2017 Ecuador Cayambe/Antisana Skills Expedition (November 4-18) - Dispatches 1 & 2

Cayambe/Antisana Skills Expedition

November 4-18, 2017

Guide: Romel Sandoval

Climbers: Randy R., Mikko L., Rasmus M.,

November 5th Dispatch

Hello Everyone!

This is Romel calling to let you know that we just completed our first day of activity in the program, spending most of the day in and near Otavalo to the north of Quito. We got up early for breakfast and an orientation on Ecuador and the climbing here, then headed north out of Quito, crossed the Equator, and continued north to the big market in the town of Otavalo.

The market was fun. It is very big and very colorful, and everyone took a lot of photos. Otavalo is the biggest town in the region, so locals come in from a lot of different outlying smaller towns and settlements for the market. Most dress in the traditional styles, so besides so many different things for sale which I think everybody finds interesting, there is also a cultural aspect to the market that is very strong. After exploring the market, we had a great Ecuadorian lunch. I think everyone is liking the food.

Randy is going to add some comments now:

I'd sum it up by saying we had a great day. The market was outstanding, the weather was wonderful, and we’re all having a great time

Anything else guys – – No - that's it. It’s two-thumbs up all around!


November 6th Dispatch

Hello!

This is Romel and the team calling again. It's about 4:20 pm and we just returned to the hotel in Quito from our climb of Pasochoa.

Conditions were good again today, and it was good to be up in the mountains, In the morning in sunny morning afternoon windy, but everything was good and we made it to the top without any problem.

Our team is acclimatizing well. From our day of arrival through this morning, we spent all our time between 8400 and 9500 feet (2575 and 2895 meters), so everyone was ready to make an easy-paced climb of Cerro Pasochoa, which is 13,776 feet (4200 meters). Yes, everyone did really well with the altitude.

Now we are resting and looking forward to tomorrow and going a little higher on Pichincha.

Here is Rasmus who will add a few words to our report:

We’ve had a fantastic day with Romel. We had truly fantastic views. And I would call the winds refreshing. It was a good temperature for climbing. OH yes, and we had very nice sandwiches!

We all did great with the altitude, and now looking forward to keenly and going to a higher altitude.

We'll try to talk to you tomorrow and let you know how it goes!