Guide: Jaime Avila
Climbers: Tyler and David Wesorick, Gillian Ingram, and Andrew Hughes
Jaime called today with more details on the successful ascent of Chimborazo yesterday, February 21st.
“Hello again from Ecuador, this time from beautiful semi-tropical Baños!
Yesterday we had a great climb of Chimborazo. We started hiking from high camp at 1:00 am and enjoyed good climbing the whole way. There was a little fresh snow, maybe 5 or 6 inches, but it was on top of very firm snow, so the climbing was quite easy.
We were going along at a good pace, but I didn’t realize how fast we were going until we were approaching the summit – and we stood on that at 6:00 am! Five hours from high camp to the summit is extremely unusual! It is common to spend at least several more hours on the ascent. This is a very fit team, to say the least!
It was fun to be the first up the mountain and to have a good amount of time to ourselves on the summit.
We spend 45 minutes on top, waiting for dawn and a pretty sunrise, but we never got it. Yes, dawn did arrive, but the clouds were too plentiful, and we really didn’t get any color in the sky.
But we were happy! The temperature was 23° F on top so not too cold, and there was no breeze. So we were comfortable eating and relaxing as we waited for dawn, but, as you can see in the photo below, there was no beautiful symphony of colors playing in a sunrise to celebrate our success as we were hoping! We concluded that the mountain gods are neutral with regard to the success and failure of humans climbing mountains. We were okay with that and also aware we didn’t have a choice! – and we were very happy!
It was a long day down the mountain, but the descent of the mountain went smoothly. We had a break and a little more food at the base camp and then headed down in our vehicle back to the central valley and then down and out of it through a valley that led to Baños. After all the time in the alpine and sub-alpine environments, everyone had a good time in the warm moist air with views of palm trees. What a contrast.
It was a hugely successful trip, overall, with everyone summiting Cayambe in difficult conditions –the weather wasn't great and, in a few places, we were briefly climbing through snow up to our knees. But everyone made it, and that was very exciting. And then on Cotopaxi, we started out in clouds and some wind but between 4 and 5 am the clouds disappeared and we were treated not only to a full moon but also to a sky totally full of stars. At high altitude, it’s amazing how the stars totally fill every inch of the sky. And yes, on Cotopaxi, we were trerast to a very special sunrise over the Amazon.
We have had a wonderful time together in the mountain and feel lucky to have shared this time and these successes together.
That’s all our new. So long from Baños!”
