Ecuador High Altitude Expedition #6: Dispatch 9 – Resting for Chimborazo Summit Climb

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition

February 18 to March 4, 2011

Climbers: Sam Kisson, Robert Gay, Tom O’Connell, Dennis Uhlir, Matt Donnelly

Lead Guide: Benno Schlauri

Assistant Guide: Ramiro Garrido

February 28, 2011

Benno called at 6:28pm Ecuador and US Eastern time with this message:

"Hello Everyone,  We are now at Estacion Urbina getting ready for dinner.  This is an old train station, now a lodge.  There's hardly ever a train as you can see by the comfort level of sleeping on the tracks.  


This morning we slept in late.  It was very mice.  We had a good breakfast, took our time packing, and then headed south.  In the early afternoon we had a great lunch in Ambato at a steak house (We still have big appetites after Cotopaxi!), and afterwards we drove up here on the flank of Chimborazo.


Chimborazo is in the clouds this afternoon, but that's opretty normal.  The mornings have been consistent;ly clear and the afternoons have been consistently cloudy.  It works out great for our climbing.


After breakfact tomorrow we will leave for the one-and-a-half-hour drive to the trailhead for Chimborazo.  It will be about an hour on a paved road and then a half hour on a good dirt raod.


From the end of the road we'll hike about 45 minutes to the upper hut.  We'll be carrying our full packs up to the hut, but aside fromthat tomorroew is going to be pretty easy and will feel more like a rest day than anything else.


Snow conditions are currently quite good on Chimborazo  The snowpack is stable the the rockfall  has been stopped by the good snow coverage.  So I think our timing is excellent.  This whole trip has worked out very well so far for good conditions.


We'll call tomorrow and let you know how we are doing."


[At this point we spoke to Bob and read him the messages.  He gave the following message:]


"Thanks for the messages!  We appreciate them.  We're doing well and looking forward to summiting Chimborazo.   


in terms of details, the food and lodges have been great.  All's been smooth.  It's great being out of the city and not having access to technology.  No TV and we're not spending time checking the Internet (though I did last night and looked at the messages on the blog!).  It's been good to be away from technology.


Today was relaxing.  We had great steaks at Ali's in Ambato.  Really tender!  And we had a little pizza for an appetizer – very resheing to have something so familar.  We've been drinking a lot of water.  We did have a celebratroy beer after Cotopaxi.


In the last two places where we've stayed they gave us fruit juice that's warmed up and with a little rum or something like that in it.  it's very tasty.   It gives a good kick, but we're going very easy on the alcohol beause of the altitude.  We'll wait 'til after chimbo and then have some  fun.  


Everyone else is doing great.  Sam is feeling strong and did great on Cotopaxi.  Everyone's heathly and in good spirits and excited about dong Chimborazo together.  OK.  We'll talk to you tomorrow with more messages."

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition #6: Dispatch Cotopaxi Successful

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition

February 18 to March 4, 2011

Climbers: Sam Kisson, Robert Gay, Tom O’Connell, Dennis Uhlir, Matt Donnelly

Lead Guide: Benno Schlauri

Assistant Guide: Ramiro Garrido

February 27, 2011

Benno called at 11:26 am Ecuador and US Eastern time with this message:

"Hello.  This is Benno and the team calling from down below Cotopaxi.  We had a good descent from the summit.  We were tired, but everyone did a careful and skillful job on the way down.  We got to the hut and had a little rest and some things to eat and of course more to drink.  Before, during, and after the climb, everyone has been doing an excellent job of staying hydrated, and that really helps us deal successfully with the altitude.

After being at the Jose Ribas hut for awhile, we packed up and made the short hike down to our vehicle and then drove to Hosteria Cuello de Luna where we are now.  It's a very beautiful here, a very comfortable place.  Perfect for relaxing after all the effort of the big climb.

We all took lots of photos, and we look forward to sharing them.  It was a good day for photography.  

This was an important climb for us.  Now it is clear that every one is ready to make an attempt on the big one, Chimborazo.  It will be a great climb, and everyone is very pleased now, knowing that their heads and bodies are totally ready for it!

Tomorrow we will drive south to the old railway station on the flanks of Chimborazo that has been changed into a lodge, Estacion Urbina.  That's pretty high, so it will be a good place to sleep before moving to the hut on Chimborazo the next morning.  We'll try giving you an update tomorrow.  There won't be any big news of course, but if we can connect, we'll give you an update.  And on Monday we'll be speaking with AAI office staff and getting any messages you have put on the blog, so that will be fun for everyone.

Thanks for keeping track of us.  Everyone on the team sends a very warm "hello" and "we miss you" to family and friends back home.

Ciao, ciao from Ecuador."

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition #6: Dispatch 7 – Summit Climb of Cotopaxi Successful

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition

February 18 to March 4, 2011

Climbers: Sam Kisson, Robert Gay, Tom O’Connell, Dennis Uhlir, Matt Donnelly

Lead Guide: Benno Schlauri

Assistant Guide: Ramiro Garrido

February 27, 2011

Benno called at 7:32 am Ecuador and US Eastern time with this message:

"Hello.  This is Benno and the team calling from the summit of Cotopaxi!

Every body did it!  We are all here.  And we climbed it in quite fast time.  It was only 6 hours 15 minutes from the hut.  I am very impressed by these guys!

We are really happy.  Everyone is well acclimatized and feeling good here on the summit.  Conditions are perfect.  


[It sounded really windy on the recording, and it was a little difficult to understand some of the message.]


OK.  We're going to enjoy ourselves up here for a little bit and then head back down the glacier to the hut.  We'll call again later.  





Ciao ciao from the summit!"

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition #6: Dispatch 6 Exploring Cotopaxi National Park prior to Cotopaxi Summit Climb

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition

February 18 to March 4, 2011
Climbers: Sam Kisson, Robert Gay, Tom O’Connell, Dennis Uhlir, Matt Donnelly

Lead Guide: Benno Schlauri

Assistant Guide: Ramiro Garrido

 

February 25, 2011
Benno called at 6:30pm Ecuador and US Eastern time with this message:

"Hello!  This is Benno calling from Ecuador.


This afternoon we have been exploring Cotopaxi National Park.  There are some very interesting pre-Inca sites here dating back 600-800 years.  We are enjoying a taste of historyh on our climbing trip and enjoying it very much.  

This morning was very clear, after raining very hard last night.  At the moment we can't see Cotopaxi, but the weather is supposed to change again so we're not worried.  I think we’ll have fresh snow on the summit of our upcoming climb.

Tomorrow, we’ll head up to the Coptopaxi hut.  It will be a relatively short drive from the lodge where we are staying.  Then we'll have a hike from the vehicle to the hut that will take only about an hour.    I’ll call again from there.


Thanks for all the messages on the dispatch blog.  Dyan at the AAI office has read them to us.  Everybody has really enjoyed getting them.  It's great hearing from family and friends back home.  Thanks for the advice on drinking water.  Don't worry; we're all drinking gallons and getting healthily waterlogged.


The next time we'll get your messages will be on Monday, but keep sending them in the mean time.  We'll be call and leaving messages at AAI over the weekend and though the office is closed, Institute staff will retrieve them remotely and post new dispatches.  So keep an eye on us!  More news tomorrow.  Bye for now."

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition #6: Dispatch 5 Cayambe Summit Climb & Success!

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition

February 18 to March 4, 2011
Climbers: Sam Kisson, Robert Gay, Tom O’Connell, Dennis Uhlir, Matt Donnelly

Lead Guide: Benno Schlauri

Assistant Guide: Ramiro Garrido

 

February 24, 2011
Benno called at 8:00pm Ecuador and US Eastern time with this message:

"Hello again.  We summited Cayambe today.  We are very excited and pleased about this success.  I am sorry I didn’t call from the summit!  I forgot the sat phone down at the refuge and feel bad about that!

But, we really had a good day today. Four team members made it to the top. Sam got up almost to the top, he was about 500 feet away but he was so exhausted he just had to turn around.  He did great, is doing fine, came so close!

We got up at 11:00pm after a short sleep, started at exactly midnight, and it took about eight and a half hours to get to the summit. That is a little slower pace than usual, but this teram is steadily getting stronger, and I think everyone will have a little easier time on the next climb, Cotopaxi.


Today was gorgeous. We didn't have any wind at all, and we had clear skies the entire way!  Wow it was great to be up high.  Everyone was so happy!


Friday we are driving south to go to Cotopaxi. We’ll stay for one night at a lodge near the mountain and then move up to the hut at the base of the mountain.

Our plan is to climb Saturday night, Sunday morning.


Dyan at the AAI office has read me all the messages that friends and family have written on the dispatch blog.

The group is sleeping right now, but I’ll pass on the messages as soon as they wake up.  They will enjoy the messages very much.


OK, that's it for now.  We are happy and healthy and have had an excellent experience on this beautiful mountain.  We'll mostly be resting and enjoying the beautiful countryside, but I'll try to call Friday with a little update.  We plan to eat well and rest well!  Bye for now."

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition #6: Dispatch 4 At the Cayambe Hut and Cayambe Glacier

[NOTE TO READERS:  Please see the note below at the top of          dispatch #3]


Ecuador High Altitude Expedition

February 18 to March 4, 2011
Climbers: Sam Kisson, Robert Gay, Tom O’Connell, Dennis Uhlir, Matt Donnelly

Lead Guide: Benno Schlauri

Assistant Guide: Ramiro Garrido

 

February 23, 2011
Benno called at 6:45pm Ecuador and US Eastern time with this message:

"Hello! This is Benno calling from Ecuador. We had a great day today on the glacier. It was a day or practicing skills and basic cramponing and ice axe techniques. We also did a little steep snow and ice climbing today.

Unfortunately, Tom was not feeling really well in the morning up on the glacier, so Ramiro went down with him.  I think he just needed a little more time to acclimatize.  They did a short hike for a few hours this afternoon, and Tom is doing a lot better and feeling ready to climb.

We're having an early dinner hereat the Cayambe Hut/Cayambe Refuge [photo above].  Tonight I think we will go for the summit!  The plan is to leave at midnight and summit at 7 or 8 in the morning.  I hope that we will be calling you from the top.

The weather looks OK right now.  It was fairly clear last night, and I’m hoping for the same thing tonight. It looks very promising and again.  Wish us luck.  We’ll call you from the summit!"

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition #6: Dipatch 3

[NOTE TO READERS:  We accidentally erased and lost this dispatch, including your comments, on the afternoon of February 23.  We recreated it from our notes, but we hesitate to try to recreate your comments.  Would you please do us the favor by entering them again so we can read them verbatim the next time we tallk to the group.  Thank you and sorry for the trouble!]

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition

February 18 to March 4, 2011

Climbers: Sam Kisson, Robert Gay, Tom O’Connell, Dennis Uhlir, Matt Donnelly

Lead Guide: Benno Schlauri

Assistant Guide: Ramiro Garrido

 

February 22, 2011

Benno called at noon Ecuador and US Eastern time with this message:

"Hello again.

Yesterday I told you it was foggy on Guagaua Pichincha. We went up to the gondola, put on our rain ponchos, and kept going despite the weather.  As we ascended, it even started snowing. We had maybe 5 cm of fresh snow!  The last 15 minutes as we were scrambling to the summit were pretty interesting because of all the new snow on the rock.  We called it mixed climbing!  


Everyone reached 15,400-foot summit of Gua Gua Panchincha.  We got about 30 minutes of sunshine on the way down, and even caught a glimpse of Quito, which was quite beautiful.  It is one more successful day of acclimatization for us, which is very good. One person had some minor altitude issues, but that was a very temporary thing.

We are now hiking above the hut on Cayambe.  We had some sun and some good views and that was very nice.  Now it is foggy, but that is often a sign of coming clearing, so we are optimistic.


Everyone is doing very well and looking forward to some practice climbing tomorrow and our first major ascent later in the week.


Everyone sends a warm hello to family and friends back home."

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition #6: Dispatch 2

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition

February 18 to March 4, 2011

Climbers: Sam Kisson, Robert Gay, Tom O’Connell, Dennis Uhlir, Matt Donnelly

Lead Guide: Benno Schlauri

Assistant Guide: Ramiro Garrido

 

February 21, 2011

Benno called at 6:00 am Ecuador and US Eastern time with this update:

Hello Everyone!

We had a really good time yesterday on Pasachoa. The conditions were great, and we could see all the surrounding volcanoes like Antisana and the Illinizas. On our ascent to the summit, everyone did very well – there were no headaches or any other discomforts  for the group. We’re off to an excellent start.

We’re all looking forward to Gua Gua Pichincha today.  We’ll take the cable car up to 13,000 feet then hike up from there to the 15,360-foot summit from there.  We’re in Quito at the moment, it’s early in the morning, and it’s actually misting right now.  But the weather forecast is pretty good, so hopefully it will stop, and we’ll have a dry climb.

Ok, ta-ta and talk to you soon!

""

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition #6: Dispatch 1

Ecuador High Altitude Expedition

February 18 to March 4, 2011
Climbers: Sam Kisson, Robert Gay, Tom O’Connell, Dennis Uhlir, Matt Donnelly

Lead 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.”