Chimborazo, Ecuador

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( ... Continue from the Cotopaxi climb, http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/cotopaxi-ecuador.html )

Chimborazo, 6310 meters, is Ecuador's highest mountain. However, its main claim to fame is being the highest mountain in the world from centre of the Earth (whereas Everest is the highest mountain when measured from sea level). It will take 2 days to climb it.

But first, day 7 is a rest day at Baños.

Baños is a picturesque town for holiday goers, just like Queenstown in New Zealand ... bungee jumping, canyoning, biking, hiking, mountain climbing, jungle tours, various extreme sports. If you ever go to Ecuador for a holiday, you must visit Baños!

Frank the mountain guide now puts on the hat of a tourist guide. In the afternoon, he takes Josh and I (there is only 2 of us climbers now) to where the Río Verde plummets as a waterfall at Pailón Del Diablo (the Devil's Cauldron). To walk to the waterfall, a section of the track is a tunnel where you need to crawl on your fours to get through, quite exciting.

After the tunnel, you can walk all the way to behind the waterfall. But it is too wet and we chicken out on this bit of the adventure.

Day 8 is spent driving to Refugio Hermanos Carell in Chimborazo National Park. Then a 45-minute hike to Refugio Whymper at 5000 meters. Only Frank, Josh, I and the caretaker of the Refugio are there for the night ... very quiet.

Day 9 is to climb Chimborazo. It is a perfect day ... well, a perfect night. We leave the Refugio at 0:45am. No wind. And the moon is up and bright, so we don't even need a torch to walk. One would have thought under such a condition, it will be a piece of cake to get to the summit.

We are supposed to walk on glaciers. As it turns out, there were recent heavy snow activities on the mountain. So everything is covered with a thick blanket of snow. When we walk, we sink into the soft snow to over the top of the boots. And since most of the time, the slope is steep, around 45 degrees, hence every step upward is also a step sliding backwards ... extremely tough going. By 5:30am we are only half way. Frank says at this rate, we will never make it to the summit by daybreak. He says it will be dangerous to come down the mountain when the sun is up. So he turns us back. I am so glad to hear him say this, because I am dead tired from all the sliding backwards in the snow.

If it is any consolation, no one else was able to summit this mountain for a whole week due to the thick snow. I suspect Frank knows this. We were supposed to start climbing before 12am. But he slept till 12am ... I think he knew it was a waste of time to get up too early, I think he knew we won't make it.

As is the case with the Cotopaxi climb, I don't have many pictures of the mountain as the climb was in the dark and we didn't reach the summit. (To enlarge a photo, click on it.)

1.) On the way to Chimborazo National Park, we stop for lunch at a city called Ambato. Somewhere there, I took this photo of an indigenous Amerindian girl. They like to dress up colourfully like this.

2.) The magnificent Chimborazo !

3.) In the afternoon, we park the car at Refugio Hermanos Carell, then take a 45-minute hike to Refugio Whymper (5000 meters) for the night. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, Refugio Whymper is in the middle of the pic. The mountain in the background is Chimborazo.

4.) Next morning, we start hiking at 0:45am. Here is me taking a rest at the lower slope of Chimborazo.

5.) We turn back half way up the slope ... the snow is too thick on the ground, making the climb difficult. Here is a photo taken at dawn at the lower slope of Chimborazo. Nice view looking down at the clouds below.

6.) Returning to Quito, passing this rural farm scene.

I should make a remark about our mountain guide Frank. He is a very good mountaineer and we feel safe with him leading. But he is one hell of a reckless driver ... drove at break neck speed, overtook cars on narrow winding roads regardless of any oncoming traffic! It is a miracle I survived to write this blog !!!

7.) Here is beautiful Carolina - tour consultant at the Quito hotel where I am staying. All the disappointments of failing to climb Cotopaxi and Chimborazo are gone when I return and see her smiling like this !!!

I have a few days rest in Quito before returning to Sydney. The following are some photos taken during these few days.

8.) A beautiful indigenous Amerindian girl at a souvenir stall in Quito. She is a damn good sales girl - talks me into buying the pink alpaca wool scarf she is wearing for 8 US$. Later on, at another stall, I find the same scarf for sale for 5 US$. But I am not complaining ... she is worth it !!!

9.) At the northside of Quito is a tourist spot called Middle of the World (La Mitad del Mundo). It is right on the Equator, latitude 0.

10.) A tower is built at the Middle of the World. I am at the top of the tower looking down ... The orange line down the middle is the Equator. The big N/S letters stands for Northern and Southern Hemisphere.

11.) I am jumping from the Southern Hemisphere, over the equator (orange line) to the Northern Hemisphere at the Middle of the World. The previous photo was taken from the top of the tower behind me.

12.) The 4th person from the right is the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa Delgado. Every Monday, he ventures out of Palacio Presidencial (Presidential Palace, this pic) to greet people ... and by chance, I was there!!! Not many presidents in the world would do this every week. By all accounts, he is a very popular guy.

13.) Here is a woman selling icecream at Plaza Grande just outside Palacio Presidencial (Presidential Palace). The temperature is about 25 celcius, it is amazing the icecream has not melted. I do not notice anyone buying the icecream from her. So, how does she make a living?

14, 15.) Me surfing above a forest canopy in a town called Mindo. It is fun!!! It costs US$15 for 12 rides .... very cheap. By comparison, in Cape Tribulation (near Cairns, Australia), it will be around US$200 for 10 rides !!!

16.) Dragon Fruit, Very juicy and sweet, I love it. But it is not available in Australia. Why doesn't Australia grow them in the northern tropical area ?

I like Ecuador.
Nice country, extremely friendly and honest people.


Post Script

A good website to help climbers connect directly with local Chimborazo mountain guides is this link:
https://www.guidedpeaks.com/climbing/south-america/ecuador/chimborazo

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Cotopaxi, Ecuador

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( ... Continue from the 3nd acclimatization climb, http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2011/09/illiniza-norte-ecuador.html )

We are getting towards the business end of the climbs. Day 5 & 6 are to climb Cotopaxi, 2nd highest mountain in Ecuador, 5897 meters.

Frank is still the mountain guide. But Jose, the driver is no longer with us. I feel a bit sad not having him around as he is a nice guy. Even though he doesn't speak English, he always has a sweet smile. In his place, we have a new driver and 2 extra mountain guides. A Norwegian couple also join our group.

We also have a big full blown tourist bus. Don't know why we need such a big bus ... there is only 10 of us:
- Frank the main mountain guide
- Me
- Josh
- 2 Germans - Brigette & Annette (Again, Annette's son is not with us. He is still sick and stay back at Hotel Cuello de Luna.)
- Norwegian couple
- 2 mountain guides
- Driver who also doubles up as a mountain guide

The plan for day 5 is drive to a carpark somewhere up in the Cotopaxi mountain. From the carpark, it is a one-hour walk to Refugio Jose Ribas. Then do some training with crampons and ropes on the glacier. Early to bed, then up at midnight for the Cotopaxi climb.

However, the gods are not kind to us. It snows on the day. With the snow covering the road, the bus is unable to get close to the carpark. To save us from doing too much walking, Frank gets a lift back to Hotel Cuello de Luna to fetch his small jeep. Then in 2 trips, takes us further up the road, though not all the way to the carpark. Instead of 1-hr walk to the refugio, it becomes one and a half hours of walk.

The refugio is quite large, reflecting the large number of people who regularly climb this mountain. There are 2 storeys. The eating quarter is downstairs. The sleeping quarter is upstairs. On this particular night, it is less than half-full.

After settling down at the Refugio, we are supposed to practice using crampons and ropes on the nearby glacier. But with all the delays due to the snow, plus the fact it is still snowing, naturally we couldn't do any practice. Nevermind, it is early to bed and we'll learn all that needs to be learnt on the actual climb.

Around midnight, we are up, have some supper, then off to the climb. We are the slowest group to get off. Other groups were long gone.

The night is cloudy, otherwise the weather seems ok. However after a few hours of climbing, we meet the earlier groups returning back. They all say the wind is too strong further up the slope. Frank says it is no point going further. He turns us around too. It is a big disappointment. I would love to go further up just to experience how strong the wind is.

After breakfast at the Refugio, We all return to Hotel Cuello de Luna. From there, Frank drives Josh and I to Banos. The others went their separate ways. (The Germans, Brigette, Annette and her son will have a few days of sighteeing in Ecuador before heading to the Galapagos.)

Not many interesting pictures as the climb was in the dark and we didn't reach the summit. (To enlarge a photo, click on it.)

1.) On a clear day, this is beautiful perfectly cone-shaped Cotopaxi Volcano (5897 meters) - I didn't take this pic ....

2.) ... Instead, I took this one ... and I was lucky as this volcano was always shrouded in clouds when I was in Ecuador.

3.) Just outside the entrance to Cotopaxi National Park, there is a line of small stalls selling souvenirs. Here is me inside a stall, testing out a ceremonial beanie.

4.) It takes 2 days to climb Cotopaxi. Here is the start of the climb on the first day - I and my backpack, ice axe (red coloured one), trekking poles. We are preparing to hike up to Refugio Josef Ribas for the night. It was another white out day - snowing outside.

5.) Walking towards Refugio Josef Ribas, 4810 meters

6.) Arrive at the Refugio - Here are the 2 German ladies of our group, Annette & Brigette. Cute poses - they are holding icicles in their mouths.

7.) Part of the sleeping quarter inside the Refugio. My backpack is the one on the floor on the right side of this pic. It is leaning against the bunk bed where I'll sleep for the night. The red sleeping bag on the bed is mine.

8.) We get up at midnight for the climb, but turn back due to strong wind. There are no pictures of the climb as it is at night and in the dark. This pic is our group of climbers having breakfast after we return to the Refugio.

The next day is a rest day in a town called Banos. Then it is to climb Chimborazo, highest mountain in Ecuador ... see http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/chimborazo-ecuador.html

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Illiniza Norte, Ecuador

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( ... Continue from the 2nd acclimatization climb, http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/rucu-pichincha.html )

Day 3 & 4 - 3rd acclimatization climb: To Illiniza Norte, 5116 meters

Again, we leave Quito in the morning. We should be heading toward a place called La Virgen. However Annette's son is sick ... stomach ache ... I think. Hence on the way, Frank, the mountain guide took a detour to a hotel where the son and Annette and her friend Brigette stayed behind instead of going climbing with us.

After dropping them off, we go to a nearby town, buy some food for the next 2 days, have lunch, then drive to La Virgen, the start of the climb. Frank had hired a guy with a horse earlier on. We meet up there. The guy took our heavy plastic climbing boots and the food, rides off by himself to a hut called Refugio de Los Ilinizas (4700 meters) where we'll be staying for the night. Frank, and the driver together with Josh and I then take a pleasant 2 and a quarter hours hike up to the Refugio ... minus the weight of the heavy boots.

I am very impressed by the Refuge system in Ecuador. Each hut has at least one housekeeper stationed there to look after the place. This keeps the hut well maintained. Usually the guy stays there for a week, then rotates out for a week of rest etc.

It is cold in this mountain. Well, the altitude is high. But the Refuge has a wood heater which keeps us reasonably warm.

Next day, we are up early and are on our way at 4am. The ground is icy. It gets treacherously slippery further up, especially when, nearer to the summit, we get to the ridge with steep drop off on both sides. We are all roped together for safety.

Three and a half hours later, at 7:30am, we reach the summit. We are inside the clouds, with light snow falling, hence it is a white out. All I can see is a cross at the summit which is a sharp peak with standing room for one person only.

After taking some photos, we climb down a different but quicker route through loose screes back to our car. After picking up Annette, her son and Brigette, we drive to Hotel Cuello de Luna near Cotopaxi National Park for the night. Tomorrow, we'll start our 2-day climb of Cotopaxi.

To the pictures ... I don't have many meaningful pics as both days are white out inside the clouds. That is a pity as otherwise the mountain scenes would be very beautiful. (To enlarge a photo, click on it.)

1.) Illiniza Norte is the peak on the right of this pic, 5116 meters. Takes 2 days to climb it. The white peak on the left is Illiniza Sur, slightly higher at 5248 meters, and harder to climb due to its glacial nature.


2.) A horse takes our heavy plastic climbing boots and food to a hut called Refugio de Los Ilinizas.


3.) Looking back ... If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see our car parked at the centre of this pic.


4.) After 2 and a quarter hours of walk, we reach Refugio de Los Ilinizas (4700 meters).


5.) It is a small hut. All the beds can be seen in this photo.


6.) Next day, climbing up Illiniza Norte - Here is Frank, our mountain guide. The rocks are icy and slippery. We are all roped together for safety.


7.) After 3 and a half hours of climbing, we reach the summit at 5116 meters. There is cross at the top, otherwise there is nothing to see ... we are inside the clouds, a white out :-(


The next 2 days are to Cotopaxi, 2nd highest mountain in Ecuador ... refer http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/cotopaxi-ecuador.html

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Rucu Pichincha, Ecuador

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( ... Continue from the 1st acclimatization climb, http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/pasochoa-ecuador.html )

Day 2 is the 2nd acclimatization climb to Rucu Pichincha, 4698 meters.

We leave Quito in the morning and drive by car to the Cruz Loma, about 10 kilometers west of Quito. From there, it is a leisurely hike of 2.5 hrs to the summit. The day is a much colder than the previous day to Pasochoa as the elevation is higher.

After the climb, we have lunch in a hut by the mountain side (the Ecuadorians call it a Refuge) and is back to Quito in the afternoon.

To the pictures: (To enlarge a photo, click on it.)

1.) On the way to Rucu Pichincha - Typical rural street scene


2.) We park our car here and start the hike.


3 & 4.) Rucu Pichincha



5.) Chuquiragua plant - we encounter plenty of them on the mountain. It is supposed to have medicinal value.


6.) Small purple flowers growing on the mountain side


7.) Our group: Left to right - Annette, Brigette, Josh, Annette's son (I forgot his name), Frank the mountain guide and Jose the driver


8.) We encounter a group of cheerful locals on a sightseeing trip.


9 & 10.) Heading towards the peak



11.) Reaching the summit of Rucu Pichincha


12.) Just at the time my photo is being taken at the summit, the clouds roll in and everything is white-out.


13.) Coming down the summit


14.) Coming down the mountain and heading towards the mountain hut which is in the middle of this pic. (Click on the pic to enlarge it.)


15.) We have our lunch inside the hut. In Ecuador, a mountain hut such as this one is called a Refuge.


The next day is the 3rd acclimatization climb to Illiniza Norte ... refer http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2011/09/illiniza-norte-ecuador.html

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Pasochoa, Ecuador

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There are three ways to define the highest mountain in the world:

- Highest mountain from sea level - Everest, 8,848 meters
- Highest mountain from the base where the mountain rises - Mauna Kea in Hawaii, 4205 meters. The base of Mauna Kea is deep down under the Pacific Ocean. Only the last 4205 meters jut out above the sea.
- Highest mountain from centre of the Earth - Chimborazo in Ecuador, 6268 meters.

I went to Mauna Kea in 2007 (Refer to http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2007/06/mauna-kea-hawaii.html). At my age, Everest is beyond my capability. But why not have a go at Chimborazo!?!

My trip is organized by a local Ecuador climbing company. They have a 9-day hiking program with 3 acclimatization climbs:
- Pasochoa, 4200 m
- Rucu Pichincha, 4698 m
- Illiniza Norte, 5116 m
followed by 2 main climbs:
- Cotopaxi - 2nd highest mountain in Ecuador, 5897 m
- Chimborazo - highest mountain in Ecuador, 6268 m

On the first acclimatization climb to Pasochoa, there were 7 people in the group:
- Mountain Guide - Frank
- Driver - Jose, he went with us to the summit too
- me
- Josh from Kentucky, USA
- Annette from Germany
- Brigette from Germany (she and Annette came to Ecuador to visit the Galapagos and decided to climb Cotopaxi with High Summit)
- Annette's son - I forgot his name.

We leave Quito in the morning by car, head south for the Avenida de los Volcanoes. During the 2 hour drive we enjoy the views of the typical landscape and villages of the Ecuador highlands.

The walk to Pasochoa summit is a leisurely stroll of about 2 hours. We have lunch on the top. There is a great sight on Cotopaxi and the other nearby volcanoes. Afterwards, we return to Quito for the night.

Here are the pictures: (To enlarge a photo, click on it.)

1.) On the way to Pasochoa - Typical rural street scene


2.) Hiking up Pasochoa - The earlier part of the track is a cobble stone road.


3.) Later on, the path becomes a dirt road.


4.) Further up, it is a goat trail. The guy in the centre of this pic is Frank, our mountain guide.


5.) Pasochoa is the mountain behind me.


6.) The summit is just in front.


7.) At Pasochoa summit, looking back - It is a majestic view. Some members of our group are on their way to the summit.


8.) At Pasochoa summit - Nice view of the surrounding countryside.


9.) Me at the summit


10.) Having lunch at the summit. The guy facing the camera is the driver, Jose.


11.) Cotopaxi from the summit - we'll be climbing it few days later. Nice view ... but still, I wish it isn't shrouded in clouds.


12.) Lunch is over. We start to climb down from the summit.


13.) On our way back to the car.


The next day is the 2nd acclimatization climb to Rucu Pichincha ... refer http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/rucu-pichincha.html

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