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. As anyone who has read my blogs knows, Nepal is close to my heart for many reasons. However, Ecuador was so impressive, Nepal may have to share the top spot. In evaluating the two countries for trekking and climbing, both have pros and cons and in this post, I want to explore them. However, before I get accused of being enamored by the new shiny penny, let me add that I felt the same way about Nepal after my first visit and still do. Red Tape Ecuador makes visiting easy, at least for Americans. I spent less than 4 minutes going through customs – no visa, no paperwork, no fees whereas in Nepal it continues to be a jumble of desks, fees, and paperwork where I plan on 30 minutes to an hour, standing in long hot lines just to pay to enter the country. Verdict: Ecuador by far. Climbing permits are another area that Ecuador takes with no competition. Nepal charges for almost any activity in their country as a means of revenue. After all, tourism is one of their largest revenue sources but on my last visit in October 2018, I noticed more and more fees as I trekked the Khumbu. Ecuador, with their rich oil reserves, only charge guides a small fee ~$100 annually for access to all parks and no fee to their guests. Finally, Ecuador uses the US dollar as their currency, so no money exchange at banks or on the street for those with dollars. The prices felt fair to me and in fact a bargain for most items. Nepal’s Rupee swings in value and requires an extra yak to carry enough of the paper to fund a trek to EBC. When I first went to Nepal in 1997, everything was 100 rupees, now it’s 1,000 rupees. Politics and Climbing Ecuador certainly has had its share of political problems over the decades, as has Nepal but both are improving in this area with Ecuador well ahead. Today they have a stable democratically elected government. Nepal continues to have wild swings in ideology, inconsistent policies and corruption. Even after the parliament declared in 2007 that Nepal was a federal republic, the government remains in flux with the head of ministries often being political appointees thus creating serious inconsistencies in government policies as each new minister seems to ignore the previous minister’s decisions. In comparison, the climbing policies feel consistent in Ecuador, perhaps due to few rules. However, there is a lot of criticism that climbing above 5,000-meters requires a guide. But Nepal’s mountaineering and trekking policies are like a magic eight-ball. Spin it to see what today’s rules are. The Peaks Just to mention a few of the popular climbs around 20,000-feet/6,000-meters, Nepal calls these “trekking peaks” and include: Island Peak (Imja Tse), Mera, Lobuche East. In Ecuador the most poplar volcanoes at this elevation include Chimborazo, Cotopaxi and Cayambe. Of course, I would be remiss not mention that some of these are active volcanoes and can be closed to climbing for safety reason as Cotopaxi was for two years and reopened in late 2017. Climbing The biggest mountain wins! By that measure Nepal has Everest and Ecuador has Chimborazo. Setting aside the argument of which one pokes into the atmosphere higher, both countries are blessed with geography. Nepal has eight of the fourteen 8000-meter peaks and Ecuador has 27 volcanoes on the mainland and another 7 on the Galapagos Islands. If you want an 8000-meter peak, Nepal wins, and also for 6,000-meter peaks with 297 but not all are open for climbing. But for an aspiring climber seeking to test themselves on snow, ice, steep slopes at 20,000-feet/6,000-meters Ecuador offers a lot. The climbing is convenient, accessible and affordable. You can sleep in a comfortable hacienda or Refugio, leave at midnight and be back sipping coffee by mid-morning with a solid summit. In Nepal, you might be able to stay at a teahouse but most likely will leave and return to a tent. In addition to the permit fees Nepal charges (which require the use of a middle man agency with fee), you need to fly (or walk for days) to reach Lukla then trek more plus pay a trash deposit (I had to put down $500 for my Island Peak climb of just Kami and myself) and hire a guide – a lot of red-tape that Ecuador doesn’t require. All this said, for me, trekking in Nepal is half of the enjoyment and as I always say, “it will change your life.” So not all bad, just not as convenient as Ecuador if climbing is your primary goal. Ecuador, being on the equator sandwiched between the Pacific ocean and the Amazon Rain Forest does have a bit of variable weather that can close in unexpectedly. On Cayambe, we got hit with hoarfrost or rime ice about halfway up making us human popsicles and ending the climb that day. As for rescues, Ecuador doesn’t have the fleet of “for-hire” rescue helicopters that Nepal does nor does it have the current scam of guides putting drops into trekker’s water to make them sick and then skimming off the proceeds from evacuation companies along with the chopper company and hospitals. All of this is acting as a pox on any credibility the Nepal tourism industry has and should be warning for anyone going to Nepal that there are alternatives – especially when or if evacuation/insurance companies stop covering Nepal travel. Guides Well, first off, who is a guide? Someone with 200 summits or a person with an IFMGA/UIAGM certification? Both countries have a lot of both types. In my