Entries from Ecuador
January 11, 2019
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Thursday, January 10th, 2019 10:00 pm PT
It always seems to happen so fast. At the beginning of the trip our big objective felt far away, and each day brought anticipation of the new sights and experiences Ecuador would provide. But as soon as we pointed our crampons downhill from the summit, everything seemed to fast forward. Before we knew it we were gathered together in a warm, dry lodge with cold beers in hand at the base of Cotopaxi deliriously recounting the previous (beer-less and not very warm) 12 hours. Refreshed from deep sleep, and with the help of coffee we began to retrace our route back to the city. Cobblestone roads transformed into pavement, and conversation wandered to flight itineraries and last chances to purchase souvenirs. Then just like that we were back in the heart of Quito amidst the sights and sounds of city life wondering if our climb was really just a dream. After arriving, we visited a nearby artisan market and some headed to explore the old town. We gathered one last time tonight for a celebratory team dinner - we couldn’t leave without eating more empanadas! By now we’ve all started making our way home to loved ones armed with stories of adventure and visions of ones to come. Thanks for following along!
RMI Guides Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews and Team
January 10, 2019
Posted by: Adam Knoff, Taylor Bickford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 15,411'
Today we continued our acclimatization with a hike of Rucu Pichincha (15,411'), a peak nearby in Quito. A teleferico (gondola) carried us to about 13,000', where we began ascending. Although a light rain greeted us on our arrival, the precip quickly gave way to a pleasant mixture of clouds and clear skies. The team made the summit in good style, but unfortunately the clouds obstructed our views. We made it back down to the gondola just in time to avoid a torrential downpour, and returned to the city to relax and prepare for our move to Otavalo. The team is in great spirits and everyone handled the altitude very well!
RMI Guide Taylor Bickford
January 9, 2019
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 19,348'
La cumbre! We’re happy to report that 100% of our team stood on top of Cotopaxi at 6 am this morning! After two days of downpours, we slung our packs on just after midnight and stepped outside to see the lights of Quito glowing in the distance - the clouds had broken! Alas, it wasn’t long until a chilly wind decided to follow us as we climbed toward 17,000’ and the clouds came rushing back in. Fortunately it was short-lived when we got above the clouds at 19,000’ to see dawn on the horizon and a clear shot to the summit. After 5 hours and 45 minutes of climbing we stepped up onto the crater rim. We didn’t get the spectacular view of the crater we were hoping for (we did get the pungent smell of sulfur, though!), but a lot had gone right for us and we were psyched with our team’s effort to tag 19,348’! Mission accomplished. We said goodbye to our Ecuadorian friends and guides, Nacho and Jaime, this afternoon and will head back to Quito tomorrow morning for a final celebration before hopping on flights back to our hometowns.
RMI Guides Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews and Team
On The Map
Big congratulations to the whole team !!!!
Will the friends in NY WA beieve this adventure ?
Did Steve have the NBBJ flag ?
Posted by: Bob & Jan McConnell on 1/9/2019 at 10:04 pm
Day one of Expedition Skills Ecuador
Today the team assembled here in Quito, Ecuador’s capital and gateway to the numerous volcanoes reaching 19,000 feet into the equatorial sky which we plan to climb in the coming weeks. With no lost bags, on time flights and darn right prompt people we all gathered for breakfast, ran through a fun team intro and prepared for the day’s events all without the slightest hiccup. I hope the mountains themselves go so smoothly.
Once oriented to one another and the plan, all eleven of us loaded the tour bus, captained by a tour guide named Angel, yes we were in good hands, then headed 15 miles north to the Mitad Del Mundo, or translated to mean “The Middle of the World”. Here we learned much about the history of sun dials, the ancient indigenous knowledge of the equator, proving we don’t need GPS’s to know where things are and many cool physical effects that literally change ten feet on either side of the line.
Of course the most important test was to show how an egg can balance on a nail much easier on the direct line as opposed to 15 feet to the north or south. Whomever managed to earn their master egg balancing certificate gets to climb on my rope because I now know their focus is superb!
After we were all convinced the equator does exist and the world is not flat we headed into the old town of Quito to experience the sights and sounds of a truly bustling city. With clear vistas from the Panecillo hill, one gets a true sense how far stretched this city really is. From north to south, Quito extends for more than 90 kilometers making it seem vast and expansive. From the hill we moved into the old town where we saw the golden church, the presidential palace and the main square of the city. The weather was warm and pleasant and at one point we could see the snow capped summit of Cayambe, our first big objective coming in five days.
But before we do that we must acclimate on lower mountains. Tomorrow we climb a 15,700 foot tall volcano 15 minutes out of the city. It’s a big jump but the team seems experienced and healthy so I am looking forward to a good day. Stay tuned for how that climbs goes.
Hasta Luego or Until Later.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
January 7, 2019
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 12,000'
Our hopes for sunrise photos of Cotopaxi were dashed when we woke to a layer of low clouds blanketing the hillside. The upside was additional sleep and a leisurely start to the day with pancakes and coffee. Our mission for the day was some active rest after sleeping at a new altitude of almost 12,000’. Inspired by our caffeine intake, several of us jumped on the backs of a few horses. Fortunately, no injuries and no feelings hurt. Nacho, our Ecuadorian friend and guide, has been sharing his country with us the past couple days. We went on a cruise in his high country backyard and were introduced to some of his equine friends. Never really taken a rest break before with a small herd of horses. After we banked 1,500’ feet of vertical, tagging almost 13,000’, we once again finished the day with an equatorial downpour.
RMI Guide Jess Matthews
January 7, 2019
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 15,100'
Sunday, January 6, 2019 - 7:30 pm PT
Another day, another volcano! We left the hustle and bustle of Quito this morning and eased into the beautiful, lush countryside of Ecuador. After a short drive to the base of Illinizas we parked at 12,800' and powered up to the hut at 15,100’. Beautiful weather on the ascent, not so much on the descent. Right as we reached the hut clouds began to swallow us up and we tucked inside for snacks and some hot tea. Shortly after, a cold rain gave us some extra motivation to get moving and it chased us downhill back to the trailhead. We wound our way back down the narrow (and bumpy!) cobblestone road along small family farms and pastures full of cows, llamas, horses and the occasional rogue pig. We threw it into park on the other side of the valley at Hacienda El Porvenir where we are tucked in for the night drying our gear in front of a crackling wood stove. Perfect. Hoping for clear skies in the morning and a front row sunrise view of Cotopaxi with coffee in hand. Buenas noches!
RMI Guides Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews and Team
And boom. We went to over 14,000' today. To be honest, gondola-assisted, but we still logged a few thousand human-powered vert. Warm sun, mild temps, and a calm, steady breeze from the east kept things comfortable. Clouds slowly built throughout the day as we ascended, but never threatened anything more than the occasional chilly gust. The bright orange Chuquiragua flowers, also known as the “the flower of the climber” that grows at over 9,000 feet, were in bloom along the trail and grew thicker as we ascended. We’ll take it as a good omen! Satisfied with our solid effort, we snacked and took in the panoramic views of Quito over 5,000’ below us from our perch on the flanks of Pichincha before heading back downhill.
Our team is strong and deposited valuable funds into the Cotopaxi acclimatization account today. More to come tomorrow as we venture further south through the Avenue of the Volcanoes!
RMI Guides Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews and Team
January 4, 2019
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 9,000'
After a long day of travel yesterday, we were re-energized this morning when we stepped outside the hotel to deep blue skies, brilliant equatorial sun, and temps in the mid 70s all at over 9,000’ here in Quito. We made our way high and low through the city excited to experience the colorful culture, friendly locals, and empanadas! We then ventured to the outskirts of Quito where we visited the site that gave the country its name - the equator! And since there’s never a bad time to snack, we hunted down a produce stand and stuffed ourselves with oritos, delicious sweet baby bananas widely grown here in Ecuador, and was soon followed by a delicious team dinner at an Ecuadorian restaurant. No, no one’s ordered guinea pig...yet.
What a great way to acclimatize for a 19,000 foot volcano!
RMI Guides Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews and Team
December 13, 2018
Posted by: Casey Grom, Chad Gaffigan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 19,348'
RMI Guides Casey Grom, Chad Gaffigan and their team made it to the top of Cotopaxi! As you can see from the photo, weather was less than ideal but eight of nine climbers did summit.
Congratulations to the team!
On The Map
Hello again from Ecuador! The team woke up today to a tranquil setting at a beautiful mountain lodge, Chilcabamba Eco Lodge. A late breakfast was followed by walks around the local area, discovering an albino cow, and a few folks trying their hand at horseback riding.
The team then had a nice discussion on packing for our next objective, Cotopaxi. This discussion led into an excellent pasta dinner.
Another night of rest and we will be active again the in mountains.
RMI Guide Chad Gaffigan
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WHERE’S the SNOW!?
I’m following this because I was fortunate enough to be on Adam’s Ecuador team last year and I’m re-living it in 2019 - we made it to the high summit of Chimborazo last year ON THIS DAY in 2018! - Cumbre Whymper! 20,704’
You are in the best of hands under Adam’s guidance!
Godspeed Team Knoff!
My best -
Tom
Posted by: Thomas Mulvey on 1/10/2019 at 9:49 pm
Your views today may have been a bit blah, but you, Team Ecuador, are looking MAHVELOUS! Can’t wait for your next update. Thanks for taking the time to keep those at home in the loop.
Posted by: Tracey Wife-of-Ken Maxwell on 1/10/2019 at 7:31 pm
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