2020 Ecuador Chimborazo Skills Expedition (Trip 2: Jan. 28 - Feb. 1, 2020) Dispatch 1

Ecuador High Altitude Trip Report

Guide: Romel Sandoval

Climbers: Stephen A., Philip B., Timothy M., John C.

January 30, 2020

Romel called this afternoon with a final trip update!

Hi everyone!

We are calling again to let you know that we all made it to the summit on our highest peak, Chimborazo!

We had a great day together. Once again we got up around 11 pm and started climbing at midnight to have nice frozen conditions in the snowpack to make the climbing as easy and secure as possible. Conditions were really good and the weather was brilliant. It was really a gorgeous day! It was foggy up high, but none of us were complaining. Getting to the top of a 20,700-foot mountain is quite a wonderful thing to share together.

Now we are in semi- tropical Baños, which is off the high plain of central Ecuador on one of the routes down to the Amazon Basin. Instead of rock, snow, and ice we have flowers, hummingbirds, and palm trees! We're looking forward to a good dinner and rest tonight and then some exploring tomorrow.

We've had a great time together and are really happy about our climbing successes. This has been an absolutely wonderful team to climb with.

Thanks for reading our dispatches and bye from Ecuador!

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2020 Ecuador Cotopaxi Skills Expedition (Trip 2: Jan. 18 - 27, 2020) Dispatch 3

Ecuador High Altitude Trip Report

Guide: Romel Sandoval

Climbers: Taaryn W., Geneva B., Diana S., Stephen A., Tom W., Philip B., Timothy M., John C., Marcus B., Richard M.

January 24, 2020

Romel called with an update:

Hello again,

I am excited to report that eight of our team climbed the great glaciers and made the summit of Cayambe today!

I think the 18,996-foot / 5,790-meter summit was the highest so far reached for each of them, except for one person, and what was really great was the fact that everyone felt pretty good with the altitude. There were a few "tired heads," but otherwise, the team was very comfortable on top. This team has acclimatized very well!

We were lucky to have such great weather. The forecast was good and it all came true. It was perfectly, beautifully clear, and we were treated to a fine sunrise and then excellent views of all of Ecuador's big peaks. The team had fun identifying each one.

The air was crisp but not too windy, so it was a comfortable climb. And it was cold enough that the glacier was nicely frozen up and it gave us perfect conditions for climbing. We made very good time on both the ascent and descent.

Everyone is feeling happy, but tired after their hard work. We'll have a nice evening and a good dinner at Hacienda Guachalá, and then tomorrow we will drive south to Cotopaxi National Park and a stay at Tambopaxi Lodge, with beautiful views of our next mountain to climb.

So tomorrow, Saturday will be a rest day, except for the drive that won't be too long. Then on Sunday we'll drive to the base of the mountain and hike up to the climbing hut. We'll go to be early Sunday evening and get up around midnight Monday morning for our climb. Wish us good luck!!

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2020 Ecuador Cotopaxi Skills Expedition (Trip 2: Jan. 18 - 27, 2020) Dispatch 2

Ecuador High Altitude Trip Report

Guide: Romel Sandoval

Climbers: Taaryn W., Geneva B., Diana S., Stephen A., Tom W., Philip B., Timothy M., John C., Marcus B., Richard M.

January 21, 2020

Romel called again today with another update.

Hello from Ecuador! We had another great day today and we all summited on our final acclimatization peak of Rucu Pichincha!

Everyone was excited to make it, especially considering that the weather was terrible - very cloudy with no views and relentless rain. Does that qualify for a “terrible weather” rating?

I am pleased to say that despite all that, the spirits of the group were high and the team was very strong throughout the day.

The rain didn't dampen anyone's spirits! If anything the day was even more motivating for the team.

We also like the fact that the weather outlook is better for tomorrow!

I’m now going to give the phone to one of the climbers on our team, Tom Wilson.

Hello folks. We had a great day, and I’ll add that if there ever was a day where "overcoming adversity" was the theme, then it would have been today!

It was not just regular rain; it was freezing rain with very low visibility. But the bright side was that the low visibility made the summit quicker since we didn't have to stop for photos!

Our guides were great again today. And a nice touch was having hot coffee on the gondola on the way up to where our hiking began. It was definitely a welcome contrast to the cold rain.

We are now on our way to Hacienda Guachalá which means hot showers, another excellent meal from what I’ve heard, and a very good sleep!

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2020 Ecuador Cotopaxi Skills Expedition (Trip 2: Jan. 18 - 27, 2020) Dispatch 1

Ecuador High Altitude Trip Report

Guide: Romel Sandoval

Climbers: Taaryn W., Geneva B., Diana S., Stephen A., Tom W., Philip B., Timothy M., John C., Marcus B., Richard M.

January 20, 2020

Romel called to give us an update on the program.

We are off to a good start after meeting in Quito Saturday evening for dinner. On Sunday we did an orientation on the program and a gear check followed by a city tour of the old part of Quito.

Today, Monday, we drove from Quito to the Pasochoa Wildlife Refuge for our first acclimatization hike. Everyone in our group (10 climbers) did very well and was able to make it to the summit of Cerro Pasochoa which is 13,776 feet or 4199 meters. s 4,199m/13,776ft

4,697meters or 15,413 feet. I would say everyone had a wonderful time on the hike. They were feeling good, and while people hiked at different paces that were most comfortable for them, I think each person was feeling quite strong.

I think I would class today's weather as "very crazy." The day started off cloudy with showers from time to time, then the clouds would break and the sun was out. It was gorgeous. And then in the distance there thick clouds and thunder – which never reached us. Very changeable and unusual for this time of year.

Here is Diana to provide some updates:

Hello from Ecuador. The first thing I have to say is that Romel and his team of guides have been incredible! They have a great sense of humor and are wonderful instructors. I'm not sure I can list all the good things about them. Today was a lot of fun, and we were so happy that everyone did well, felt good, and made the summit. We are happy and in a very good mood! It is fun to be in such a beautiful country. As Romel said, the weather was hit or miss plus some welcomed sun, and the food was just fine. We're all working up good appetites! And the snacks and lunch Romel and team provided gave us just the energy we needed. Here's Romel again. Bye!


Tonight we are staying at our hotel the Reina Isabel in Quito, and tomorrow we'll do another acclimatization hike, this time on Cerro Rucu Pichincha which is 15,413 feet or 4697 meters. After our ascent tomorrow, we will drive to Hacienda Guachala near the base of the first big peak we will be attempting, Cerro Cayambe. Then we we will move up to the hut on the mountain for two more nights of acclimatization plus some skills training for the glacier climbing.

We are all looking forward to tomorrow's climb on Rucu Pichincha. We will try to call after the climb with an update. That's all the news for now!