Ecuador High Altitude ExpeditionFebruary 18 to March 4, 2011
Climbers: Sam Kisson, Robert Gay, Tom O’Connell, Dennis Uhlir, Matt DonnellyLead Guide: Benno Schlauri Assistant Guide: Ramiro Garrido
February 20, 2011
Benno called at 7:03 am Ecuador and US Eastern time with this update:
Hello, this is Benno calling from Ecuador to let you know how our group is doing. We all met on Friday and had a very nice dinner together. Most people had steaks and thought they were very good. They are fortifying themselves for the mountain adventures to come!
Yesterday instead of going to the Otavalo market, we decided to do some hiking in the morning. We went to Pululahua Crater and Natural Area north of Quito with a huge crater and had a good time. The weather as foggy and it was quite warm, but people had a nice workout – not to strenuous but a good level of activity as they are adjusting to the altitude.
We always want to be careful not to do things that are very strenuous at the beginning of the acclimatization process because that can give people problems and tend to bring on acute mountain sickness. So we went easy and just hiked for a couple of hours, and everyone was quite comfortable with that.
Today we are going to Pasachoa for a longer hike and a little higher altitude. I will pick up our team members in an hour, at 8:00am. Our climbers have been sleeping very comfortably in Quito at the 9500-foot altitude, so I think everyone will do well on Pasachoa.
After our hike yesterday we came back to Quito and went to a good quality handicrafts market. I think everyone enjoyed that. They have nice things to buy, and it is an excellent people watching place too.
OK. That’s our current news. I will call you again tomorrow. Everyone says “hello” to family and friends back home. We are having a good time together.
Bye for now.”