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Saturday, December
13, 2003 – Hotel Quito, Quito, Ecuador
I spent the last month in Florida
where I went to escape the onslaught of winter and get in some last minute
training before heading south. After a week in Ft.
Lauderdale, I drove up to Orlando
where I spent a few days, including Thanksgiving, with the LeClercs. At
the end of November I went to Miami Beach
where I enjoyed one sunny day after another for two weeks. I stayed at
Haddon Hall on Collins Avenue,
which is not luxurious, but is a block from South
Beach where I ran everyday.
My flight to Quito, Ecuador
was at 5:15 PM with an arrival
time of about 9:00 PM
Sunday, December 14, 2003 – Hotel Quito, Quito,
Ecuador
My flight to Quito
was an hour late arriving, but I breezed through customs and met Jaime & Jose
Luis
We met for breakfast at 8:00
AM in the hotel’s restaurant and started to get to know the other
people in out group. In addition to Dave from Ohio,
the group included Simon from New York,
Liz & Mark from California,
Brandt from Connecticut, Todd
from Oklahoma, Paul from Virginia
and Amanda from California.
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At 9:00 AM we
headed out for a tour of Quito.
We visited the Basicilla, San Francisco Square
and a statue of The Virgin Mary high on a hill before going out to
lunch. On the way back to the hotel, we
San Francisco Square, Quito, Ecuador
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Brandt atop the Basicilla in Quito, Ecuador
stopped at a climbing store and picked up some last minute
supplies. Back at the hotel, Jamie & Jose Luis put us through a
gear check, and then I spent a couple hours watching CNN report on the
capture of Saddam Hussein.
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At night, we went out to dinner at great local
restaurant which had dancers and musicians who entertained us. Simon
left the party early as he had sprained his ankle earlier in the day while
jogging and was worried about his ability to climb if it did not get
better. We got back to the hotel at 10:30
PM and went to sleep.
Monday,
December 15, 2003 – Rancho Ali Shungu,
Otavato, Ecuador
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We had breakfast at the Hotel Quito and then
checked-out. After boarding our bus, we drove 1 ½ hours north crossing
the equator.
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After stopping for pictures, we
continued on to the town of Otavato,
where we dropped our gear at a hosteria. We drove another half hour to
the crater of Vulcan Cuicocha where we ate a picnic lunch
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before
hiking around the Cuicocha Lagoon. The purpose of today’s hike was to
start our acclimatization process. The hike started at an altitude of
3020 meters and reached a high point
of 3455 meters. It took about 3 ½ hours to walk around the lagoon and
then we met our bus at Hosteria
DeCuicocha
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where we had a drink before returning to our own hosteria for the night.
Simon had not gone with us on our hike today, choosing instead to stay
at the hosteria to heal his ankle. He seemed to be better when we
returned and will join us tomorrow on our climb up Vulcan Cotachi.
We rested for a couple hours and then met for dinner at 7:30 PM in the hotel’s restaurant. We
had a great dinner together and I started learning more about the people in
our group. Everyone seems to have great experience and I am happy to be
part of such a strong group.
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Jaime & Jose-Luis with the
owner
of Rancho Ali
Shunga.
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Tuesday,
December 16, 2003 – Rancho Ali Shungo, Otavato,
Ecuador
We met for breakfast at 7:30
AM and then headed out at 8:30 AM
for our second acclimatization hike. Today we took two 4-wheel drive
vehicles up to 13,200 feet on Vulcan Cuicocha where we started hiking.
We planned to hike to 15,000 feet, which is short of the summit, but the
guides said it was too difficult to climb all the way to the peak.
We started the hike at 10:30
AM. The first section crossed a saddle which was a gentle
incline, but this increased as we climbed on. The wind was very strong
and the visibility terrible. Wind blew fog across the mountain which
made us all wet and cold.
At 1:30 PM we
reached our high point and I was
breathing heavily and had a slight headache, but recovered somewhat as we
rested before the descent. The hike down only took an hour, but I was
sick to my stomach on the way. At 3:00
PM we drove back to the hosteria, arriving by 4:00 PM.
The showers at the hosteria were fantastic and it was good
to stand under the hot water. I walked six blocks to the center
of town where I found an Internet Café and checked email. There is a
great Indian market in the town selling all manner of hand crafted goods, but
I did not stop there as I’d heard we will visit this tomorrow.
W met in the bar at 6:30
PM for drinks and then had dinner at 7:30 PM. After dinner I went right to bed.
Tomorrow we change hosterias and gain 7,000 feet in altitude so I decided to
take a Diamox tonight to help me with the acclimatization tomorrow.
Wednesday,
December 17, 2003 – Rufigio Ruales-Oleas-Borge
Vulcan Cayambe, Pichincha,
Ecuador
We woke up to the squeals of a pig being slaughtered next
door. Apparently, a quick stab to the heart will instantly kill a pig,
but if you miss the heart, the pig can become quite angry. The
squealing went on for almost 15 minutes. I could tell the Diamox was
kicking in as I had to pee six times during the night.
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Traditional Loom being used to
weave cloth.
Dave insisted on
paying full retail for his souvenirs.
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We had breakfast at 8:00 AM and then took the bus over to a place
where we could watch weavers make cloth. Then we visited the largest Indian
Market in Ecuador
which I had passed by yesterday. There were hundreds of stalls packed
will wool goods and other hand made items.
Wool goods for sale at
the Indian Market
in Otavato, Ecuador.
I did not
buy anything as I would have to carry it with me for the next six weeks, but
I hope to purchase some similar items before leaving in February.
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I spent a few minutes at the Internet Café, and then
walked back to the hosteria. We ate lunch together at noon, and then packed and checked out.
We drove south for two hours to the province
of Puchincha where we ascended a
road towards the refugio on Vulcan Cayambe. The summit of Cayambe is
almost directly on the equator. The bus could not take us the entire
way up the road so we ended up walking the final 1000 vertical feet.
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It was very windy on our
hike up to the refugio on Cayambe.
It was extremely windy during the hike up. We arrived at 3:45 PM and found the refugio to be quite
satisfactory for a mountain hut. The only other person staying in the refugio
had his two tents blow away the day before we arrived.
After settling in, we hung a rope from the rafters of the dining area and
practiced using prussics to climb the rope. We ate at 8:00 PM and then went to sleep.
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Thursday,
December 18, 2003 – Refugio Ruals-Oleas-Berge
Vulcan Cayambe, Pichincha,
Ecuador
I didn’t sleep well last night but no one else did
either. The wind howled all night keeping us awake in the
dormitory. At 7:30 AM we went
down for breakfast which had been prepared for us by Jose Luis’ wife, Marga.
Today we had planned to go out
onto the glacier, which we could see 100 feet from the refugio, and practice
mountaineering skills but it is raining and visibility is poor so we decided
to practice inside. We spent the morning reviewing glacier travel and
tying knots. Some of the group practiced climbing
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under dining tables without touching the floor.
At lunchtime, the wind was still too strong to venture
outside so we ate and then napped for a couple hours. At 5:00 PM we were able to take a short hike on
the leeward side of the volcano, ascending a few hundred feet before it
became too dark to continue. It felt good to get out and do something.
Marga prepared a wonderful dinner of roast chicken,
vegetables, potatoes, soup and cake which we all enjoyed. Many in the
group are suffering from headaches and have decided to start taking
Diamox. I feel pretty good, having started taking it a couple days ago.
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Liz
and Mark above Refugio Ruals-Oleas-Berge
on Cayambe
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Friday,
December 19, 2003 – Hacienda Guachala, Ecuador
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We
climbed to 16,000 feet on Cayambe before turning around due to avalanche
activity.
After our morning hike, we ate lunch, and then ventured out onto the
glacier to review roped travel and practice using our crampons. At 5:00 PM we packed up and headed back down to
the bus. We drove 1 ½ hours to a hacienda where we checked in for the
night.
I shared
a room with Dave & Brandt at Hacienda Guachla.
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We had planned a short hike this morning, returning to the refugio so we
could rest in preparation for out midnight
climb of Vulcan Cayambe. Weather, however, changed our plans. It
was very windy when we woke up, but the wind finally died down and we were
able to hike up to 16,100 feet where the glacier forms a large ice
cave. Jose Luis determined that numerous recent avalanche activity
indicated the snow was unstable and it would be too dangerous to attempt to
climb tonight.
We
practiced climbing in crampons on Cayambe’s glacier.
The Hacienda Guachala is a 400 year old guest ranch in Cayambe
Province. The rooms all
have fireplaces and there is a botanical garden outside our door. I
shared a room with Brandt and we invited Dave to join us because his intended
roommate, Simon, still had a severe cold.
Dinner was at 8:00 PM. The
menu offered roast guinea pig, but it requires 24 hours notice so we were
unable to sample this local delicacy.
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Dinner at Hacienda
Guachla.
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Guinea pigs are raised to eat.
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Saturday,
December 20, 2003 – Tambopaxi Albergue,
Cotopaxi National
Park, Cotopaxi,
Ecuador
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I got up early to explore the hacienda. I found a
dozen llamas on the front lawn, a beautiful swimming pool near the garden and
a chapel.
Llamas at Hacienda Guachla.
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Cotopaxi from Tambopaxi, Albergue.
Breakfast was at 8:00 AM
after which we packed and loaded the bus for our one hour ride to the base of
Vulcan Cotopaxi.
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We stopped a couple of times along the way to Cotopaxi
National Park to pick up food for
the next couple of days so we did not arrive at the parking lot until 2:30 PM. From there, it was a one hour
hike up to a refugio where we took a break for tea. At 4:00 PM, we continued up the slopes of Cotopaxi
for another two hours until we reached an altitude of 5000 meters. The
final 100 meters required crampons as the scree slope had turned to
snow. Having reached 5000 meters, we turned around and descended to the
refugio where we left some equipment so we would not have to carry it back
tomorrow. We continued descending to the parking lot where the bus took
us 45 minutes back to Tambopaxi Albergue where we would spend the night at an
elevation of 3725 meters.
This inn is only a year old and is very comfortable.
We did not arrive until 7:45 PM so
we decided to eat before showering. There are a couple other small
groups here to climb Cotopaxi also. Reports from
the mountain indicate that heavy snow near the top has made it impossible for
anyone to reach the summit for several days. We are hoping that tonight
someone will break through so we have a better chance of summitting tomorrow.
Sunday,
December 21, 2003 – Jose Rivas Refugio, Vulcan Cotopaxi
I woke up early and took a hot shower. Before
breakfast I had a chance to talk with Jose Luis about his recent trip to climb
Mt. Everest with Alpine
Ascents. Paul, another member of our group, also summited Everest, and
clearly has the most experience outside of our guides.
We ate at 8:00 AM and then took a couple of hours to relax
before we packed enough gear to spend the night at the Jose Rivas Refugio on
Cotopxi and attempt to summit the mountain early tomorrow morning.
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The bus took us up to the parking lot and we lugged heavy
packs which included several meals up to the refugio. The wind was
strong and most of us just made it to the refugio before it started to rain.
We ate lunch, and because it was raining, Jose Luis
decided we did not need to spend any more time training on the glacier.
We napped in the afternoon and the weather cleared before we had dinner at 5:00 PM. We spent an hour getting our
equipment ready before going to sleep at 7:00
PM. We’ll sleep until 11:00
PM when we’ll get up and start towards the summit at midnight.
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Lunch at Jose Rivas
Refugio on Cotopaxi.
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Monday,
December 22, 2003 – Tambopaxi Albergue, Cotopaxi
National
Park, Cotopaxi,
Ecuador
We woke at 11:00 PM
Sunday night and dressed to climb. A light breakfast was served and by 12:55 AM we had assembled outside with
headlamps on to begin our ascent. The weather was perfect and the sky
was filled with stars.
Jose Luis set a nice slow pace enabling us to get into a
good rhythm as we hiked up the first 200 meters of scree. When we got
to the snow we donned our crampons and split up into three rope teams.
I was with Paul and Brandt lead by Jose Luis, Jaime’s team included Liz, Mark
and Dave, while Juan (a third guide who had just joined us) lead Simon and
Todd. Amanda had hired a private guide and had left at 10:00 PM.
The snow continued for another 100 meters until we reached
the glacier where the terrain steepened considerably. During the next
several hours we negotiated a half dozen snow bridges crossing narrow
crevasses and one especially exciting section where the trail narrowed to a
foot with a crevasse on one side and an overhanging ice cliff on the other.
At one point, my headlamp failed and I had to stop the
team to replace the batteries. I realized later that I had been
mistakenly using the halogen bulb which consumed much more energy than the
regular bulb.
The trail goes pretty much straight up. The risk of
avalanches prevents the possibility of switchbacks which would make the
climbing easier, but also cut across the fall lines.
It was important that we reach the summit by 8:00 AM or 9:00
AM at the latest which would give us enough time to descend
through the snow bridges before the strong Ecuadorian sun weakened
them. At some point in the morning, we passed Amanda who had done well
despite being sick and was now turning around.
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Cotopaxi National Park from 5300 meters on Cotopaxi.
At 5700 meters, the base of the headwall, I couldn’t continue any longer
so Jose Luis left me in a safe place where I fastened myself to an ice cliff
where I would wait an hour and a half for the others to return.
The headwall was formidable, the
steepest section of all with a huge drop off. Jose Luis & Jaime
placed pickets for running protection, but there were no fixed lines. I
watched as they climbed the 200 meter headwall and disappeared over the
crest. I settled back in my down jacket to
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It got light at 5:30 AM and we
got to see the spectacular setting in which we had been climbing. We
continued onward and upward but I was so exhausted I found myself asking for
small breaks to catch my breath. At about 5600 meters, Todd decided to
turn around and I had the opportunity to join he and Juan as they
descended. I found a little more energy, however, and Paul encouraged
me to continue to at least the base of the headwall. So Simon joined
our rope team and we continued up through another steep section and across a
narrow snow bridge which I almost pulled Paul off when I climbed and he was
not ready.
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wait for their return. After a while, Jaime called
me on the radio he had left with me to say a fellow guide was descending with
a single client and had agreed to take me down so I would not have to
wait. I roped up with them and descended about 400 meters, but their
pace was too fast and I did not feel comfortable asking them to slow
down. I asked that they leave me in a flat area at 5300 meters where we
had rested on the way up. This way I could go through the lower snow
bridges with my own guides.
The sun was hot as I waited and I spoke with a couple of
small groups who passed on their way down. After 1 ½ hours Jaime’s team
appeared and as I roped up with them, they told me of their trip up the
headwall and time on the summit. Cotopaxi has a
giant crater at it’s top, over 1000 feet deep, filled with snow. They
could also see Vulcan Tungurahua erupting in the distance.
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We descended through the snow bridges and finally reached the top of the
glacier where we unroped and took our crampons off. I continued down
the final 300 meters to the Jose Rivas Regugio where I packed up my sleeping
bag and other personal gear and then hiked down to the parking lot where the
bus took us back to Tambopaxi Albergue. We had spent 12 hours climbing
on the mountain and were exhausted.
Back at Tambopaxi, we relaxed for a few hours before being treated to
pizza at 6:30 PM. The pizza
was excellent and was the perfect way to end a very long day.
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The Summit of Cotopaxi,
taken from Jose Rivas Refugio on December 22, 2003, after we had climbed.
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Tuesday,
December 23, 2003 – Hosteria La
Cienega, Lasso, Ecuador
I woke early and spent an hour updating my journal.
As I sat in the dining area, I could look through the high power telescope
and see climbers ascending the headwall of Cotopaxi,
30 kilometers away.
We ate breakfast at 8:00 AM
and then had the morning free to pack. After lunch, we left for the
hour and a half drive to the town of Lasso
which is still in Cotopaxi Province
where we checked into a 300 year old colonial hacienda named La
Cienega. The setting is beautiful and the rooms are spacious.
At 4:30 PM we
took the bus to Latacunga which is the capital of this province where we had
a chance to visit an Internet Café.
Dinner was at 8:30 PM
at the hacienda and we were treated to traditional Indian music performed by
a group of five musicians. Their instruments included two rondadors, a
flute instrument, which produced and unusual and upbeat tune. By 10:00 PM I was tired so I went to sleep.
Wednesday,
December 24, 2003 – Chimborazo Base Camp,
Ecuador
With the shutters closed, I slept until 8:00 AM. After showering, I went down
for breakfast. Jaime’s wife and three young children joined us along
with Juan’s girlfriend.
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Mignon Plaza with Jose-Luis at
Hacienda
San Agustin De Callo.
After lunch, we returned to La
Cienega where we packed, checked-out and boarded the bus for the three hour
ride to the base of Vulcan Chimborazo. Along the way, we saw a huge new
eruption of Vulcan Tungurahua and stopped to take photos. Jaime &
Jose Luis were worried about friends they had in a town at the volcanoe’s
base. The large ash cloud was drifting in the direction of Chimborazo.
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At 10:00 AM we took a short
ride across town to Hacienda
San Agustin De Callo, a unique family hacienda run by a former Ecuadorian
president’s niece, Mignon Plaza.
The hacienda is built around the former Inca Palace of Emperor Tupac Yupangui
which was later converted to a monastery by the Augustine Order.
The hacienda only has five rooms, but they are all nice and incorporate
the original Inca stonework in the walls where possible. A group of
llamas wandered about the courtyard. We were served a light lunch in
the hacienda’s living room which included fried corn, boiled corn and cheese.
Liz
feeding the llamas carrots in the Plaza of Hacienda San Agustin De Callo.
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At 6:00 PM we arrived at
Chimborazo Base Camp, a relatively new hosteria owned by a mountain guide
which caters to Chimborazo climbers. This is a
delightful inn with two cabins, each sleeping eight people in four
rooms. After storing our gear in the rooms, we met in the separate
dining hall for Christmas Eve celebrations around the fire in the sunken
living room. With one exception, we were the only guests and had a
grand time. Jose Luis & Jamie gave us each a traditional Indian
woolen hat which we all donned. Dinner was lasagna and we toasted new
friends with champagne.
At 9:30 PM I went to bed
although several of the others continued partying into the night.
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Thursday,
December 25, 2003 – Wymper Hut, Vulcan Chimborazo,
Ecuador
After a restless night, I woke and started organizing my
gear for the climb of Chimborazo. At 8:30 AM we went to breakfast at the dining
hut. Dave’s cough had gotten very bad and Jose Luis & Jaime decided
to take him to the hospital. It doesn’t look like he will be joining us
for the climb.
We waited until almost 2:00
PM for Jose Luis & Jaime to return from the hospital.
They had gotten Dave some medication and checked him into a hosteria at a
lower altitude to try to recover.
We packed up and drove to the lower refugio on Chimborazo
and then proceeded to hike 40 minutes up to the upper refugio named Wymper
Hut. Amanda had decided not to hike up to the hut so she returned to
the same hosteria where Dave was and we’ll meet them there tomorrow.
We are scheduled to sleep until 10:00 PM and then start climbing at 11:00 PM. When dinner was not ready by 5:30 PM, I decided to go to sleep to get as
much rest as possible before the climb.
Friday,
December 26, 2003 – Hosteria Abraspungo,
Riobamba, Ecuador
We woke at 10:00 PM
on Christmas night and dressed to climb. Brandt had developed a severe
cough during the night and although I was not coughing nearly as much as he,
I could feel a cold coming on.
Jose Luis had received some discouraging news about the
conditions on the mountain. The ash cloud from the recent eruptions on
Vulcan Tungurahua had been settling on Chimborazo for
the last several days, melting the snow and turning large sections of the
mountain into sheets of black ice. Based on this information, and the
fact that we were not in the best of health, Paul, Brandt, Todd and I decided
not to attempt to climb.
Mark, Liz and Simon wanted to
give it a try and left with four guides at 11:00
PM. They climbed for a
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couple of hours, but turned around when conditions became too difficult
to continue.
At 8:30 AM, we had breakfast
and heard about the exploits of the climbers the previous night. There
had been a lightning storm in the distance which had occasionally lit up the
face of the glacier exposing large rocks which could break loose at any
moment. I was glad I had decided to stay in the hut.
At 9:30 AM we hiked down to
the bus and drove for an hour to Riobamba
where we checked into the hosteria where Dave & Amanda were
staying. We ate lunch at 1:30 PM
and then drove to town to see the square and use the internet. Dinner
was back at the hosteria at 8:00 PM.
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A memorial to the dozens of climbers who have died
on Chimborazo has been established near the lower refugio.
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Saturday,
December 27, 2003 – Hotel Quito, Quito,
Ecuador
We ate a breakfast buffet at 8:00
AM and then returned to our rooms to pack. The bus left at 10:00 AM for the four hour ride back to Quito.
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Along the way, we stopped to sample roast guinea pig which
we found at a roadside stand. One guinea pig was $18 and we all sampled
it. Once we got over seeing the roast paws and head, it tasted like
pork.
Further on, we stopped for lunch at a very popular restaurant and
finally got back to Quito at 4:00 PM. I worked on my journal in the
afternoon and then we met for our final farewell dinner at 9:00 PM. We ate at The Terrace of the
Tartars which was on the seventh floor of a building overlooking Quito.
We are all leaving at different times tomorrow, so we used this opportunity
to say our goodbyes.
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We sampled roast rabbit
and guinea pigs
at a roadside stand.
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