Ecuador

The end of the school year always brings a lot of festivities and on top of this I had to move an entire house without commercial support. Exhausted, we returned to the US only to fight jet lag while setting up the summer home. Luckily this only lasted a couple of days before I was off again taking three flights to South America, and landing in Ecuador where I would begin my quest to climb the highest peaks in three different countries.

Choosing a relatively Spartan hotel, rest continued to elude me. Early the next morning after my arrival, my guide Miguel arrived and we headed out for our first climb. While it would be classified as more of a hike, we chose to rope up and do some climbing/scrambling over some rock to make it a little bit more challenging. A cable car took us to the high plains and we began hiking into the clouds. After a relatively short distance we began climbing over the crags. He mostly led, belaying me off of the natural rock on the more steeper sections for safety. This went on for a while and my hands grew cold, but within a few hours we were at the top of Ruku Pichincha 4698m/15413ft. Our descent began with some rocky steps leading into loose sand which we could boot ski down before eventually returning to the trail and heading back to the cable car. While I did okay with the altitude, it was a reminder that nothing comes easy, even with all the training. The long hike back was also a refresher and how difficult coming down can be when you are tired. A husky accompanied us until we began climbing high on the rocks, met us at the summit, and walk the entire way back with us. He, like me, was just looking for food.

Rock climbing 

1st summit in Ecuador 

All fed, a full night's sleep again eluded me as it had for more than a week. And then we were back at it driving out to Cotopaxi, the world's third highest active volcano, and second highest peak in Ecuador. It didn't take long for the other shoe to drop. On the way to the mountain, my guide informed me that he forgot his wallet as we pulled into a gas station (Dude, can I bum some gas money?). Then I learned that the refuge we were supposed to hike to that night and stay at was closed due to a change of management. This meant that we would be staying further down in the park and have to drive to the parking lot and start a hike from there at night. This would only add 45 minutes to 1 hour up, but it would be costly.

The most I ever saw of Cotopaxi 

I actually slept. Going to bed at 7:00 p.m. was difficult but I got about an hour and a half of rest before waking up at 10pm to change and make a bone-rattling drive about an hour to the start of the climb. From the parking lot to the refuge was a very slow 45 minute plod through volcanic ash. Upon arriving at the closed refuge we put on helmets and harnesses and continued another hour up the slippery scree. A cloud surrounded the mountain and made us all completely soaked, which was a problem because the winds were whipping across the mountain. I had on lighter gloves thinking I would change into my thicker ski gloves once we hit the snow. This was a fatal mistake. My hands were absolutely frozen and by the time we stopped at crampon point, I could not move them. While I was able to get on my crampons I could not lace the safety strap nor tie into the rope without the guide's help. This was embarrassing and it took a good 20 minutes for my hands to return to once in my better gloves with hand warmers.

Steep climbing 

We continued up the snow for several more hours, reaching 5400m in about 4 hours. There was a mix of snow and ice which made for some difficult parts using crampons. There were also some very steep sections which required fixed anchors. The wind was powerful and relentless causing us to grow cold with every rest break and making each step difficult and dangerous as we were pushed all over the ridge. We were covered in a layer of ice the entire time. My energy began to flag and I struggled to move with a purpose. When I finally reached the summit, it was with indifference. I felt no passion and seriously questioned what I was doing with my time and money. Taking a photo at the top I stayed less than 2 minutes and began heading down, which was extremely difficult given that I had to lead while my guide roped me from behind as a safety precaution (everyone was on ropes).

My energy returned somewhat and even though I slipped and fell a few times on the way down, we were relatively safe. When we hit crampon point I was able to take off my own gear this time, a small win. We then slid or skied down the loose ash/sand to the refuge and all the way to the car. It was a 9 hour trip, but one I expected to be done in less than seven. I was extremely disappointed with my physical performance. Aside from my choice of gloves early on the rest of my gear performed extremely well. I just wish I had done the same.

Very cold and angry with myself on the summit of Cotopaxi (5897m/19,347ft)

After a day and a half of rest we were out there again, this time to Ecuador's highest mountain, Chimborazo. I had 4 hours of driving to contemplate on how to better approach this mountain. From the refuge (4800m) we hiked up an hour and 45 minutes to the high camp (5300m) which was a system of tents on the plateau before the snow. Dinner and some fitful sleep at high altitude led us to an 11:00pm wake up. The first two hours were relatively simple as we worked our way up the snow and ice im the darker. I was feeling much better than I did on Cotopaxi and I had a plan to fuel earlier and more often. The weather was also good, with very little wind and clear skies. As we began to get higher up on the snow slope, we had to start preparing for the danger above. This mountain is known to have a lot of avalanche danger and no one had summited all week. We stopped at about 5700 m to dig a snow pit. Conditions were average, not great but also detrimental. We climbed on a bit more and dug another pit this time in deeper snow. The stopping and waiting left me chilled and hands cold again. This time the snow pit revealed very dangerous conditions and we had to make the difficult decision to turn around at 5800m. While I was extremely disappointed because I was feeling good and wanted to obtain the highest summit in ecuador, safety came first and it was smart to go down. Safety is the most important measure of success. We continued our descent back to high camp where we crashed into our sleeping bags, very cold and very tired from being awake all day and all night. In the morning we descended back to the car.

Chimborazo ~ 6270m/20,570ft

The route to high camp (behind the black rocks at center)

High Camp (5300m): The summit is beyond the dome and up much steeper terrain than it looks. 

Sunset on Chimbo

While I was somewhat disappointed with my time in Ecuador, I did learn a lot. It felt good to get back into the mountains where long distances and high heights were the challenges I faced. Time spent preparing and moving up and down a mountain was what I came here for, and the summits are secondary. Most of my gear performed very well and I was happy with how warm my feet were, that my crampon stayed on, and my layering seem to work. My gloves are something I'm going to have to address as my hands continue to get too cold. In the past, when I have struggled on a high mountain I have rethought my commitment to the sport. While I did feel that momentarily on Cotopaxi, I quickly shook that off and refocused that this is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes practice to adjust to the altitude and get used to the slow moving pace as well as keeping your body fueled and hydrated in these conditions. If I don't go out there and suffer a little bit, I will never get the experience needed to do it when it really matters. I actually looked forward to the third climb after stumbling somewhat on the 2nd. In the past I have come off a mountain completely destroyed. But this time I was ready for more very quickly. I think this is a result of the harder training I have put in. I have a busy 3 weeks ahead of me, but I hope that I will walk away with a better understanding of myself and these mountains.

Off to Peru.