting pace and plans as the situation demands rather than against an arbitrary calendar.

The West Buttress Expedition is a major commitment of time, fitness, and preparation. Climbers should expect to be on the mountain for three weeks or more and should arrive ready for the full weight of that. The mountain sets the terms here, and the program is built around accepting that.

Mexico's central highlands sit at the intersection of ancient culture and extraordinary mountain terrain, a landscape where colonial towns and traditional markets share the valley floor with some of the highest peaks in North America. This nine-day expedition climbs two of the finest: Ixtaccihuatl at 17,340 feet, whose broad ridgeline and Arista del Sol route approach lead to an airy summit walk above Mexico City, and Orizaba at 18,491 feet, the crown jewel of the Mexican volcanoes and the third highest peak on the continent.

The program builds deliberately. An overnight acclimatization hike on La Malinche, an extinct volcano rising above the Puebla Valley, introduces the team to altitude before Ixtaccihuatl and sets the stage for Orizaba's Jamapa Glacier. The sequence is efficient without feeling rushed, with each objective preparing climbers physically and technically for the one that follows.

What makes this program distinctive is the combination of serious high-altitude climbing and genuine cultural immersion. Mexico City, the Puebla Valley, and the small towns of the country's heartland are not backdrops to the climbing. They are part of the experience, and the program is designed to move through them with enough time to take them in.