January’s Custom Ecuador Expedition: Summit Success!
Quito, Rucu Pichincha, and Illiniza, January’s Custom Ecuador Expedition is Off to a Good Start
Alpenglow has designed a custom trip for Mark and Evan, two climbers whose goal is to summit Illiniza North, Cotopaxi, and Chimborazo. Jaime Avila, Alpenglow lead guide has sent us some great updates so far.
The crew began their expedition this past weekend with a tour of Quito. They walked to old town from La Casa Sol and climbed the towers of the Basilica del Voto Nacional, stopping to take a picture near it’s famous, circular glass window.
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On Monday, they acclimatized on Rucu Pichincha. Clouds kept the mountain cool and Mark and Evan did great and handled the altitutude well.
Following Rucu Pichincha, the team climbed Illinza North – one of the two, twin volcanoes that lie to the south of Quito, in the Illinizas Ecological Reserve. After about two and a half hours, they reached the hut, stopped inside for a hot drink, and with harnesses and helmets on, they were ready for the next stretch! After three hours, they stood on the summit of Illiniza North, their second mountain.
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The team is heading to Cotopaxi next, watch Twitter for their daily updates and keep an eye on the Alpenglow blog, for the story of their Cotopaxi climb.
Our Ecuador team has reached the summit of Cotopaxi!
They left the lodge at 2:30 a.m. and started up at around 3 a.m. The weather was good, a starry night with a slight wind, but as time passed the wind picked up and clouds rolled in around the mountain. They were moving strong and decided to keep going! The team reached the summit of Cotopaxi at 9:40 a.m., in the middle of clouds and wind, and had the mountain to themselves!
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After taking summit photos, they began their descent at around 10 a.m. By 1 p.m. they were at the lodge and enjoying lunch!
They have a few days left to explore Ecuador so we will keep you posted on their upcoming adventures!
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