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A family that plays together, stays together. At least that’s the way it is for this group of four. David and his three kids are in Ecuador setting their sights on Cotopaxi during this family expedition.

Summit of Rucu Pinchincha with Tikka the dog!

They began like we always do at Alpenglow, with a climb of Rucu Pinchincha rising high above Quito. Lead guide Jaime Avila reported that they all moved super fast, ascending to the 15,696′ summit in 2:10. Even the dogs in Ecuador are pretty darn acclimatized, Jaime’s dog Tikka joined in on the climb and made…

The beautiful Mojanda volcanic lakes in the foothills of Fuya Fuya

On Tuesday our Ecuador Climbing School arrived in Ortavalo to begin their expedition. This season’s team is led by Ignacio Espinosa, more affectionately known by our team as “Nacho.” A local Ecuadorian, Nacho is an IFMGA guide and has been guiding in the Ecuadorian Andes and the Cordillera Blanca range of the Peruvian Andes for the last 15 years. When he isn’t out in the mountains, Nacho plays in a local punk band.

Topping out Fuya Fuya, our first acclimatization hike.…

Class is back in session in beautiful Ecuador! Our entire team arrived 5 days ago and since then everyday has been filled with exploring, acclimatizing and now they are moving on to the meat of the expedition – mountain climbing.

First Day in Ecuador

Our first full day is always spent exploring the sights, sounds and smells of one of the most gorgeous high altitude cities in the world. Quito is known for its vibrant culture and our team was treated to some traditional Ecuadorian music in the streets of the colonial section of town. While this might seem like…

Our Ecuador climbing team is chugging along and making great progress on both acclimatization as well as learning the necessary glacier travel and climbing skills. Our lead guide in Ecuador, Jaime Avila reports that the mountain has recently been covered in clouds in the morning, and is clearing by mid morning.

Jaime will be evaluating conditions starting tomorrow morning (December 7) and may make the call to begin climbing right away so the team can climb and summit with stunning and clear views. If the weather and conditions are not looking favorable, they will wait until tomorrow night and make their ascent…

Photos: Jaime Avila
Our Ecuador Climbing School expedition team arrived safely in Quito yesterday and enjoyed a city tour. Not only is Quito at high altitude (9,350′ / 2850m) it is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

Today the team acclimatized on Rucu Pichincha. Instead of heading straight to the mountain like our Cotopaxi Rapid Ascent expedition team, they will spend a few days in and above Quito acclimatizing before heading to Cotopaxi National Park. Rucu Pichincha stands at 15,413′ / 4698m’ and is an incredible day of hiking with a little bit of rock scrambling to get the…

The cold temperatures of fall here in the northern hemisphere reminds us that the Aconcagua climbing season is coming into view. This season Alpenglow Expeditions has eight different expeditions to South America – 2 in Ecuador, 1 in Patagonia, and 5 separate teams heading to the tallest peak outside of Asia, the one and only Aconcagua. We love this time of year as our South American expeditions are truly special to our entire program.

Ecuador is Next on the tick list…

Our first team arriving in Ecuador aims to climb Cotopaxi (conditions dependent, more on that in a moment) in 5 days…

Earlier this week our Ecuador Climbing School had a fun acclimatization hike on Rucu Pinchincha (15,700′ / 4785m). The team rode a teleférico from the city of Quito, they hiked for two hours to the rock ridge, and then climbed the ridge to the summit. This climb is a proud peak on its own and it is also important for acclimatization before the other peaks on this expedition.

Today was a successful summit on Cayambe (18,996′ / 5790m) for our Ecuador Climbing School team members, Daniel and Alex. After a midnight wake-up call, they began their climb. Most of the climb was…

Dawn found us high on the mountain. The last several hours had been filled with the rhythmic crunching of crampons, interspersed with stories of past adventures and thoughts of the route to come. The angle of the ice and snow demands good crampon technique, and my team is showing me that they were paying attention during the training the day before.

By the time the sun hits us, we were at the base of the summit headwall. The morning light rejuvenated the team, along with some hot tea and snacks. The challenge…

While I have climbed and guided all over the world, I had never visited the high mountain world of Ecuador. Even before the wheels of the airplane touched down, I had an idea of what was to come. The lush, green valleys of the Quito area are surrounded by multiple massive peaks, cloaked in thick blankets of ice and snow. The flight was quick and easy, with no significant time change from the west coast.

My friend and our senior guide in South America, Jaime Avila, met me at the airport and soon we were cruising towards downtown Quito and…

Alpenglow Expeditions isn’t just about #RapidAscent climbs of Mt Everest, we have options for all experience levels, including first time climbers or those who need to brush off their skill set. In June we have two climbing school offerings in South America. Our Peru Climbing School is May 31- June 14 and our next available Ecuador Climbing School is June 3- June 11, with an optional extension until June 18 to climb an additional two peaks.

These schools are both a good introduction to high altitude climbing and a great way to gain the skills necessary for more challenging expeditions…