FTA Ecuador Jan 2011 - Our final day in Ecuador! Well, for most of us...

From Brad

In Quito, Ecuador

Ecuador Volcano followers!

This will likely be the last dispatch as our time here is quickly coming to end, hope you have enjoyed following along!

After a sleepy morning yesterday, Friday, post Cotopaxi we all wandered aimlessly around the hostel and the Mariscal wondering what to pack where, whether or not to do laundry, and what our final tic list of things to do encompassed before leaving this beautiful place.

As a group we decided to catch a few cabs back down to the old town and do the obligatory tour of the Basilica. While officially consecrated by the Pope in 1988 the building is technically still unfinished as is evident by the multitude of construction workers on the roofs and catwalks. The amazing part is that the construction of this church began in the late 1800's! The historical pictures contained within are truly amazing! It is one of the most majestic things that I've ever seen. South American culture allows for visitors to climb numerous ladders and catwalks into the highest reaches of the towers. You could easily slip off one of the ladders or out one of the windows a few hundred feet to the ground...amazing, simply amazing.

From there we walked through the old city visiting a local market of goods, a local fruit, vegetable and food market (we were a bit more liberal in our sampling of local foods today!) and ultimately finished back at the Plaza de San Francisco for a late afternoon coffee and appetizers. The weather was stellar with bright sun, clear skies and even better people watching.

The large pack of wandering gringos dissolved in the afternoon to do some final shopping and reflecting on the last 10 days but reconvened back at the hostel for some guacamole, cheese and cervezas before heading out on the town one last time to get some local Ecuadorian dance culture at one of the nearby clubs.

It ended up being an extremely late night and even earlier morning as our first member, Kerr, caught a cab to the airport at 530 am. Next to leave was Kellie S. at 730am and she was followed by the Pedersen boys and Katie at 1030. All seem to be having flawless travels thus far though they surely have visions of empanadas in their heads.

Kellie D, Sarah and I head off to the coast on an overnight bus tonight to enjoy the beach and some much deserved R and R.

Signing off from this years Ecuadorian volcano expedition...and hoping for a small in stature bus mate for the journey west tonight at 11pm.

FTA Ecuador 2011 Jan - Rehash of the Cotopaxi climb

From Brad

Hostal Alcala, Quito Ecuador

Good morning Ecuadorian volcano blog followers!

So finally I've had sufficient time to recover with sleep, food and general hydration so I thought I review our last few days!

Where did we leave off?

Wednesday morning we left Tambopaxi Lodge and drove to the parking area just below the Jose Ribas Hut. Surprisingly the snow line this year nearly reached the parking area which has been highly uncommon in the last decade as the Cotopaxi glacier has aggressively receded. Our team slowly trekked the hour from the parking area up to the hut and settled in for the rest of the day. Lunch was soup, sandwiches, dried meat products and lots of fluids!

After lunch we decided for a siesta and as we napped a thunder storm of about an hour rolled through and doused us with about 1/2 cm of snowy hail-like balls (hail, not hair). It was wild to hear all of this going on outside as we tried desperately to sleep for a few minutes. When the storm finally passed we were able to sneak out to the snow fields outside the hut and get some self arrest and crampon practice. The sky cleared up to give us magnificent views of the surrounding peaks including the Illiniza's (see photo of crew).

Post practice (6pm) it was back to the hut for a dinner of BBQ chicken wings, mashed potatoes and more soup and tea. Does it seem like all we do is eat and sleep? That is the way it goes in preparation for long nights ahead like we were expecting. Then it was back to bed for a few hours of "sleep". Jose Ribas can accommodate well over 100 people though that night there were less than 30. It still seems cramped in there however as bunks stack as tall as 4 high in some spots...NOT OSHA approved.

It was up at 11pm, another light meal of yogurt, crackers and cookies and than onward and upward. As mentioned the snow line reached past the hut so we geared up fully right outside of the hut and started the slog upward. About an hour or two into our headlamp lit walkabout we reached the seracs at the glacier's tongue and roped up into three teams to move onto the glacier proper. The terrain got steeper and wound about crevasses and layered cake-like features in the ancient ice. The sky was crystal clear with little wind and when Eric wasn't singing fraternity songs all that could be heard was the clank of hardware off our harnesses and heavy breathing. Neither of which relented.

The teams moved up at separate speeds each pushing as hard as possible. The altitude was obvious as we all breached 17,000 feet - forcing two of the teams to ultimately turn around as it was getting late and the terrain became more and more technical. At one point teams reached an overhanging snow wall with a 6 inch foot bed at the base. Snow on one side, long way down on the other. This was protected in various ways including placing a hand-line or tying in closely to one another (short-roping). The skyline was beginning to lighten and it was about this time and place that two teams made the call to turn around for the glacier softens during the day as the sun bakes the frozen snow. The team of Nacho, Sarah and Jeff moved passed this and were near the summit as the sun rose. (Each feeling the affects of the high altitude and the 8 hour night that preceded the final meters to the summit!)

The walk down was thankfully uneventful though it is about this time that one wishes for a parachute or hang-glider. In the words of Nacho, "We must move quickly or we will roast like chickens on the glacier". "Quickly" is relative.

We all reconvened back at the hut, packed and ambled back to Victor and the van....exhausted.

I think we all passed out on the way back to Quito and while there were great plans for dancing that night I believe post naps and massages we were all in bed by 9pm.

A safe, beautiful and tiring day behind us...we welcomed the hostel beds.

Back in Quito safe and sound...and shwarmas in our bellies!

From Brad in Quito, Ecuador

I know many of you are likely checking the blog hourly for updates on our day...or really our night up on Cotopaxi.

The short of it was that after a long night we have all safely made it back into the city of Quito and most of us have passed out for a few hour siesta. It was like working third shift for our 11pm awakening last night for the climb.

The route turned out to be a formidable beast this year and while we only placed a few members on top each member pushed themselves, and one another, to the limit and climbed as high as possible. I think everyone set new personal altitude records and each one of us watched a majestic sunrise from the Cotopaxi glacier. The high volumes of snow this year changed the route immensely from last year and made it more technical in parts. Sarah and Jeff were the only members to make it the summit and they both agree that it was likely one of the hardest things they have ever done. I'm thinking everyone else feels the same way but I can't ask because they are all asleep!

A well earned rest after returning from the summit of Cotopaxi for Sarah!

More pictures and stories to follow once I shower and nap myself!

Regards, with a full belly of shwarmas, from Quito!

Brad

FTA Ecuador Jan 2011 - Headed to Jose Rivas!

From Brad

Tambopaxi Lodge, fully caffeinated

It has been a wonderful morning here at Tambopaxi Lodge. In fact the internet is running at early 90's speeds which is better than last night! Many of us woke up with (or before) the sun to watch the teams heading up Cotopaxi by headlamp.

As the sun rose the mountain was completely clear and our sleeping bags became infernos so there was little sleep thereafter. We had a slow morning of coffee, fresh juice, fruit, yogurt with muesli, fried eggs and toast with butter and jam. We were once again breathing heavy as we repacked our bags in preparation for the ~ 1 hour ride to the parking area just below the stone hut, Jose Rivas.

It will be a short walk today to the hut, perhaps an hour or less. We will spend the afternoon here eating, resting, drinking (water), and perhaps doing a bit more practice with crampons and self arrest. It will be an early dinner and after we will quickly retire to bed as we will be awakening at about 11pm to eat once again and prepare for our summit bid! Wish us luck, safety, warmth, easy breathing and of course good fashion.

More to follow from Quito tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure we will be exhausted but I will attempt to get a dispatch out!

FTA Ecuador Volcanes Jan 2011: A rest day at Tambopaxi Lodge...we need it!

From Brad, Field Touring Alpine

Tambopaxi Lodge, Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador

Good day FTA Jan 2011 Ecuador Volcanoes blog followers!

I sit in the Tambopaxi Lodge following a lunch of creamed lentil soup, vegetables, mashed potatoes, chicken and blackberry mousse...life seems very different today that it did at this time yesterday.

I'm gazing out of the window of this wood heated, straw bale constructed structure at the perfect cone of Cotopaxi as it fades in and out of the clouds. The sun is pocked with intermittent rain showers. The terrain surrounding this beautiful place is old volcanic moraine peppered with rocks ranging in size from a football to that of a VW bus. These were blown out of the volcano during its last major eruption in 1877 according to our geologist in situ Jeff. There are other looming peaks that are more jagged than Cotopaxi but it is hard to divert the eyes from our next target! If it isn't apparent by now today is a rest day.

We awoke this morning at the base of the Illinizas in the village of El Chaupi at a quintessential climbers hostel that is run by a veteran Ecuadorian climber, Vladamir. Over the years this place has grown from a one room hostel to one that includes numerous fireplaces, a pingpong table, satellite TV, hot showers and amazing food! The community bull ring is just across the street. Unfortunately we were unable to enjoy any festivities there.

Moving backwards...yesterday was a long, classic, alpine mountaineering day. The route that usually goes up Illiniza Norte at this time of year is dry with perhaps one small traverse that is eye opening that ultimately culminates with a rock scramble to the summit. This was not the case this year. Due to the massive amounts of snow in the last few months the route was completely changed and at altitudes above the refugio (15,250 ft) it was completely covered in snow! This added a new element that although was a bit surprising, didn't disappoint us. We had heard that this was the case and so had planned accordingly with proper technical gear.

Knowing the snow covered route would likely take longer than the usual ~7 hours we awoke at 430 am and were walking by 600 am. We gained the refugio at about 10am, had lunch and hot drinks, dawned technical gear (harnesses, helmets) and started to move up the ridge. Initially the wind was biting. It blew small bits of ice off surrounding rock into us and caused our backpack straps to whip us in the face. Thankfully we quickly ducked behind the ridge and moved into the lea. It wasn't long before we found ourselves on knifelike rock spines traversing soft snow. We even had the benefit of some sun at these middle altitudes. In fact, the goggle/helmet strap tan has become our new fashion statement.

The final hours towards the summit were marked with snowy traverses, lowers down couloirs (snow filled gullies), and steeper climbs up snowy slopes. We ended up with most members on the top though we didn't stay long as the views were shrouded in clouds, the wind blowing and our watches telling us that we needed to move down toward the base.

The descent is always the most exhausting and potentially dangerous part of the day so we took great care as we eased into more moderate terrain where we were able to glissade (slid on our bums using our ice axes as breaks) to the moraine below. The walk out seemed to take forever and for many of us put our arrival at the truck well past dark. It was all we could do to eat dinner, shower and head off to bed!

Today proves that you must always expect the unexpected in the mountains! There was some nausea at higher elevations and general fatigue from the long day but all in all members are doing well! We are grateful for the rest day today...naps, reading, and pushing water is the name of the game as we laze in the sun under the looming cone of Cotopaxi!

This takes us back to Sunday, another rest day prior to the Illinizas. We had the luxury of sleeping in and having a lazy morning post our summit of Rucu Pichincha (though Sarah and Kellie decided for a morning run...really??? Crazies.) We lazed around till noon when we were met by Victor (driver) and Nacho (local guide) and transported to the small, classic Ecuadorian village of Machachi which is actually where Victor resides with his family. We ate a huge, European length lunch (2.5 hours) at a local restaurant that included chicken rolled in bacon, filet mignon, and a platter of cow kidneys, liver, stomach, heart and intestines. When in Rome they say, when in Rome. The restaurant was packed with locals. In fact, there were no gringos to be found in the entirety of the small town!

After lunch we walked around the two grand markets that exist there. One is food based and the other is durable goods based. Anything you could possible want existed here. In fact you can get your clothes hemmed while you shop for your weekly rice, fresh chevre de chivo (goat cheese), spices, fruit, vegetables and just about anything else one could desire. Members carefully sampled various juices and foods right off the fire as we wandered the narrow passes in between tables and tarps. Trucks full of bananas backed right up to the market and you could purchase entire bunches of bananas. This was an amazing place but extremely hard to blend! We left the market wander and moved to the small village of El Chaupi and our hostal for the following few nights. Yet another amazing, three course dinner and afterward we spent some time prepping gear and practicing knots before retiring for the night.

That pretty much sums up the last 3 days here in Ecuador! As I wrap up the summit of Cotopaxi has decided to fully show itself...the snow line extends past the refuge on its flanks which will hopefully make the first portion of the accent a bit easier. Tonight, steak is on the menu.

From Cotopaxi National Park,

Brad