I have to say, if you're going to have to work during the holidays, being in Ecuador isn't the worst place in the world to be. I just returned home from a ten day trip guiding for Adventures by Disney in Ecuador, but before work started, I decided to make the most of my trip south by going two weeks early in search of adventure.
My adventure began with a mountaineering trip with my mom. Neither one of us had ever really climbed any mountains before, but with numerous 15,000+ foot mountains lying next to the equator, we decided Ecuador would be a good place to start. So we signed up for a week long trip that involved four different summit attempts. I was very excited to get the experience of doing this with my mom. I am always proud of her for agreeing to join me on these kind of trips especially considering she is afraid of heights.
First up was the Guagua Pichincha Volcano (15,696 ft). The hike up to this one was fairly simply, involving a road then a trail up most of the way, followed by a little rock scramble near the end. The point of this one was to get our acclimatization started so we walked slow and tried to get used to the lack of oxygen in the air.
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| My mom and I at the top of the Guagua Pichincha Volcano |
The next morning we woke up at 5:00am to get started with our climb of Volcan Imbabura (15,190 ft). The climb to the summit took us around four a half hours, with the first part on relatively easy trail and progressively getting more difficult, requiring a decent rock scramble to get all the way to the summit. Starting off as the sun was rising and finishing on the summit just as the clouds were rolling in, combined with the amazing scenery, made this my favorite climb we did.
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| Our view over the valley as the sun was rising |
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| My mom making her way up through the rock scramble |
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| Me at the summit of the Imbabura Volcano |
After a night of rest in Quito, we were off to our third peak, Iliniza North (16,818 ft). This one required that we hike up to the refuge one afternoon, and wake up early the following morning for our summit attempt. The hike up to the refuge took a few hours and provided on and off views of the summit. We spent that evening drinking hot tea and resting up for the next morning.
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| My mom hiking up the trail to the Iliniza Refuge |
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| Hanging out at the refuge |
The following morning was an early start and unfortunately not with the greatest of weather conditions. It was cloudy and on and off snowing and hailing. The climb up to Ilinizas North is not a super technical climb, but it was the first for us that required wearing plastic boots, a harness and a helmet as well as roping up in a couple spots. From the refuge it started out scrambling up some rocks, then turned in to a bit more rock climbing, meandering along ledges where falling was not an option.
As the snow started falling harder, and I continued to visualize in my head watching my mom fall to her death doing something I may or may not have talked her into doing, I started to doubt whether going all the way to the summit was our best option. Both my mom and our guide seemed to be thinking the same thing, as we approached the final push which involved what they refer to as "the death step," our guide mentioned that this was the last spot to bail out and with the weather as unpredictable as it was, recommended we turn back. We all agreed that making it over half way was accomplishment enough in those conditions so we began to head down.
Fortunately, instead of having to downclimb the section we had climbed
up, we were able to descend down a scree field which while very steep,
was not too bad once we got the hang of it. We made our way down safely
and after a quick stop in the refuge to warm up with some tea, we
continued back to the trail head.
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| My mom at the top of the rock scramble about to enter the more technical part |
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| Heading down the scree field |
It was now time for our last big mountain attempt, and the highest yet, Cotopoxi (19,347 ft). Cotopoxi is considered one of the highest active volcanoes in the world and has the record of being the highest spot from the center of the earth (higher than Everest due to a bulge in the earth along the equator line). After our experience on Ilinizas and my mom's apprehension about the height and potential "crevasse jump" required for Cotopoxi, I realized there was a good chance we may not make it to the summit, but thats not what this trip was about for me. For me it was about getting out and experiencing something new with my mom, so I didn't really care how high we got as long as we gave it a shot together.
Similar to Ilinizas, Cotopoxi required a short hike to the refuge the day before the summit attempt. After arriving at the refuge, we took a short break before heading out into the snow to practice some of the more technical mountaineering skills we hadn't needed until now. We learned how to walk in crampons using an ice axe and how to self arrest should we happen to fall. It was a beautiful day and a fun afternoon practicing our new skills in the snow.
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| Its so close, but still so very far away |
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| My mom practicing with her crampons and ice axe |
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| My mom and I posing with our ice axes |
That night we went to bed at 7pm in hopes of getting a little bit of sleep before waking at 11pm to start our summit push. With the anxiety of what was to come, combined with being at 16,000 feet of elevation, it was not exactly the best night of sleep I've ever had.
At 11pm we woke up and got all geared up and ready to go. As I walked out to restrooms, I was blown away by the sight of the summit lit up beautifully by a full moon.
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| The peak of Cotopxi lit up by the moon |
By midnight we were on our way up the volcano. The wind was blowing furiously, so much so that I had to be careful not to lose focus and allow it to blow me over. With the direction of our guide, my mom and I followed up the mountain, making sure that every step we took was a good one, as the fear of slipping and beginning a long slide down the mountain was always in the back of our minds.
Walking up the steep snow field was not easy, and required a good bit of physical strength and endurance. The wind and the cold definitely did not help the situation. So after a couple hours of hiking and at the start of the more technical glacier part of the climb, my mom decided that that was as far as she needed to go. I was proud of her for getting as far as she did, and for even going with me in the first place.
Before starting back down, I took one last look at the volcano and then out into the valley, with Quito's city lights twinkling from afar, and my mom and I headed back down together.
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| My mom up on Cotopoxi right before we turned back down |
On the way back to Quito that next day, my mom looked over at me and said "you know, I think I want to come back and give Cotopoxi another shot at some point," so you never know, we may make it to the summit together someday after all.
