Entries from Ecuador

Well, we now sit at the base of a huge mountain. All the acclimatization, organizing, bus riding and patient waiting has brought us here. Now just one last piece of preparation, which is to have our glacier school tomorrow. Tonight, we are in the lower hut at Cayambe and enjoying a quiet evening that included a delicious, traditional Ecuadorian dinner. The team is really bonding and Joe's preamble to tomorrow night's motivational speech already has us feeling excited.

Today was also an enjoyable travel day. We left the Intiyaya residences at a reasonable hour this morning, most of us getting a great night of sleep. That was followed by using our haggling skills to shop at the Otavalo market and get some last-minute supplies or souvenirs. We then had a nice lunch at a cozy little sandwich shop in the town of Cayambe. This place is generally a relief for folks as the owners are English, so the only things lost in translation are things like "chips" (french fries) or "rocket" (arugula). And now we are settled in for an early bedtime as we adjust to the early wakeup schedule.

Our plan at this point is to be standing on top of Cayambe in less than 36 hours. Of course, Mother Nature always has the final say, but if the weather continues to hold, this team is prepared!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Today we traded the bustle of Quito for the serenity of the northern Ecuadorian countryside. Life is a little slower here in Otavalo where we are staying for the night. We sat down to dinner, which felt like a family dinner as we are the only party in this hacienda tonight. Even the house dogs joined us at the table, making us truly feel like we're at home.

Our day consisted of several hours of driving and another acclimatization hike, Cerro Fuya Fuya. The weather remained quite dry today and afforded us seldom seen views from the summit. To the north we could see well into Colombia, to our east a clear view of Cayambe and to our south a variety of other big mountains of Ecuador. In fact, it was nice enough that the bus driver took a swim at the lake while we hiked.

Tonight, I'm enjoying literally the best chocolate bar in the world and tomorrow an affogato at my favorite coffee shop near the Otavalo market. Some nice treats before we begin walking up very big hills.

RMI Guide Dustin Witmier

The whole team arrived safely in Ecuador and with bags, which is always a good first step. I think we all experienced some bit of turbulence as we escaped the North American winter, but fortunately no door panels removed themselves unexpectedly during anyone's flights.

Yesterday's city tour happened without any hitches. Due to the recent political events, the streets are a bit quiet, but it seems like life is more or less returning to normal. It was great to have our city tour guide to help answer our questions and help us sort through what may have actually happened and what is a bit sensationalized in the American news media. Along with that, we made our first steps in acclimation both to the altitude and a different culture. Some physics experiments at the Museo do Intiñan (the indigenous equator museum) were capped off with us balancing eggs on a nail before heading to old town Quito and seeing some attractions.

Today, we awoke to another beautiful morning. Typically it is rainy in the afternoons here, but for our first two days we have been treated to nice days, start to finish. Blue skies made for a lovely hike up Rucu Pichincha and everyone did really well. We even had a few folks reach new altitude records, congratulations! Hopefully, there are more to come on this trip. The remainder of our evening involves cold plunging, hot tubbing, group dinner and one final night in the hotel before departing for the countryside.

Dustin

Monday, December 11, 2023 - 8:45 pm PT

So it goes with climbing sometimes we take what the mountain gives us and unfortunately that isn't always the summit. The team awoke around 11pm to beautiful weather and had an incredible few hours of climbing under the stars on the upper slopes of Antisana. Every member of Team Cuy Frito showed off their impressive strength navigating a breathtaking and complex glacier, it was really a sight to see. As the team got just above 18,000 feet, we encountered some instabilities in the snow and made the decision to turn around due to avalanche concerns. While we didn't get to stand on top of this one, it was still a wonderful day of climbing. It has been a joy to watch the team come together as one big goofy family over the course of this adventure. We will all be coming back with memories to last a lifetime and our head's held high knowing we kicked some serious butt in the mountains along the way. Thank you for all the support at home and we will be seeing you all soon!

RMI Guide Michael Murray

The team has arrived at Antisana base camp and we are organizing gear for our summit attempt tonight. We are hoping for favorable weather to get this thing done. Wish us luck up there and send us some positive energy and clear, dry skies!

RMI Guide Michael Murray

Well there ain't no rest for the wicked but thankfully we aren't wicked and we had ourselves a wonderful day of rest at the scenic Casa Ilayaku today. Gear was dried out while birds were watched and various animals visited during a stop at a local bird sanctuary and petting zoo, and fun was had by all. We will be checking out of the Hacienda tomorrow morning before making our way to Antisana basecamp where we will stage for another summit attempt tomorrow night. I didn't think it possible but morale has soared to unprecedented levels and we are looking forward to wrapping this trip up in good style with another strong push in the mountains. Friends and family you are certainly all missed at home and we look forward to seeing you soon.

RMI Guide Michael Murray

Friday, December 8, 2023

"I don't know where I'm a gonna go when the volcano blow"

-The Late Great Jimmy Buffett

Well thankfully the volcano known as Cayambe did now blow today but it was in fact summitted by members of Team Cuy Frito! We rose early (11pm if you can call that early) to put the final touches on our gear organization and scarf down a little "breakfast" before heading out onto the mountain to make our summit attempt. Skies were cloudy with some light wind but spirits were high as we started our ascent via headlamp. As we continued to climb, the wind increased and as we climbed up into the clouds we found ourselves covered in ice but the team remained strong and continued all the way up to the top at 18,996 feet. I could not be more proud of how the team battled some less than ideal conditions to end up on the summit. We returned back to the high hut for a more traditional breakfast and treated ourselves to celebratory lunch before ending our day at the Casa Ilayaku Hacienda, where we will be relaxing and recovering before our final objective of the trip, the volcano Antisana. Something tells me we will all be sleeping well tonight, we have certainly earned it. Hope all is well back at home and we appreciate your support!

RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier & Michael Murray

Hello! We arrived at the high camp at Cayambe and walked up to the glacier for a quick snow school followed by a relaxing afternoon. The weather seems to be cooperating and we will make our summit attempt tonight, wish us luck!

RMI Guide Michael Murray

Greetings friends, I know you have all been anxiously awaiting this update and I am proud to announce that we have in fact found Flaming Hot Cheetos and are currently in possession of enough to power a small factory. Mission accomplished. As for updates on our whereabouts, we had a great breakfast at the hacienda and made our way to the Otavalo Market where we did some shopping and exploring before heading for the hills. We arrived at the lower hut on Cayambe late afternoon and had some time to relax before a three course dinner. Afterwards talked some logistics about the days to come and shared some good laughs. Tomorrow we will rise early and make our way to the high hut before heading up to the glacier for a quick snow school in preparation for our Cayambe summit attempt. Morale continues to soar and we are all excited for what is to come. Hope all is well back at home, we can feel you all cheering us on and we greatly appreciate it! Even Jeff Daniels

RMI Guide Michael Murray

Hola amigos! Team Cuy Frito woke up a little earlier than yesterday to load up the bus and make our way to Cerro Fuya Fuya at 14,000 feet for another acclimatization hike. We walked through some clouds but stayed dry and had ourselves a swell time. We finished our day with a team dinner at the quaint hacienda Intiyaya and are now organizing gear to head to the climbing hut on Cayambe tomorrow. The search for Cheetos was fruitless today but hopes are high that we will track some of that orange goodness down as we visit the Otavalo market tomorrow for some souvenir shopping and to pick up some last minute snacks before heading to the mountain. Morale is as high as the Andes and we are all looking forward to the adventures to come. Hope all is well back at home and hasta luego!

RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier & Michael Murray