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(note these are great pictures make sure you look at them all!)
December 12th, 2003
found me off on another climbing trip, and on my way from my home near
Washington, D.C. via Houston, Texas, to the high altitude(9,350 feet, 2850
meters) of Quito, Ecuador, by way of some cheap airline tickets.
This trip meant a
return to South America, since I had just been climbing in Bolivia in June the
previous year, had been to Chile in 1997 while using Santiago and Puenta
Arenas to get to Antarctica and Mount Vinson (one of the “Seven Summits”), and
had visited Argentina in 1991 to climb Aconcagua while also then visiting Peru
to play tourist in Cuzco and Macchu Picchu.
Our climbing
objectives for this trip were to gain acclimatization to the altitude as
swiftly as possible so we could then attempt Cayambe (18,996 ft, 5790 m),
Cotopaxi (19,347 ft, 5897 m), and Chimborazo (20,701 ft, 6310 m), if the
weather and conditions were willing.
Our climbing team
consisted of two main climbing guides from Quito in the persons of Jose Luis
Peralvo and Jamie Avila, along with one Irish bloke now living in New York
City, and eight Yanks including myself. (More about everyone later on
throughout this travel tale.)
I had met a new
friend in San Francisco, California, during the 50th Everest Anniversary
dinner earlier in the year, and she had just been to Ecuador in November, and
thus could give me some hints via email on how the trip went then. She also
kindly shared her diary notes with me, which has kept me straight on many
details of Ecuador while writing this story.
I learned what is meant by a
“small” commuter plane, and little overhead compartment space, with the three
hour flight from D.C. to Houston via one of the new and cheaper commuter
flights. Fortune smiled on me and the applicable three seat row was empty,
and therefore I could fit my climbing pack underneath the small seats, versus
trusting my camera’s and other breakable things to any baggage handling
tortures. (Don’t expect any real drinks or meals on these cheap flights
either, since water and pretzels were the fine dining fare on this flight.) A
few hours in the Houston airport provided me with entertainment by watching
travelers scurry around in an airport, and before the evening was over I was
on the five hour flight to Quito. (It pays to get aboard early, since late
arriving folks lost any hope of keeping their carry-on in the main cabin by
the long-gone overhead compartments already bulging with bags before the plane
was half full with passengers, and no empty seat by the time we pushed-back to
take off.) I then did my normal thing of reading a book, and relaxing through
a non-descript movie, before thankfully the five hours was over!
   
By 10 p.m. I was quickly
passing through the Ecuador passport control point, “donating” a US dollar for
the luggage trolley, and then waiting patiently for my climbing bags as new
bags were constantly being added to the small baggage carousel for our large
flight, and just as quickly falling off and jamming the carousel. I have to
say it is a far nicer airport than most though, and after keeping a watchful
eye for my bags, while also “sussing out” (checking out fellow climbing
clothed individuals for possible competence), my large climbing bags were
found on the carousel and happily placed on my trolley. Now a previous flight
had meant a large gathering before the “lost luggage” counter so I counted
myself lucky and quickly placed my luggage on the X-Ray conveyor that all bags
go through before then exiting the international arrival doors. Thankfully
one of our local representatives Jamie Avila, who also turned out to be one of
our guides, met me there and whisked me off to the grand Hotel Quito.
The Quito Hotel turned out to
be one of the nicest in the city, and I met my roommate Todd from Oklahoma
that night before we thankfully both got down to some sleep, since both of us
had been flying all day to get there. We also learned that night not to get a
room across from the hotel parking lot, since the car alarms went off all
night as truck traffic set them off!
Todd and I got up early and
were able to partake of the breakfast buffet before walking around the lovely
gardens of the hotel, and taking stock of all its services, such as a heated
swimming pool and a hot tub! We both had arrived a day early so we could get
use to the altitude here, and so we took a nice walk around town to get our
jet-lagged legs back in shape, along with enjoying the local sidewalks and
stores. (I also took the time to get local postcards and stamps for those
family and friends from back home in the states and Australia that like
them.) Jamie stopped by and we had an invigorating walk down to one of the
local churches. His family used to live nearby, so Jamie could convey all the
local knowledge onto us as he met friends along the way. Outside the church
stands a large stone crucifix, and Jamie told us the story about friends who
had been climbing it one New Years morning while not completely sober, and it
had then fallen on one of his comrades. Fortunately Jose Luis had also been
there and had been able to get him to the hospital for some quick and
successful care. After this hike, and a nice soda stop to see what the local
movie theater looks like, Jamie returned home while Todd and I had a nice
dinner in the top floor restaurant at the hotel, and where you can easily see
planes on their final approach to the airport as they fly overhead!
Sunday morning, December
14th, found us up early and at breakfast to meet the rest of the team who had
arrived the previous evening. We had Simon from across the pond, but in NYC
now, Mark and Liz from California, Gary Bacon from Washington state (& with
his own website), Dave from Ohio, Amanda also from California, and Brandt from
Connecticut. (Thanks go to Alpine Ascents in Seattle, Washington, for getting
us all together!) We also enjoyed the company of Jose Luis and Jamie during
breakfast, and then hopped on a nice group bus for a trip down to a Basilica
(large Church) for a tour of it, and a look-see at and from its highest
points. (Nothing like walking and climbing up through a church, and its
rickety steps and ladders, for acclimatization!) It was a lovely church, and
view from above, before we then trooped onward downward a few blocks to the
main square and the Presidential Palace. (We all were drinking lots of water
to enhance our acclimatization to the altitude, so most of us also needed a
bathroom stop around here at a store!) We took the opportunity to walk around
and through the large square here, while also watching the local street mimics
making fun of everyone and everything, including us. We continued our walk to
San Francisco Square and the very large and old Church there. (I always hate
to play tourist inside of a Church, since people are actually worshiping
there.) Then just in front of the Church is a large underground store, and we
browsed through there checking out possible gifts once the trip was over.
Jose Luis had “threatened
us”, very nicely though, with having to hike up to the statue of the Virgin
Mary, at 9898 ft and 3017 m, but I think he took pity on us and we all took
the bus up the busy roads up to this impressive monument that overlooks the
city. Plenty of tourist stalls are around the area there, but we went
straight up into the base of the statue, Jose got us tickets for entry as
others were watching a soccer game on TV, and we thus got an impressive view
of the statue just above us from its base, while also enjoying the view that
looks down onto the city. (Friends with Jose and Jamie, a mother and daughter
from the USA, also enjoyed this day with us, along with the following day,
which was very nice for all of us.) A little rain during the day also kept
our coats always nearby.
The next stop was a very nice
lunch at the “Magic Bean”. (Whenever we would say “American” type food Jamie
would always correct us and say “North American” type food, since of course we
were also in “South America”, and not just take it for granted that everything
was from “America”.) Fortunately the outside cafe had an awning, since rain
fell during the meal but did slack off a bit as we then went to a climbing
store, “Tatoo”, to get the odds and ends we may have missed while packing for
this trip. Then it was back to the hotel to check on all our gear before
dinner.
Dinner was very entertaining;
with some of the best dancing I have ever seen along with fine musicians.
This was with men and women dressed in traditional clothing for Ecuador, and
with usually the men “entreating” the women to dance or be with them. The
most impressive dance of the evening was that by the women with full wine
bottles a-top their heads as they danced and swirled around the area. Very
nice! (Of course when the dancers came into the audience for volunteers for
the last dance we all kept very low profiles at the table before that dance
was over!) It was a fine evening before bedtime came for us all.
The following day meant
checking out of the hotel and driving for an hour or two to where the Equator
is, and where we stopped for a nice break and some pictures. Those young and
spry hopped a-top the cement globe that adorned the bus and truck stop. Then
it was onward for another hour to Otavalo (8448 ft , 2575 m), known for its
handicraft market, where we checked into a very nice hosteria built and run by
some ex-pat North Americans.
  
After quickly unpacking we
drove upward in our bus for a sandwich lunch beside Cuicocha Lake (10,170 ft,
3100 m), which preceded a wet hike up and around this pretty lake with three
small islands. (Simon had stayed at the hosteria due to a cold/flu along with
a sprained ankle.) The islands are believed to be old volcano cones in this
very old volcano crater, and some businesses have tried their luck on them as
restaurants and such. Dave took-off at light speed around the lake as the
rest of us kept changing back and forth with our rain gear as the conditions
continued to change during the hike up to a small shelter at 11,368 ft or 3465
m in altitude. (Some of the mountain “trail” turned out to be slogging
through very dense vegetation, and we came to wonder where the mountains
were!) There were nice views from the shelter before we dropped down to the
other side of the Lake, which made it an overall hike of 3-4 hours before
coming among some farms and catching up with our bus and driver. There was a
very nice hosteria there at 10,827 ft or 3300 m, and we stopped for some
refreshment before continuing on inside the bus down to Otavalo. We also could
see from the upper hosteria our objective for the next day, a hike up around
Cerro Cotacachi. (While returning to town we saw our one and only clear view
of Cayambe in the distance.)
The hosteria (Ali Shungu) had
a very pleasant dining area, and we enjoyed the warm and cozy fire before
dinner, along with some nice and warm tea, after an even nicer hot shower,
since we had all gotten wet and sweaty during the hike. A very good meal made
the day complete, and we all made it off to bed for an early evening.
Tuesday, the 16th, found us
all up early for tea and coffee beside the warm dining room fire and a nice
breakfast before starting our exercise and acclimatization for the day. We
took two four wheel drive vehicles (i.e. Landcruisers) to get all of us to the
start of this days hike around Cerro Cotacachi, which took us about an hour to
arrive there above the local TV and radio antenna farm. (Todd and I took the
nice seats in the very back and hunkered down for the ride upward.) The
weather did not smile on us this day, and continuous wind along with
fogs/clouds kept us well covered up most of this day.
The five hour hike started at
13,041 ft, or 3975 m, amongst mostly grass on a mild incline before continuing
upward and onward with gullies and rocks, with everything being slippery in
the constant rain. Then it deteriorated even further into mostly scree and
gully terrain, where Simon wisely took a U-turn along with an added local
fellow/guide for the day. We trudged upward on the final scree slope before
halting for the day at 14,780 ft, or 4505 m, and resting there. Now on a
perfect day we would have enjoyed the view here for an hour or so and also
improved our acclimatization that way, but we barely stopped for long because
of the conditions before heading down at a much faster pace than we had
ascended. I do not really like going down on loose scree, so I took my time
on this section and especially on the wet slabs of rock. (Gary’s stomach was
causing him discomfort, but after a little pit stop he seemed much better.)
Then it was on down to the trucks as fast as we could go over the final wet
grassy slopes and gullies running with water. It was good to finally reach
the trucks, and change a bit before the bumpy ride down the four wheel drive
road and onto the main road to town. (Of course on the way down the weather
is much nicer below than above where we were.) The drive down over this road
also meant passing through the local “roadblocks”, which consist of twine and
rag ropes across the roads by the children. Of course they drop the
twine/rope as soon as any vehicle comes near!
Another evening then of long
hot showers, tea beside the warm fire, and a fine meal was our final task and
enjoyment for the night. It was another very pleasurable way to complete the
day of activities with the evening then spent at the Ali Shungu Hosteria.
The following day meant tea
by the fire in the dining room for our group, along with breakfast, before
taking our bus to the famous, within Ecuador, Jose Cotacachi weaving shop to
view the weaving along with shopping through the fine Alpaca clothing there.
(Not to mention viewing their guinea pig “herd” in one building, which is a
food delicacy in South America.) Next we headed off to the very large main
market of stalls with every conceivable type of woven fabric. Its an amazing
place and we spent part of the morning just going up and down the lanes with
the stalls and trying to find Christmas presents for our families and friends
back home. We also stopped into a local internet cafe and caught-up very
quickly with our email accounts, although the very slow modem speeds
throughout Ecuador makes it very tough to do much emailing.
It was a short walk back to
the hosteria, and a cheeseburger lunch for all, before packing up the bus for
our two hour long ride to the hut on Cayambe. It was a decent but bumpy road,
and the driver took his time on it before having to stop at 13,911 ft or 4240
m. By then the road was too bumpy for the bus, and Jose Luis “portered” the
food and climbing gear loads on up to the hut via his Landcruiser while we
started our walk up in the wind and falling rain. Nothing like wind and
driving rain right in the face to get one invigorated, and Dave took off on
upward, along with Gary, while we took our time getting there.
Our destination turned out to
be the “Refugio Ruals-Oleas-Berge” hut at 14,993 ft or 4570 m, which was quite
a jump in altitude from where we had been sleeping so far. We all arrived at
the hut in good shape, along with our food and gear via the two trips from the
Landcruiser, and we proceeded to get settled in the large dormitory in the top
floor, along with one of the kitchens on the second floor. We all hydrated
with hot drinks while unpacking everything, and talked to the only other
climber at the large hut. He was just back from a successful climb of
Cotopaxi, but here near Cayambe had lost two tents (dining and personal) to
the local fierce wind just the day before, and like us was hoping for good
weather soon on Cayambe itself.
Jose Luis had kindly brought
his wife Marga along to assist us with the cooking duties, and it turned out
to be a fine choice since she was and is an outstanding cook, along with a
very pleasant personality! Jose and Jamie helped us test our knot and prussik
skills prior to an outstanding dinner of soup, chips, and spaghetti followed
by chocolate. (I obviously was not going to lose any weight on this climbing
trip like I usually do!) The downside was the constant hammering on the walls
of the hut from the high winds, which did not augur well for any climbing the
next day.
I cannot forget the fine
toilet at this hut, with running water, which was a big change from most huts
I have seen and experienced around the world! It was so nice, although chilly
and breezy, that I did not even bother to use a pee bottle this night, and
instead trudged down to the first floor each time throughout the night when
the bladder needed emptying.
Except for Gary, who had
taken Diamox the day before and was acclimatizing well, the rest of us seemed
to spend the whole night either peeing or having trouble sleeping at the new
higher altitude. (Although the locals Jose and Marga, along with Jamie, slept
soundly!) So overall most people did not have a peaceful night.
December 18th, Thursday,
dawned cold and very windy, and my stomach picked this time to be a little
queasy, but fortunately my head was fine with no headache unlike the majority
of the group. After a few drinks of hot cocoa a few of us tried “table
climbing” to kill some time in the poor weather, and Jamie successfully went
from on-top to underneath to on-top one of the tables side-ways. Dave
followed that with success, while I was an abject failure at it, and the
repeated attempts resulted in the worst bruises I have ever gotten in my life,
and the dark splotch went from crotch to knee on my left inner thigh! Some
more practice on belaying people from the ceiling carabiner, which Jamie had
placed up there, along with more knot work followed, before some nice soup for
lunch.
  
Most of us then decided to
nap in the afternoon to improve our acclimatization, which usually always
helps me too, but in this case I was the worst-for-wear after a nap with a
not-so-nice headache. I rooted around in my gear for my Advil and popped a
few in my mouth before we took a hike behind the leeward side of the nearest
hill at about 5 p.m. It was nice to get out and up about a hundred meters in
the growing darkness and the wind, at least on that side of the hill, was
diminishing. Marga then outdid herself with shrimp stuffed avocado’s, which
are really good in Ecuador, soup, and a really fine roasted turkey, mashed
potatoes with gravy, and boiled vegetables, wow! I cannot even remember what
dessert was before drifting off to a blissful sleep throughout the night!
The following day found the
conditions improving somewhat with the wind, but the warmer and above freezing
night temperatures, and the rain, spelled trouble out on any glacier nearby
(i.e. wet snow and bad avalanche conditions). Gary and I were up early and we
talked with Jose and Jamie about the prevailing conditions here, along with
whether or not it was worth spending more time here waiting for the weather to
improve, or to pack up and head towards Cotopaxi. Now in the world of cell
phones (yes, they are almost everywhere now), Jose and Jamie were able to pull
on their resources of guides within Ecuador to checkout the conditions
presently on Cotopaxi. The weather was better on Cotopaxi, but not great, and
thus Jose and Jamie decided to check-out the glacier here on Cayambe before
making a decision about moving on to Cotopaxi right away.
A lovely breakfast of French
toast with syrup, another of my favorites, was a fine way to start the morning
before gearing up for a trip up to the glacier for a look-see. Although on
this trip Amanda would stay behind because she was not feeling all too well,
possibly from the flu which Simon may have also been suffering from.
So from about 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. we hiked up the nearby hill, the first obstacle on the way to the
glacier, which meant mainly switchback hiking except for a few rock steps up
one section. Then it was on-to the saddle with a pretty lagoon below, before
going up another rock section and scramble on the right side of it, and then
hitting the glacier on the upper side of the slope. We had also passed-by a
flat section where folks sometimes place a high camp before attempting Cayambe.
We stepped inside a melted cave within the glacier at 16,076 ft, or 4900 m, to
check on its conditions, and the constant melt-water within it told us
basically the story we saw from the surface of the glacier. All this meant
that the temperatures at night, and certainly during the day, were not low
enough for the glacier and the snow on top to be stable and hard. Thus the
avalanche conditions on it, and the obvious snow slides and avalanches that
could be plainly seen above our point. Overall it was just too wet and
unstable to climb on and upward, and thus our reconnaissance was successful in
that we found out the present conditions higher up would not warrant an
attempt on this peak in the foreseeable future. Therefore we turned around
without even some practice on the slopes and began the quick descent downward
to the hut. The first section, down the side of the first rock steps, was
flowing with water and kept us vigilant against slipping on these slopes.
Then it was back across the saddle and down the rock slope and switchbacks,
with a few downward shortcuts, before reaching the short scramble on the rocky
section.
We were then back to the hut
for some soup, popcorn, and chips, before heading out once again for some
glacier practice, and this time with our climbing gear on. Thus 3 p.m. found
us lower down on the glacier and meeting folks who had just arrived now
ferrying one of their own back to the hut with an injured foot during some ice
climbing. We took our time and did some practice with our crampons on and ice
axes before getting back to the hut and drying off. (A short trudge through
some mud kept us all too aware of the previous rain and the clouds all around
us.) The folks that had just arrived, and with the injured companion, had
already left the hut in their vehicle, as had the American earlier in the day
who had lost the two tents in the recent wind storms.
So we packed up our gear,
knowing conditions would need to improve here for a successful attempt, and
started walking down to the bus which Jose had arranged. (Via cell phone Jose
had arranged the transportation, along with our change of plan to leave
Cayambe now and work towards Cotopaxi early.) The sky was clearing, but the
temperatures were still much too high for the snow conditions, and we hiked
back down to our original starting place on this road while Jose and Marga
ferried our leftover food and gear back to the bus. Darkness overtook us as
the bus descended back down towards Otavalo, and we then took the road
southward towards the Hacienda Guachala (9154 ft, 2790 m) on a back road. In
the darkness we could not see too much of the place, except for unpacking the
bus, getting clean with hot showers, and having a nice meal before reaching
bedtime about 10 p.m.
The new day found us in a
lovely hacienda in the woods, with a swimming pool behind the room that Todd
and I stayed, along with a grass and wooded lawn outside the facility. Todd
and I also checked out the large courtyard before breakfast, along with the
attached church which told the story in pictures concerning one of the
assassinated Presidents of Ecuador many years ago. We all enjoyed a pleasant
breakfast before packing up the bus once again and continuing our journey now
to Cotopaxi.
Marga had left us that night
to return to Quito for some more provisions, and we met her and the rest of
Jose’s family at a service station along the way. Unfortunately she would no
longer be with us, and we missed her and her cooking during the rest of the
trip. We had also waited at another service station for an additional guide,
Juan Epinoza, who would be with us during the rest of the trip.
In a couple hours of riding
the bus we were within the Cotopaxi National Park, which is quiet stark at its
lower altitudes with sparse vegetation and kind of a “moonscape” (it has been
a volcano), before ascending the bumpy road to the parking lot (i.e. flat
spot) at 4500 meters. There we donned our climbing and foul weather gear and
began the trudge up the scree slope to the Jose Rivas hut at 15,748 ft, 4800
m. (What is amazing is some folks stop and hike up to the hut as a daytrip,
come rain or shine, with their families. More about this later.) After the
one hour hike to the hut we stopped for tea and a short rest, while noting
that the hut even had a working Bell South telephone. Then it was up on the
switchbacks for a little while before hitting snow, then putting on our
crampons, before then reaching the lower glacier at 16,404 ft, or 5000 m.
Good to get the altitude, and to see decent weather around us and colder
temperatures, before then descending back down to the hut. We stowed our
climbing gear at the hut, along with some provisions, and then hurried down
the snow slope to the parking lot and the bus before the trip down to a very
nice chalet at 13,700 ft, or 3695 m.
This chalet, called Tombopaxi,
is a lovely place and even houses some folks that attempt to climb the
mountain from here with a very early start. (One’s that left this night for
the mountain returned early, and their local guide said the folks had not
wanted to continue through the upper crevasse field. Others had continued up
on the upper headwall and been successful reaching the summit from the Rivas
hut.) For us it meant a clean and dry place to eat and sleep, along with hot
showers, and where we spent a peaceful night after a nice dinner.
Sunday, December 21st, found
us packing our city gear to leave at the chalet and only taking our climbing
gear and clothing for the next few days. After a quick breakfast we took the
bus up towards the parking area, and fortunately stopped along the way for a
“bathroom” stop, since we all were very hydrated for the trip upward. (Its a
little more difficult for the gals then the boys for this type of bathroom
break, and Liz and Amanda fortunately found a nearby shallow ravine to stop
at.) When we reached the parking lot it was raining and sleeting, and of
course there was no limit to the number of day trippers with families hiking
up to the hut for tea! We took our time and reached the Rivas hut in good
time, found empty bunks on the top floor for our naps this evening before
climbing, and then had a leisurely lunch of drinks, snacks, and sandwiches.
Most then napped this afternoon, but Amanda and I stayed up to chat with Jose
and Jamie while also fixing our crampons for the wet snow we might encounter
on the way down from the summit tomorrow.
As people left the hut during
the day even nicer bunks became available, and Mark & Liz, Brandt, along with
myself, then changed to the quieter back room. Before long it was 5 p.m. and
we all had a nice dinner of soup and also tortellini before we all settled
down for some quick shut-eye. (We were all happy when Jose decided not to
lead us on a short hike this afternoon, since the rain kept our day tripper
friends arriving in a soaked condition at the hut.)
Let me just say here that the
hut system in Ecuador seems to be excellent, with the one on Cayambe very
nice, and this one on Cotopaxi even bigger. (Of course Cotopaxi is the most
popular climbing mountain in Ecuador.) The Jose Rivas hut has been built on a
very stable rock platform, although its location does mean a few rocks do
tumble down from the scree slope behind it to its large back patio, and is in
excellent shape. The main floor houses two kitchens for people to use, with
adjacent tables and seating areas. The upstairs contains 50 plus metal bunks
with sleeping pads, with some even three tier in height. At the very end of
the two rooms on the second floor for sleeping is the guides room, with some
sleeping mats on the floor. The outhouse contained three flush toilets (you
pour water from a large bucket down the hole to flush the toilet), along with
a pee trough.
Amanda woke up and left
early, at around 11 p.m., since she had not been feeling well with the flu and
Jose had arranged another guide (Carlos) to be with her. (An earlier start
would let her keep her own pace.) Then it was our turn to get up out of the
bunks, and dress and prepare for our attempt on the mountain. Even in the
protected hut it took a long while to boil lots of water for our drinks, and
oatmeal, so we did not get really started well past our planned start time of
midnight. (I took the added time to partake of the fine “Sara Lee” lemon
cake!) So the early morning hours of 22 December found us exiting the back
door of the hut at 12:48 a.m., and stretching and warming our legs in unison,
led by Jose, before heading up the switchbacks behind the hut at 12:56 p.m.
We took our time, with Jose
in the lead, as we retraced our steps from the previous day up through the
scree slopes via switchbacks towards the start of the glacier. Like before we
had to don crampons for our boots before very long and quickly reached the
start of the glacier (snow & ice) portion of the climb. (What seemed warm to
us then changed to colder once we got higher and into the wind.) We started
with three roped teams, with Jose, Jamie, and Juan, in the leads, as we
started to meander up through the glacier and its crevasses. The route was
mainly good firm snow, with some short sections of hard ice, along with snow
bridges over the major crevasses. Our first obstacle was a short and narrow
traverse, which of course we termed the “Death Traverse” in the dark. We had
to shuffle hunkered down, either sideways or face-first, over this ledge while
not letting the bulging nature of the ice there push you off into a short
drop-off and crevasse. We all encouraged each other while we crossed it one
at a time, and before long we were all across and continuing up a short icy
section with steps. (Yes, the climbing parties from the previous day had
picked a good route, which we followed.) Then it was time for crossing some
other crevasses via narrow and thin snow bridges, which meant some “soft”
steps on them, or a quick hop or two across them. We made a short stop here
to make sure that everyone was okay, along with taking a hot drink and eating
a candy bar. Gary’s headlamp failed shortly after this stop, and he and Jose
quickly got it back into working order.
What followed was a short and
steep snowy traverse upwards towards a rather large crevasse, and that meant a
further traverse down and to the right before quickly crossing over a snow
bridge there before continuing on up left to the other side of the crevasse.
(Amanda and Carlos were resting at this section as we continued up.) Then the
terrain became steeper and we took our time up this section before resting at
a snow filled crevasse, with the Sun starting to peak through the clouds and
up on the horizon. (Just a few groups were on the mountain on this day.)
Once we restarted and got above this steep bit Juan and Todd turned back since
Todd was not feeling well, but had far surpassed his previous altitude
record. Then it was up-and-over a steep “knob” of snow that turned out to
really be an old lip of a crevasse. We then descended down into the old
crevasse and ascended its upper side. (Going down and up such sections means
the climbing and team ropes get slack or tight very quickly, and as I was
descending the one section I needed to play “Spiderman” on the short cliff
since Gary was quickly ascending the other side of the crevasse and pulled the
rope too tight rather quickly!) Now we had gained a bit of a saddle on the
route and slowly climbed up to protection of a tall serac, although the
howling wind did not make it seem very “protected” much. (The whole area also
had a “mushroom” looking texture to the snow, which seemed to come from the
constant wind in that area.)
Gary was not feeling all too
well by this time, so Jose elected to have him shelter there as the rest of us
went up the headwall. This next section is the crux of the climb, and recent
information indicated that only within the last day had anyone been able to
break through this area to the summit above. So we traversed steeply up to
the right and then left, with Jamie putting in snow stakes for a running
belay, since the exposure on this section meant a long fall if one were to
slip and fall here. (Gary even got some video of us as we made it up this
section.) After huffing and puffing up this section the wind died down a bit,
and some of the clouds dispersed. (Two successful teams also had descended by
now, and passed on the conditions of the upper slopes.) We took a short break
here before needing to traverse left and almost straight-up a section to the
summit. (A nearby askew metal ladder also indicated the way up in past
years.) We were careful here with these kicked-in steps and slope before the
slope gradually flattened with the summit just ahead.
Josie and Jamie were very
happy to gain the summit and rushed us up there, or so it seemed to those at
the end of the two remaining rope teams (Dave & I)! The morning views were
outstanding and we congratulated each other, along with taking numerous
pictures, and taking some liquid refreshment along with snack bars. Its an
interesting summit, since it also consists of a circular volcanic cone. Also
near-by, or it seemed that way from the summit, we could see Tungurahua
erupting a mushroom cloud of ash which was a tremendous sight. Jose insisted
on taking a picture of me with the eruption taking place in the background,
and I finally acquiesced even though I normally do not like taking “people”
pictures on the mountains. (“Nature” called while we were on the summit, and
the others thankfully looked at the mountain erupting as I took care of
business.) All too soon it was time to turn around and head down before the
temperatures rose and made the snow bridges over the crevasses too soft for
safety. It was really great to be there at 19,347 ft, or 5897 meters, just
before 9 a.m. that morning! (A nice British couple also shared the summit
with us in a short while, along with their local guide, with the husband
putting his wife up on his shoulders to get “higher”.)
We then started the quick
descent back down the headwall and across to the serac, with Josie taking out
the snow stakes along the way. We consolidated our gear a bit here, since I
think we were all “over” warm by then, before continuing on down the way we
had come. By the time we reached where Todd had turned around meant another
layer off in the warming Sun. (Not to mention some more sunscreen and lip
protection!) Then down the main slope we went, with the taped crampon shields
working wonders at keeping the snow from balling up underneath the crampons.
The main crevasse area turned out to be painful, since the fog and heat took
its toll there and made it seem much hotter than it really was. We did take
our time over this section, and both our groups also took their time going
back over the Death Traverse, with Jamie and then Josie really knocking off
large sections of the protruding ice that made it difficult to cross. Then it
was down only a short section before reaching the end of the glacier, and
where we could take our crampons and climbing harness’s off. We all then
carefully trudged down this snow and scree slope, and I took my time
descending and enjoying being the last on the mountain on this day.
I could see Todd waiting for
us down at the patio of the hut, and it was great to see that he was okay,
along with Amanda, once I reached the hut. Then it was time to ring the hut
bell at its entrance, which is a tradition for summiteers of the mountain. (I
felt really good doing that!) Once inside we all packed up our sleeping gear,
while leaving the food for the hut warden, and hydrated a bit (Jose kindly got
me a Gatorade and a Coke from the hut store.) The rest of the team beat me
out of the hut before Jose and I could then slide down the scree slope
together down to our waiting bus and our kindly and proficient driver. (Mark
and I had used the bathroom facilities at the hut very wisely before starting
the hike downward!) I think it was about 1 p.m. when we started the drive
down to the Tombopaxi chalet, and the hour went by quickly before disembarking
and taking our climbing boots off before entering the very clean chalet.
We then unpacked our gear and
clothing before commencing some serious hurt on the beer, soda, and french
fries (chips to some), while also taking turns at the hot showers. Todd
earned the moment as the funniest person, since while I bought everyone a
round from the “bar” Todd made sure to offer them to anyone walking in the
place. (Nice guy!) We did hold off space in our stomachs for supper, since
Marga and Jose had planned ahead and had brought all the fixings for real
pizza’s! The pepperoni, ham, and Hawaiian, style pizza’s were absolutely
delicious and a perfect way to end the day, along with a nice and warm fire in
the “cooking stove” out in the dining room. (The next day Amanda reported
over four people snoring in our large room of eight wooden beds, but of course
that could not have included me.)
A pretty morning started our
day, and most people slept in or just relaxed and watched climbers on the
mountain via a telescope down in the dining room. We all enjoyed things like
tea, juice, bread & butter, along with eggs in any style, while afterward some
us worked on the cybercast to relate the climb. (Amanda kindly had assisted
Jose and Jamie for the previous cybercasts.) All I can say is that the adage
“too many chefs spoil the broth” pretty much explains how painful and tortured
this writing process was with way too many of us adding our two cents to what
had happened on summit day. Nor what some wrongly perceive to be “correct”
English grammar. Most of us then packed before lunch, with some of us
choosing “turkey” which I swear was really ham.
Then we were off on another
bus trip down through the southern end of the Park, and we could see hikers
and mountain bikers while on this dirt road. Back to the south we went on the
Pan American Highway, a busy two lane sealed road, with Josie and Jamie
checking for a cyber cafe along the way without success. Before too long we
reached the beautiful La Cienga hosteria, with its long wooded lane leading to
the hosteria and its large and pretty rooms. We checked in quickly and then
most of us took a further bus trip to Latacunga and visited some cyber cafes
for a while along with some shopping. I enjoyed just walking around the town
too.
The evenings entertainment
was excellent, with some talented folks on guitars and also a flute type
instrument. All too soon it was time for bed, and I barely remember the fine
garlic shrimp, filet mignon, and finally the banana split.
 
Christmas Eve meant a
leisurely breakfast before a short bus trip to Hacienda San Agustin De Callo,
where we inspected the former Inca palace of Emperor Tupac Yupangui. (Thanks
to Gary and his notes for this information.) The stone building is quite
unique, and you can easily see the difference between the fine Inca crafted
stone walls and those built later on by the Spanish. The owners allowed us to
look through the fine and pricey four guest hotel rooms, while we also enjoyed
a simple meal in the main den or study of the complex. (The room would be
outstanding for writing a book from, with its simple but fine decor along with
great views outside of Cotopaxi.) Liz also found out during our stop here,
and during a close encounter with an Alpaca, what their spitting at you truly
means.
Jamie’s wife had arrived the
night before with their children, and it was great to see their excitement the
next morning as they showed off their gifts to us all.
All too soon it was back on
the bus and onward towards Chimborazo, with the roads taking us past some
views of the erupting Tungurahua in the distance. It had a very impressive
ash cloud reaching far into the sky, and we felt for those folks living near
there. Then it was back around the mountain towards our dwelling for the night
called “Chimborazo Base Camp” at 9843 ft, or 3000 m altitude. Its a very new
place, with a central chalet for the kitchen and dining, and two other chalets
with four rooms a piece and two beds for each room, along with a bathroom on
each floor for two rooms. Nice! This was also a great choice by Jose to
spend Christmas Eve versus a cold and darkened hut on the mountain itself.
In the evening Jose presented
us all with special woolen caps from the Otavalo market, while Jose, Jamie,
and Juan also exchanged gifts since they have known each other for years. It
was quite special to share the evening with them, along with the fine meal of
lasagna with champagne. The downside of the evening was the continuing cough
of Dave that only seemed to be getting worse.
Christmas morning found the
weather changed to blowing rain, which was not the sort of present we wanted
from Santa. We organized our gear (what to keep there and what to take on the
mountain with us) and had a very quiet breakfast at the main chalet. Dave had
certainly gotten worse during the night, so Jose and Jamie along with the bus
driver drove back towards Quito with him to the nearest medical assistance.
This meant a long morning for them, since in Ecuador people come out on the
streets to have parades on Christmas, and that caused that further delay in
getting Dave taken care of and for returning to the Base camp chalets.
Fortunately they did find a Doctor, got him taken care of and safely in a
hacienda, and that got back to the chalets by 2-3 p.m. We were all glad that
Dave would be okay, and then hustled up to load the bus for our trip up the
mountain.
In continuing blowing rain we
drove on up to the Carrel Hut (15, 912 ft, 4850 m) parking lot in the mist,
loaded ourselves up with our gear and food, and trudged up the path (past some
gravestones) to the Whymper Hut (16,404 ft, 5000 m). Once again we met some
day trippers enjoying the mountains, along with some Austrians who were just
visiting the upper hut for the day. Less than an hour of hiking found us at
the upper hut, and we could chose any bunk in the empty second story bunk
rooms. (Although Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador it is not
really visited by the main throng of hikers or climbers.) Amanda was also not
feeling well again and returned to the bus and hacienda then that evening,
which was a shame. We found this hut to be the smallest so far, and fairly
dark inside with two small kitchens and one main dinning room, but it did have
a generator to lighten the place after nightfall, and propane to keep the
stoves working. (The bathroom contained two toilets that you flushed via a
bucket of water.) By 6 p.m. we ate our soup and pasta before heading up to
the bunks for some rest before starting our climb at 11 p.m.
  
The recent weather, and ash
from the volcano, had melted all the surface snow from this climb and left it
pretty much an all ice climb. Time would not permit running belays or placing
ice screws (protection) throughout the ascent and descent, so after thinking
it through during the evening I decided not to attempt this ascent. (Also
knowing that one cannot self arrest during a fall on an all ice climb, and I
would not want to hurt anyone if I should fall and thus take them with me.)
Brandt, Todd, and Gary were not well and wisely decided not to ascend, so that
left Jose, Jamie, and Juan, working with Liz and Mark along with Simon and
another guide. (The higher than freezing temperatures throughout the night
also did not bode well for the attempt, since the ice would also not be hard
or firm for the attempt.)
The group left the hut about
11 p.m. and went up through the tough steep scree slopes, and lower part of
the glacier, before reaching the icy portion of the route along with lighting
in the distance, a falling ash cloud, and the smell of sulfur from Tungurahua.
The main group turned back at this point, noting the unstable nature of the
slopes (rocks precariously frozen onto the ice, and ready to fall with any
higher temperatures), while Jamie and the other guide moved up a bit further
with Simon. So by 2:30 a.m. the main group was back and I went down and
greeted them back in my breezy underwear, since it was good to see them back
safely. We shared some drinks, and stories of the climb and life (with the
one from Juan and his younger years very interesting!), before trundling off
to bed. The last group of Jamie and Simon with the other guide arrived back
just after we had turned in to our sleeping bags.
We all got up at about 8 a.m.
and had something to drink and eat for breakfast before packing our gear and
descending the slope back down to the Carrel Hut and its parking lot in the
usual mist and fog. We met some folks hiking up to the Whymper Hut and
advised them of the mountains conditions, while also taking some pictures down
at the memorials just above the Carrel Hut. So by 10 a.m. we had the bus
packed and were descending down the road, after some of the group helped
push-start the additional guides truck, and reached the Chimborazo Base Camp
for our bags in good time. Once the bus was packed we headed down the
mountain roads to Riobamba and the Abraspungo Hosteria (9,022 ft, 2750 m) that
turned out to have a very large courtyard, large rooms, and very hot water for
the showers.
Todd and I enjoyed the room
while unpacking a bit and cleaning up, eating a nice lunch, and generally
relaxing before a trip into town along with a stop at an internet cafe with
more rain around. (It seemed that wherever we went we ran across the towns
main courtyard.) Once back at the hosteria I skipped dinner and had one of
the most blissful nights of sleep during the whole trip. Little did I know
that some of my quiet and bashful buddies on the trip would pick this night to
go out bar hopping, karaoke singing, and to be greeted with tear gas at one
night spot.
December 27th, Saturday,
found us on the road after breakfast for the four plus hour bus trip back to
Quito, while also stopping at a fine roadside restaurant with cheeseburgers
and milkshakes as their specialties. At the same time I cannot forget the
quick side trip to test roast guinea pig, with roasted rabbit staring at you
too! Like the rest I tried it, but it just tasted greasy to me. Its at a
prime price of $18 US per pig, which makes it the most expensive meat and/or
meal in Ecuador. By 5 p.m. we were back at our Hotel Quito and getting clean
and repacking, since most of the group were leaving on 8 a.m. flights the
following morning back to the States.
We spent the evening at a
lovely restaurant overlooking the city, and enjoyed the company of each other
for one last time on this trip. Overall it was a pleasant, although sad, time
that night. All too soon we were back at the hotel asleep, except for a few
of the lads who wanted to go bar hopping one last time before leaving. We
also gave money to each of the guides as personal tips.
I spent my last day in Quito
relaxing and walking around before making one final shopping trip down to San
Francisco square with Josie, which we was kind enough to humor me with. It
was good to see the city and places before leaving.
Early morning on the 28th
found Liz & Mark, along with myself, getting a ride at 6 a.m. to the airport
from Josie in mostly deserted streets. We thanked Josie for the ride and
worked our way through the airport drill (security, check-in, final shopping
at the stalls there, passport control, and one final security check before
boarding), with Liz & Mark flying to Miami and then California, and my flying
through Bogotá, Colombia, and Newark, N.J. before hitting home near Dulles
Airport outside of Washington, D.C.
My flights consisted of about
one hour to Bogotá, a very thorough check of the plane, and then a five hour
flight to Newark. (I just tried not to get too bored on this flight, and
there was plenty of room for me to move around on this portion of the
flight.) Once at Newark I got tagged for a further passport check, that trip
through Bogotá must not have been a good idea, but once I reached the front of
this queue (for illegal aliens?) I was quickly shuffled onward. (The passport
agent wanted to know why I was even in this new line, and I respectfully
passed on to him that I had been placed there by the original passport control
official.) Now I am thinking I might wanted to have shaved before this trip
back to the States. Then it was about a 45 minute wait for the bags before I
then got tagged and directed for a baggage search, which meant it was not
being a good day for me. Once I arrived in the front of this queue the lady
asked why I was there, and I was thinking something about day-ja-uve. Then
she checked with her supervisor, a guy wearing more clips of ammo on his belt
than a Mexican bandit I think, and once he asked me the same question (“why
are you in this line?) I was then asked to move on and out of the area
thankfully. A couple of hours perusing the inside of the Newark Airport, not
to mention going through security again to get to the domestic flights, passed
the time away before my evening flight to Dulles in the tiny plane again. (Of
course they did not let me carry my bag on the plane, and then proceeded to
throw the bag around and break a Christmas gift, a Nativity Scene, to my
Mother.) Alas before the night was completely done I was at my car and on the
way home.
Overall it was a great trip
and I enjoyed experiencing Ecuador with its culture and people. It is
obviously more prosperous than a lot of other countries in South America.
Josie and Jamie were great to all of us, with Josie doing yeoman duty with all
the logistics and reservations, along with all of the food preparation while
away from the hosteria’s. (He certainly knows where to pick to stay anywhere
that we visited, and never complained or was in less than a good mood.) I
just hope we kept our promise to Josie Luis and Jamie and never left them with
a beer tab/bill during the trip! It also really goes without saying that
Josie and Jamie, along with Juan, were outstanding climbers too.
Paul H. Morrow
January 2004
Warrenton, Virginia
Below is some of the other articles Paul has
submitted to EverestNews.com over time...
Paul is
also a member of the Seven Summits club
Everest Summiter Paul Morrow Trip
report from Muztag Ata, China
Muztag Ata, China Picture show
Paul Morrow on EverestHistory.com
Paul Morrow's 1999 Autumn Shishapangma
Expedition Report
American Himalayan Foundations 50th Anniversary Celebration of Sir Edmund
Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa's Ascent of Everest
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