Ecuador High Altitude Expedition – 5/10 – 5/24
Guide: Jaime Avilla
Climbers: Chris H., Shelby H. Hillary D.
Jaime called Monday May 23rd at 5:18am PST with the following dispatch:
“Hello, we had two chances to climb Cotopaxi but we couldn’t complete the climb due to the crevasse danger. There was a very large crevasse blocking the route the first time. We went back a second time with another guide but we still couldn’t get past the crevasse. The avalanche risk was too high to attempt a new route so we had bad luck I guess.
Yesterday we rested and talked to a guide down near the Illinizas. Today we are on the way to climb Illiniza Norte, we will stay the night at the Illiniza Norte hut, tomorrow we will climb Illiniza Sur. We will spend the night at the hut and tomorrow morning we will climb Illiniza Norte. The weather is fairly good and we are looking at clear skies. Sorry that I have been out of touch I had bad cell reception on Cotopaxi and haven’t been able to call. I will call again tonight and tomorrow.