I arrived in Quito late at night on January 28, 2023. The next morning the team met up for the first time for breakfast and a gear check before we departed the city for the mountains.
Over the next two weeks we would attempt to summit three glaciated volcanoes; Antisana (18,870 ft), Cayambe (18,996 ft), & Chimborazo (20,564 ft). After departing Quito (9,350 ft) we would spend the next few days before our Antisana attempt hiking high and sleeping low to gradually acclimate to the altitude.
During our first day in Quito I already felt the dramatic altitude change on my body (fatigue, elevated resting heart rate, and some difficulty sleeping).
This would gradually fade away over the next couple days with lots of water, good food, and acclimatization hikes. Alpine Ascents and our amazing lead guide Jose Salazar did a fantastic job organizing and planning our adventure to give the team the best chance for solid acclimatization and successful summits.
Over the next couple days we enjoyed some beautiful hikes up to Pasachoa (13,776 ft), Lake Parcacocha (13,350 ft), and Antenas Peak (14,406 ft). In between all the climbs we had some pretty amazing stays at Termas Papallacta and San Jose de Puembo where we enjoyed lots of quinoa soup, Locro soup (potatoes), ceviche, some incredible fruits (Chirrimoya and Grenadlia were the favorites), and the local Pilsener beer. We made stops at Cienga hacienda and Wachala hacienda for a couple of team lunches as well. Over a fun dinner our team name, Cravasses and Crevices was born. We had an amazing group of people.
February 4th - We went to bed around 6pm after a large dinner to get some rest before our midnight ascent. After assembling our gear we made the 1.25 mile trek back up over the rocks to the base of the glacier. The moon was so bright I didn’t bother with the headlamp. We began our ascent up the glacier in four separate rope teams (one guide to two clients). After several hours of step, step, breath, we reached the crevasse field. We were roughly 2,800 ft and 2 long miles away from the summit.
3am would be the coldest hour of the climb. On average the temperature hovered around 19 degrees (4 degrees with wind chill) with 20 - 25 mph wind and some significantly stronger gusts. I wore merino base layers (top and bottom), my fleece, gore tex shell, and I added the heavy puffer halfway through the night. On the bottom I had my soft trekking pants and rain shell over the base layer. I was plenty warm.
This would be by far the most beautiful (and dangerous) crevassed section of our trip. We made our way around the beautiful ice formations and climbed around the back of the summit for a very long walk to the very top. We reached the top around 9am with little to no view. We were sitting at 18,870 ft, our first successful summit of the trip.
The hike down was long and uneventful but after arriving at camp we found out that during the night an Andean fox had ripped through camp and tore into some tents and bags. It ripped up the side of my bag but luckily only destroyed a single (empty) wag bag. Minolo, our chef, had chased it off before it did too much damage to camp.
Around 6am light started to break and illuminate the crevasses and blue, glacial ice that surrounded us.
This would be by far the most beautiful (and dangerous) crevassed section of our trip. We made our way around the beautiful ice formations and climbed around the back of the summit for a very long walk to the very top. We reached the top around 9am with little to no view. We were sitting at 18,870 ft, our first successful summit of the trip.
The hike down was long and uneventful but after arriving at camp we found out that during the night an Andean fox had ripped through camp and tore into some tents and bags. It ripped up the side of my bag but luckily only destroyed a single (empty) wag bag. Minolo, our chef, had chased it off before it did too much damage to camp.
February 9th - I was up at 10:30pm and we were on our way at 11:30pm for our final summit attempt of the trip.
I wasn’t terribly hungry before the climb but I wasn’t going to make the same mistake as Cayambe… I forced down a PB&J, two cups of tea, and a bag of trail mix before we departed. Throughout the climb I made sure to hydrate and eat some chocolate and peanuts every hour or so. Austin gave me a Gu packet, this was a huge help. Gu/gels/soft chocolate are much better for high elevation climbing than a crunchy hard trail mix. Reminded me of running a marathon.
On Chimborazo we operated in rope teams of two (one guide to one client). Due to some dangerous rock fall on a portion of the traditional route the guides decided to take the team up a vertical ~40 foot via ferrata (iron path). We were roped in but it was still a thrill, especially in the dark.
I felt super strong on Chimborazo and we made great time as we climbed to the summit. We reached Veintimilla Summit (the first summit 20,453 ft) by 5:30am and took a quick break there. It was the coldest I had been the entire trip, I had on all my layers and finally got to wear my big Alti mittens. Around 5:50am we reached the Whymper Summit (20,564 ft) and enjoyed a stunning sunrise and an active Cotopaxi off in the distance. It was an emotional celebration for the team and a fantastic ending to the trip. We went 3/3 on summits.
It was a steep, hot climb back down but we did have a fantastic view of the shadow cast on the surrounding landscape by the summit.