Entries from Ecuador

We have now visited the summits of two big volcanoes on this trip. This morning, just as the sun was rising, the team reached the summit of Cotopaxi. It was absolutely incredible to see the crater and striking ice features at the summit mixed with the early morning colors. As you ascend the route, you are on the north and west aspects of the mountain. We were under a dark sky for most of the climb. As we were nearing the crater rim, first light was upon us and once we crested over it, the golden glow of the sun below the horizon greeted us to the east. It was the perfect reward for all members of the group as each person had to work through a challenge unique to them.

Now we turn our sights to Chimborazo and preparing our bodies and minds to climb, if the mountain grants us the opportunity.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

The team got some much-needed rest at the hacienda Casa Ilayaku over the last two days, enjoying sunny weather and local food. Down time was spent lounging out in the sun, reading books, and doing some light yoga. The team also continued to work on their technical skills, dialing in some more rope work. The team spent time learning the fundamentals of anchor construction, rappelling, and belaying techniques. They depart to the Cotopaxi hut today with the intention of climbing tonight. 

RMI Guide Mike Bennett

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier checked in this morning to let us know the team reached the summit of Cayambe with 100% success.

The team will make a stop for lunch before continuing to their next hacienda, Casa Ilayku. The team will enjoy a well deserved rest day tomorrow.

Nice work team!

To catch up anyone following along with this trip, we are now at the lower hut for Cayambe. We are nearing the end of our dedicated acclimatization portion of the trip and preparing to start making attempts on big mountains. Yesterday, we did one more warmup hike circumnavigating Laguna Cuicocha. It is a beautiful lake hike, located within the Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve. HIking around the lake, the terrain is undulating with a few long hills, but all on well-maintained tread. As you move through different elevation bands, you observe a variety of different flora, which interestingly includes the wild Taxo, a passionfruit-esque plant. In the photos, it is the bell-shaped plant with an orange-ish flower. Our lovely hike was followed up with a relaxing night at the Intiyaya Residences, where the scrappy hacienda dogs put on their best show and try to earn some people food.

Today, we left the hacienda and are now at the lower Cayambe hut, following a stop at the Otavalo market and a cafe for lunch. The market is always quite the spectacle, especially on a Saturday, which is dubbed "market day" - the day that the greatest number of vendors bring goods. The normal textiles, jewelry and art are on display and in addition, on Saturdays there are a variety of fruits, vegetables, spices and breads. It made for a nice day experiencing Ecuadorian culture before turning our focus to Cayambe. We now are reviewing some skills on the grass outside the hut and will very soon watch the sun set on the western slopes of the mountain.

Thanks for following along from wherever you are! We are all feeling ready to go climbing and having a great time so far.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

The Ecuador Seminar team got to shake off the final bit of jet leg today, with the main focus of the day being acclimatization. Many of our team broke altitude records today during our hike to the summit on Rucu Pichincha (15,354’). A moderate hike, the team gained around 2500’ through grasslands up to the rocky, scrambly summit. The rest of the day will be spent resting and relaxing, allowing our bodies to adapt now that we’re back at lower elevations. We plan to culminate the evening with a nice team dinner at a local restaurant and perhaps a soak in the hotel hot tub. Tomorrow, the team heads to Laguna Cuicocha, our next acclimatization hike before heading to the Caymbe hut. Spirits are high and the team is stoked to get on their first major objective. 

RMI Guide Mike Bennett

That's a wrap on another great trip to two of Ecuador's highest volcanoes. Unfortunately, we did not get the chance to summit Cotopaxi this time. The risk of lightning was too high for us to continue past 16800'. It was unfortunate to run into those conditions as we had a strong team who had all proven themselves on Cayambe. I felt confident we were all headed for the top of Cotopaxi as well. But it was a good moment to look inside ourselves. Sometimes more important than a summit is what we have learned about ourselves along the way and the confidence we have gained through diligent preparation. For this group, there will be many more mountains and they will be prepared when the opportunity for a summit exists.

With some spare time and due to our early finish, we did some light birding at Limpiopungo, a lake in the national park with a well-maintained trail around it. The time was spent identifying species of birds and reflecting on our experience on the mountain. This was a good reset for our minds and a nice way to round out an overall lovely trip to the Ecuadorian highlands.

Thanks for following along with us!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team

Cayambe Summit

The first six days of this trip feel like they move slowly. Acclimatization is not a quick process and it certainly makes the anticipation build. Each day it feels as if we are inching closer to Cayambe, literally. From the Hotel Mercure in Quito on day one, Cayambe occasionally pokes out in the distance. We hike Rucu Pichincha to get a slightly better view. As we drive north to go hiking, it occassionaly comes into better view, except that it often dips behind a nearby ridgeline. But then comes the day we move to the lower Cayambe hut and there it is, right in front of us in all of its beauty. We watch the sun rise and set on the mountain, the moon lights it up at night. The anticipation reaches a maximum the day we drive to the upper hut, where you can strap on your boots and climb the mountain. No more bus rides inching closer, no more distractions.

With all the time spent prepping and thinking about climbing this big mountain, the day finally came and when it did, the entire group made it to the top! We were fortunate enough to have a perfect weather day, practically windless and some slight overcast that was both picturesque and helped shade us from the intensity of the sun. The route itself was also in great shape, with just one serious crux to navigate near the top in the form of a large crevasse system at 18,500' that we had to descend into and then climb steeply out of. It honestly made for a great distraction from the difficulty of the high-altitude exercise. By 7am we were on top, high fiving, taking in the views and snagging a few photos before making what turned out to be a pretty quick descent of just under three hours.

Now we find ourselves on the move towards Cotopaxi. However, this time we do not have to repeat the same acclimatization schedule. Instead, we traveled for six hours yesterday to reach the Chilcabamba Eco Lodge, our lovely Andean home for two nights. We were jostled in pickup trucks coming down from the hut, jostled on the bus getting back to town and then fought traffic from the town of Cayambe to Machaci. Along the way we did stop to eat some lunch and resupply on snacks so that we could arrive at this peaceful place and enjoy a full rest day today. Tomorrow, we head for the Cotopaxi Hut with plans to climb in the night again. But for now, eating well, hydrating, stretching and reading are our focus.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

PC: Dustin Wittmier

Sunday, November 10, 2024 - 3:46 pm PT

We are settled in at Cayambe for the night. All reports are that the route hasn’t changed since I was on it two weeks ago, which is great news because the route is scenic and fun! We are planning for the classic middle of the night start and hope to be on top just after sunrise. Wish us luck and safe passage please!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Saturday, November 9, 2024 - 6:14 am PT

The team is on the move now. From this point on there is only one day of the trip that does not involve hiking, climbing or traveling. Yesterday, as an example, we left Quito in the morning, drove three hours north, got out and hiked for about four hours and then back on the bus for a 45 minute ride to the Intiyaya Residences. That's a full day, but hey, it's what we signed up for and we all were able to enjoy the lovely hike around Laguna Cuicocha. Everyone also enjoyed the serenity of the Intiyaya Residences; most people had a full night's sleep before the neighborhood dogs started barking at about 6:30am.

Today, we head for the market in Otavalo to experience some local culture, shop for souvenirs or just drink a nice latte. Following that sensory overload, we will hop on the bus and head for the town of Cayambe and eventually the lower Cayambe hut. Our group is really coming together as a team; meals have been spent telling stories and much of our time on trails has been spent trying to get some pro bono physical therapy from Malina.

In just a day and a half we will put our bodies and minds to the test on Cayambe!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Hello friends, family and everyone else who plans to follow along! We are off to a great start on another RMI Expeditions Ecuador Volcanoes trip. On this itinerary we plan to (hopefully) visit the summits of both Cayambe and Cotopaxi, the third and second highest mountains in Ecuador, respectively.

To kick of the acclimatization, we traveled around Quito yesterday seeing various sights, mostly related to gaining independence from the Spanish and to the cultural history of indigenous peoples. Of course, that takes us in and out of a variety of old churches as we all marveled at the architecture of these places. In addition to learning some interesting things about Ecuador, it was also a chance to dust off the jet lag and get the bodies moving around a bit.

To continue in that direction, we hiked Rucu Pichincha today. The day started off a bit hazy, but as that layer moved we had glimpses of Cayambe, Antisana and Cotopaxi amongst other high mountains of the Ecuadorian highlands. The group all did well today and we are about to head out for one more dinner in town before we leave for the countryside tomorrow.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team