Private Ecuador High Altitude Expedition - Dispatch #6 Cotopaxi Summit is Reached

Private Ecuador High Altitude Expedition 

July 5th to July 14th, 2011 

Climbers: Jennifer Peeks and William Barrera 

Guide: Pepe Landazuri

Pepe called at 3:50 pm Ecuador time with the following news:

"Hi!  This is Pepe calling from Ecuador.  I have good news for you!  Today we summited Cotopaxi.  As planned, we woke up at eleven pm, had some food and drink, and were climbing by midnight.


Conditions were good, and our little team was as strong as ever.  We climbed to the summit in just seven hours.  Jennifer and William performed wonderfully.  They are really fit, and they did a great job with their alpine skills – very secure and poised all the time.


After the clear afternoon and evening, we were surprised to find that it was cloudy when we first started climbing, but the few clouds and fog cleared out gradually, and it turned into a clear and cold morning as we gradually climbed this big mountain.  


We had excellent views of Ecuador's many high peaks and of course of the summit crater.

Jennifer and William and I are very happy. Jennifer and William kept up a great pace going up and coming down, so I can say they are happy and tired.  


So I am sorry to say, this is the end of our trip together.  I wish we could do some more climbing, but it is time to head home.  They fly home tomorrow.  I have really enjoyed their company, and we have had a great time together.  I would like them to come back to Ecuador again and climb the other peaks.  They are calling out to this great climbing team! 


OK – that's the news.  We are heading back to Quito for a final dinner.  Thanks for following our trip!  It was fun to know we were being followed on our hikes and climbs.  Thanks!"

Quito with Cotopaxi in the distance

  

Private Ecuador High Altitude Expedition - Dispatch #5 At Cotopaxi hut Preparing for Summit Climb

Private Ecuador High Altitude Expedition 

July 5th to July 14th, 2011 

Climbers: Jennifer Peeks and William Barrera 

Guide: Pepe Landazuri

Pepe called at 5:40 Ecuador time (6:40pm Eastern time) with the following update.  We kept losing the connection, so the news is very brief.

“We are glad to tell you that the weather has turned perfect here.  We are at the Cotopaxi hut.  It’s 5:40 in the evening; we are going to eat at 6 o'clock, go to bed at 7, get up at 11, and begin our climb at midnight.

The weather is PERFECT!  It is sunny outside, and as the sun gets lower in the sky, it is very colorful here in Cotopaxi National Park.  Very beautiful.  And it is PERFECTLY clear!!!  Now we have a chance to try our best on this great mountain.  We can see the summit, and the mountain looks beautiful.”

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Private Ecuador High Altitude Expedition - Dispatch #4 At Guachala Hacienda

Private Ecuador High Altitude Expedition - Cayambe - Cotopaxi

July 5th to July 14th, 2011

Climbers: Jennifer Peeks and William Barrera

Guide: Pepe Landazuri

Pepe called at 7:40 pm Ecuador time July 11th with this dispatch:

"Hello again from Hacienda Guachala!  Well after the last time I called in the middle of the night, it snowed a lot.  After deciding there was no way we could climb today, we went back to bed, and when we got up in the morning, we had 50cm of fresh snow on the ground!  It is not what we were expecting.  

Usually if there is a problem it is because of high winds.  But there always seem to be sunny skies in July.  What happened?!!%%##  

So we had an easy morning with the big hut to ourselves.  We left at 10am to drive down to the hacienda.  The drive normally takes an hour and today it took three hours because of all the snow.  It's really crazy.  I have never seen snow like this in July.  This is summer!  

Anyway we're having a great time despite the weather.  After we got here we had a nice lunch and then Jen and William took a nap.  Now it's evening and we'll have dinner together in a few minutes.  We are committed to eating very well so we are ready for Cotopaxi and nature's challenging elements.  We must fortify ourselves!

Tomorrow we will head to the lodge called Chilcabamba in Cotopaxi National Park.  I made some calls this afternoon, and the weather has been a lot better down there, further south from us.  Hopefully the weather pattern stays the same there for the next couple of days.

OK, we'll keep you posted on what's happening down here."

At that point in the call Jen came on the phone and said that "the weather has been frustrating the last two days, but the trip has been absolutely great."  We then read her the messages that have been posted by friends and family on this blog.  She said is was excellent to be able to get all the news and updates on what's going on at home.  Whenever the team calls in at a time when the AAI office is open, we will keep reading the messages that are appearing. 

Private Ecuador High Altitude Expedition, Part 1 - Dispatch #3

Private Ecuador High Altitude Expedition, Part 1

July 5th to July 14th, 2011

Climbers: Jennifer Peeks and William Barrera

Guide: Pepe Landazuri

Pepe called at 5:30 pm Ecuador time July 10th with this dispatch:

"Hi! Good evening, this is Pepe calling from Ecuador. We traveled Saturday morning from Guachala farm to Cayambe and right now we’re in the Cayambe refuge. 


Jennifer, William, and I just had dinner, which was rice with turkey plus a potato–vegetable soup, and after dinner we had cookies.  We’re really eating well! 


Jennifer and William have had no problems with the altitude, and that's been making the climbing really easy for them. Yesterday we did some review of basic snow and glacier skills including different uses of the ice axe, different cramponing techniques, and procedures for traveling together as an effective rope team.  


It’s was a little wet in the afternoon, so we had to spend time last night drying our clothes and boots out.  The weather is windy and snowy, and of course we are hoping for a quick improvement.  We’re not going to climb tonight, but I think we’ll have a chance to try for the summit tomorrow night. Wish us luck!"

Pepe called Monday, July 11 at 1:00 am Ecuador time:

"We woke up a few hours ago with really snowy weather and it did not look like a good time to attempt Cayambe!  We were supposed to leave at midnight. We've waited it out, but the weather hasn’t changed and it’s been an hour. So, I think we’ll go back to bed and do something different tomorrow [Monday]. We’ll take another rest day and go to the hot springs or go to the market. I’ll call you again tomorrow."

  

Private Ecuador High Altitude Expedition - Dispatch #2

Private Ecuador High Altitude Expedition, Part 1

July 5th to July 14th, 2011

Climbers: Jennifer Peeks and William Barrera

Guide: Pepe Landazuri

Pepe called at 10:30 pm Ecuador time Friday, July 8^th with this dispatch:

“Hello again from Ecuador.

Today we climbed Guagua Pichincha, and Jennifer and William did great!  It was a little windy but very clear, and we had excellent views of Cayambe, Antisana, and Cotopaxi – all in a row in the eastern cordillera.  It was beautiful.

We’ve been taking lots of photos since the weather has been so cooperative – not just sunny, but the atmosphere is very clear too.

I should say – these guys are really fit and fast.  Usually when I lead climbers on Guagua Pichincha it takes at least four hours to summit.  These crazy guys did it in three.  I was very impressed!

So after the climb we drove up north to Hacienda Guachala which is on the flanks of Cayambe.  We had a great dinner, and Jennifer and William have headed off to bed.

Dinner was potato soup – a traditional colonial dish – and a big salad.  This is one of two harvest times for Ecuadorian avocados, so we’re eating lots of them.  They’re perfect.  Oh, and one of us had a frittata for dinner.  The chef at Guachala is quite good, both with fancy dishes and with simple things like we had tonight.  I should also tell you that the three of us are dinking LOTS of fresh squeezed orange juice.  They’re in harvest now too and are great.  There are two kinds here, one type grown in the jungle on the Amazon side of the mountains and the other grown in the coastal region to our west.  They are a little different from each other and both really good.

So in summary, we are eating well, feel excellent, and having a great time. 

Tomorrow we head to the Cayambe hut and for some more hiking up high.  We will call again when we can.  By for now.”

Private Ecuador High Altitude Expedition - Dispatch #1

Private Ecuador High Altitute Expedition, Part 1

July 5th to July 14th, 2011

Climbers: Jennifer Peeks and William Barrera

Guide: Pepe Landazuri

Pepe called at 10:00 am with this dispatch:

"Hello! This is Pepe calling from Ecuador! Right now we are on the summit of Pasachoa. It is absolutely beautiful right now. We made perfect time and had perfect weather the entire way. We can see the summit of the other nearby peaks like Cotopaxi and Antisana. Yesterday, I didn’t call, but we went to the local market and the climbers had a great time. Tomorrow we plan to do another acclimatization hike on Gua Gua Pichincha." 

  

Denali Team 7: June 12-July 2 Finally Off the Mountain!

Denali Team 7: June 12-July 2

Guides: Chantel Astorga, Mike Pond, and Mat Erpelding

Climbers: Leslie Brown (Washington), Darren Wise (Australia), Shane Pophfer (Australia), Khai Nguyen (California), Denis Levin (Australia), Andrew Sargant (Australia), Erik Akerberg (Sweden), Neill Johanson (Australia), and Dale Wagner (Utah).

Mike Pond called at 11:00am, Pacific Time.

"We are pleased to tell you that there was a brief – very brief – weather window last night, and everybody was able to get off the mountain.  We literally had ten minutes to pack up, and everybody made it happen.  The whole team was great,.

We all got off the mountain at about 9pm – just in time to enjoy the Fourth of July celebration in Talkeetna!  It was a great way to end a very successful trip.  To friends and loved ones back home, we all say, 'See you soon!'"  
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Denali Team 7: June 12 to July 2 Dispatch #15 Back at Base Camp

Denali Team 7: June 12 to July 2

Guides: Chantel Astorga, Mike Pond, and Mat Erpelding

Climbers: Leslie Brown (Washington), Darren Wise (Australia), Shane Pophfer (Australia), Khai Nguyen (California), Denis Levin (Australia), Andrew Sargant (Australia), Erik Akerberg (Sweden), Neill Johanson (Australia), and Dale Wagner (Utah).

Chantel called at 4:40pm on July 3rd with this dispatch:

“Hi!  This is Team Behind Schedule Again calling from Base Camp on Day 22 of our expedition.  Well, we were briefly on schedule but now we’re not because we are socked in with bad weather, base camp style.  We’re sitting In our tents enjoying ourselves, but we’d be enjoying ourselves a lot more if we were flying back to Talkeetna and preparing to come home! 

We arrived here early Saturday morning on schedule!  We summited Thursday and left high camp at 17,200 feet on Friday on schedule.  We made it down to 14,000 camp in good time and the kept on going Friday evening and through the night, arriving here in the wee hours of Saturday morning on schedule! 

The lower glacier was not easy.  The snowpack was really soft so we had to be extra vigilant about crevasses.  We were wallowing at times, but everyone did great.  We just kept a moderate but steady pace, and we made it here in really good time considering the conditions.

So everybody’s pretty antsy to get off the beautiful Kahiltna, but the weather is the weather, and in contrast to ourselves, this weak, little low-pressure-system doesn’t seem anxious to go anywhere.  We hope everyone at home is doing well, and we are looking forward to seeing you soon!”

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Denali Team 7: June 12 to July 2 Dispatch #14 Summit Success!

Denali Team 7: June 12 to July 2

Guides: Chantel Astorga, Mike Pond, and Mat Erpelding

Climbers: Leslie Brown (Washington), Darren Wise (Australia), Shane Pophfer (Australia), Khai Nguyen (California), Denis Levin (Australia), Andrew Sargant (Australia), Erik Akerberg (Sweden), Neill Johanson (Australia), and Dale Wagner (Utah).

Chantel called at 11pm on June 30th with this dispatch:

“Hi! This is Team Back on Track and On Schedule!!! We’re calling from High Camp. Mat, Mike, the rest of the team and I summited today! We left at 10am and got back to camp at about 10pm, so it was a 12-hour day. It was really cold – about -10F ujp high with some wind, but we had blue skies and great views. Everyone did awesome – what a super strong group! Tomorrow we’ll head down to 14,000 feet and get to Base Camp on Saturday, as scheduled! Erik wants to tell his Mom Happy Birthday. And that’s it, goodnight, we’ll talk to you tomorrow.”