Ecuador High Altitude Trip Report
Guide: Ramiro Garrido
Climbers: Patrick M., Jo M. Natallia Bo., Adam J.
Feb. 20, 2020
Ramiro called on Wednesday to give us the dispatch regarding the last couple of days.
Hello again! Here’s the latest news from our team.
After the nice weather on Monday, on Tuesday we woke up to a windy, overcast morning. For this acclimatization climb of Rucu Pichincha (15,413 ft / 4698 m) we take a cable car out of Quito that brings visitors up the lower part of the mountain. It was clouded in and windy when we began our hike and scramble, but by the time we summited in the middle of the afternoon, the clouds moved away and we had beautiful views of the nearby big volcanoes. Everybody did well with the altitude, and everyone enjoyed the scrambling, especially the rocky section of the summit pyramid. It was fun to be on top as it is on every summit, especially since we got some very good views as our summit reward!
Climbers celebrating a successful acclimatization hike on Rucu Pichincha. Ramiro Garrido.
After the climb we drove about an hour-and-a-half to Cayambe Province, where we had a great stay at Hacienda Guachala. where they spent the night at the Hacienda Guachala at (9199 ft / 2804 m).
We had some rest here, then an excellent dinner, and then a very good sleep last night. Today (Wednesday), we will continue up towards our next climbing goal, beautiful Cayambe (18996 ft / 4900 m). We’ll drive up a rough track and then hike the final part for about an hour to get to the refuge.
The Oleas– Ruales–Berge Refuge is at 15,092 feet, so our acclimatization will continue by just being there. The weather is pretty windy and a little wet, so it should be warm and cozy in the hut – and we are planning a very nice meal together.
Everyone is looking forward to learning and practicing alpine climbing skills – with some training this afternoon and then more tomorrow on the Hermoso Glacier. Our climb will be super early Friday morning, with a planned start time of about midnight so we can make our ascent in the coldest part of the day and have good conditions of the glacier.
We’ll try to call in a dispatch after the climb. Wish us luck on our ascent!