2017 Ecuador Cayambe/Antisana Skills Expedition and Chimborazo Extension (June 16 - 30) Dispatch 3

June 22nd Dispatch

Climbers: Kirsty Ross, Timothy Szwarc, Philipp Eglseer

Guide: Estalin Suarez

Estalin called this morning with the dispatch for Day 7:

We wanted to give you a call and let you know that we had a very good day of climbing and that we were successful in reaching the 18,997-foot summit of Cayambe!

Everyone did a great getting up to the top. We had better weather than the last couple days, but still a little tricky with the wind. But each climber did a great job with their layering and stayed warm. Overall, we would have to say that everything went perfectly.

And we had a good time in the process. We are having a good time together on the mountain and off!

We will call again tomorrow.

2017 Denali West Buttress Expedition Team 5 (June 4 - 24)

Guides:

Andy Stephen
Mike McCartan
Eric Shaw

Climbers:

Bo Stern
Charlie Farhoodi
Dan Breye
Jo Bradshaw
Linda Blakely
Timothy Wright
Vasyl "Bill" Radzevych
Zoltan Torma


Lead guide Andy Stephen checked in to let us know that Team 5 has descended back to 14 Camp, and the weather is beautiful! They hope to descend back to basecamp tonight and fly out the following day to Talkeetna, or as soon as the weather permits. Thanks very much everyone for following their progress!

2017 Ecuador Cayambe/Antisana Skills Expedition and Chimborazo Extension (June 16 - 30) Dispatch 2

June 21st Dispatch

Climbers: Kirsty Ross, Timothy Szwarc, Philipp Eglseer

Guide: Estalin Suarez

Timothy called with the dispatch for June 20th and 21st (Days 5 and 6 of the Expedition):

Hello there!

Everything is going really well!  We tried calling yesterday but couldn’t get a signal.  We’ve been waiting out the weather inside the Ruales­ Berg­ Orleas Refuge on Cayambe for the past 2 days.

Weather for tomorrow looks okay, but we’re not really sure what to expect.  Regardless, we will make our summit attempt tonight and into tomorrow.  We don’t mind taking a chance on the weather for one day.  If we get our gear wet, we’re heading back to town tomorrow where we can dry off, so we’ll be okay.

Everyone is super excited! We have great group of climbers, and Estalin has been an excellent guide.  During our stay at this hut, Estalin has been doing a great job teaching us skills.  He has also been showing us pictures of previous Cayambe climbs and getting us very excited for our summit attempt tomorrow.

We'll try to give you an update tomorrow.

2017 Denali West Buttress Expedition Team 6 (June 11 - July 1)

Guides:

Richard Riquelme
Wyatt Evenson
Max Lurie

Climbers:

Carlos Barquet
Christopher Eubanks
Emal Ehsan
Huachao "Mike" Chen
Jeff Burkard
Peter Blackshaw
Sophie Hilarie
Timothy Switzer



Wyatt Evenson called in briefly around midnight. The team is still at Camp 11. They were hoping to move to 14 Camp earlier but they were met with even more snow. The weather is supposed to improve throughout the day tomorrow and the plan is to try and make the move to 14 Camp within a few hours.

2017 Denali West Buttress Expedition Team 5 (June 4 - 24)

Guides:

Andy Stephen
Mike McCartan
Eric Shaw

Climbers:

Bo Stern
Charlie Farhoodi
Dan Breye
Jo Bradshaw
Linda Blakely
Timothy Wright
Vasyl "Bill" Radzevych
Zoltan Torma




Lead guide Andy Stephen called in with great news! The weather was beautiful and clear yesterday morning, allowing the team to successfully summit! Way to go Team 5! Our thoughts and well wishes are with them. Team 5 wanted to thank everyone for their support and encouragement throughout the entire expedition. They are now safely down from the summit at 17 Camp and will be updating us on the progress of their descent.

2017 Ecuador Cayambe/Antisana Skills Expedition and Chimborazo Extension (June 16 - 30) Dispatch 1

June 19th Dispatch

Climbers: Kirsty Ross, Timothy Szwarc, Philipp Eglseer

Guide: Estalin Suarez

Kristy called and Monday evening (June 19) with the dispatch for June 18th and 19th:

Hello, this is Kirsty from the Ecuador Volcano Expedition. We’re having a great time! Yesterday we climbed Cerro Pasochoa 4300m. Today we did Rucu Pichincha 4700m via the Paso de La Muerte, also known as the passage of death. So, we feel very equipped for any adventures we come across on the bigger mountains later. That’s all for now. We’ll check in again tomorrow.

2017 Denali West Buttress Expedition Team 5 (June 4 - 24)

Guides:

Andy Stephen
Mike McCartan
Eric Shaw

Climbers:

Bo Stern
Charlie Farhoodi
Dan Breye
Jo Bradshaw
Linda Blakely
Timothy Wright
Vasyl "Bill" Radzevych
Zoltan Torma


Lead guide Andy Stephen checked in. The team is still waiting at 17 Camp, taking today to rest and acclimatize wile they wait for a weather window to make their summit attempt. They checked out views from the Diving Board, ate, drank water and slept. Everyone was excited for grilled cheese for lunch and freeze dried 'delights' for dinner! The team hopes to make a summit bid either today or tomorrow!