Update From Tropical Ecuador: Volcán Cotopaxi

After a lot of foot work and a little luck, Jansa and I got the opportunity to climb the famous volcano, Cotopaxi. It was certainly a once in a lifetime chance. Cotopaxi sits at about 19,347 feet (Denali´s alititude is 20,320 feet). The volcano has a conical symmetrical shape, and has one of the only equatorial glaciers in the world.



With our friend Alexis as our local expert/guide and our new friend Sylvia, we started toward the mountain refuge on Friday morning (Nov. 21). After a some practice with the crampons and ice axe we fed our bodies and put ourselves to bed early (7PM).

We started our bid toward the summit (la cumbre) at about 1:00 AM on Saturday morning. The morning was tranquil, and I felt strong and calm as we walked so slowly across the crusted snow. The environment around us was surreal, walking beneath bright southern stars among the silence. After about 200 m we could see the bright lights shining from Quito. The silence was briefly broken by awe.

The calmness was short lived. As we ascended into the clouds, the thin air managed to blow ice sheets into our bodies. Step by step, we progressed towards our goal. The weather and especially the wind started to take its toll on the team. We were walking slowly, so it was easy for the gailing wind to sweep the heat from our bodies. Both Jansa and I agreed afterward that this climb was just as much of a mental challenge as a physical one. After about the fourth hour of climbing, the entire exterior of our bodies were frozen. At one point we had to stop and set our ice picks into the side of the mountain and lay on top of it to avoid being blown right off the mountain and all the way back to Quito. We were weary, but with the help of snickers and Jansa´s 4 dollar powerbar, we were still physically strong and reacting positively to the altitude.



We climbed on for two more difficult hours until we finally reached the summit. We did it! We had a small celebration that lasted roughly 37 seconds, as the wind was still blowing ferociously and kept us from wasting too much energy. There was little to see at the top, but we could look down into the abyss that was the Cotopaxi crater. We tried to take some photos, but even the cameras were frozen solid. Not to mention we were much to cold and tired to do much, especially remove our hands from our gloves. We managed to get a few good photos on the summit with Sylvia´s camera. At one point, I looked at Jansa and his lips and eye lids were completely black. I knew that I had a good amount of ice in my beard and probably looked the same. *At this point, Jansa would like to say for the record that Cory´s beard reached its ultimate bad ass level in the history of his beard* Fortunately, the sun was starting to peak over the crest of the volcano and we knew warmth was to come.

Shortly after reaching the top, we started our descent toward the refuge. These next 3 hours were trying. Jansa was especially exhausted, and a little drunk from the altitude. By the end, it honestly looked like he was walking back from Jack & Dans after a night in May 2007! We did, however, have some amazing vistas on the way down. The clouds would occasionally part, and we could see the foothills crawling off the glacier to the Andean highlands. These views have been etched in my memory. It really felt like I was in a 737 flying over this country.

Jansa and I are both very proud of the accomplishment. We decided that climbing Cotopaxi is the type of thing that is a lot more fun after you are finished. The truth is, it is a lot of work and a mental challenge that rivals anything I have done before.

Sadly, because of camera malfunctions on the mountain we have few pictures of our climb, and the ones we do have simply do not do justice to what we saw and experienced. That being said, enjoy the few that we found remotely worthy to put on here.