Deaths on Chimborazo
A rare deadly avalanche on Ecuador’s highest peak, Chimborazo at 20,549-feet/6,263-meters, took four lives on Sunday, October 24, 2021. An all Ecuadoran team of 12 climbers and guides was approaching the false summit near 6,100-meters when the snow gave way. One person was injured. Another group of 20 required assistance. The incident occurred at 6:30 in the morning as reported by Emergency organization Integrated Security Service ECU911. The mountain is closed for climbers at the moment.
Does Ecuador Replace Nepal for Best 20,000-foot Climbs?
I just returned from a rewarding trip to Ecuador to climb three of their volcanoes. I went with US-based, Mountain Madness. While this was my seventh trip to South America, it was my first to Ecuador and now I see what I’ve been missing! I’ve been climbing and going to Nepal 13 times since 1997. […]
Ecuador 2019: Climbing the Volcanoes: Final Trip Report
Climbing three volcanoes in Ecuador was a pleasant, rewarding experience. One that I would repeat. I found Ecuador to be filled with a rich history, friendly people, great scenery, challenging climbs with convenient access and quite affordable. We climbed three of their 32 volcanoes located on the mainland: Cayambe 18,997 feet/5790 meters, Cotopaxi 19,348 feet/5897 meters, […]
Ecuador 2019: Climbing the Volcanoes: Chimborazo “Summit”
Chimborazo proved to be the toughest of the three climbs this week. We got very near the summit of 20,703-feet/6,310-meters, it was the highest of the three. Here is the story: As we got up at 11 pm last night, Jan 27, the view of the stars from the High Camp on Chimborazo was breathtaking. […]
Ecuador 2019: Climbing the Volcanoes: Cotopaxi Summit!!!
Our Mountain Madness team summited Cotopaxi, 19,348-foot/5897-meters, around dawn this morning January 25, 2019. It was a good climb with everyone making it except for one member who sprained an ankle on Cayambe and stayed in the hut. As is normal for these climbs, we left the hut at midnight to climb in the early morning […]
Ecuador 2019: Climbing the Volcanoes: Cotopaxi Up Next
As I wrote in the last blog, Cayambe iced us off the upper slopes so now Cotopaxi is up next. After Cayambe, we returned to heal and regroup at Hacienda Rumiloma outside of Quito. We had a great dinner with Ossy, Amber and their family at a local Sushi restaurant, yes Sushi!! Yesterday, Wednesday, January 23, we […]
Ecuador 2019: Climbing the Volcanoes: Cayambe’s Ice Age
“Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.” Today we were the bug on Cayambe! Before I get to the crash, let’s catch up a bit from the last full post. I’ll keep repeating that I find Ecuador delightful. The cities, the countryside, the people, the mountains/volcanoes (what I can see of them!) It’s a […]
Ecuador Volcanos 2019: Ready for Cayambe
The last few days have been very eventful. We acclimatized on the local mountains, visited the local market and went to 15,000 feet on Cayambe and now are are at 11,000 feet preparing to go up tonight for a summit attempt starting midnight. I haven’t seen the volcano but everyone tells me it’s behind the […]
Ecuador Volcanoes 2019: Acclimatization and Rare Bird Sightings!
Ecuador keeps getting better and better. Today was a real acclimatization hike on a super trail above Quito We had another fabulous breakfast at Hacienda Rumiloma and hopped in Ossy’s FourRunner for the 10 minute drive to the telefèric or cable car to the Start of the trail to the summit of Pichincha Volcano which is […]
Ecuador 2019: Climbing the Volcanoes: Quito
When I started telling people that “I am going to Ecuador to”, I never got out the “climb volcanoes” part before they gasped, put their hand to their heart and squealed, “you are going to love it!” Oh my, were they right. I arrived in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, late last night after a […]