We began our first trek of the trip, a 4 day hike around the mountain of Chimborazo. As it turned out only one day of the trip had a recognizable trail, but I managed to navigate with the topo and not get us lost. It proved to be tough walking within the high paramo grass and uneven terrain, a great ankle workout. We spent 5 days in the shadow of this grand volcano. Clouds were constantly moving over the summit and we would get glimpses of the peak, but still it tried to remain mysterous. We did get a few clear views and could begin to comprehend it´s size and what might be ahead when we attempted to climb it. We crossed a wide variety of terrain including desert, lush swampy valleys, and dense grass and shrubby stuff. We encountered wild vincunas, got and snowed on 2 different nights, but overall the weather during the days was fine and we managed to dry our tent out every day before packing camp. This meant leaving camp at 10 but who was in a hurry?
Sunset after the hail storm cleared (Day 1)
The next morning proved beautiful and gave us our first clear vista of Chimborazo
Tina with a heard of llama
I think we might be lost this looks odd?
Last day high on the eastern slopes of Chimborazo
And I thought I might be hairier for a second, well not quit!
Say hello to my little friend Billy!
And his chocolate dipped brother
Poor little Bambi lost her heard of Vincuna (similar family to alpaca or llama)
What is that pile of.........Oh a cool grass hut
On our final day we ended up at the climbers refugio at 5,000 M (16,404ft) after a long day of hiking. Our climbing guide was planning on meeting us at the refugio the following day to climb, but after talking with the guardarias we decided that the weather had been too bad and we probably would not be able to climb it. After much debate we returned to Riobamba to discuss options with our guide. We decided to wait one day there and would head up the following day if the weather held. Weather held and so we returned to the refugio.
Sunrise halo over the mountain (Refugio´s orange roof lower right)
We decided that we were going to camp 800 M above the refugio to give us a better chance at the summit if the weather cooperated. This way we could make a break for it when we got some clear weather.
Hiking up to our Base camp fully loaded with gear
Base camp 5,800 M (19,028Ft)
Sunset above the clouds
It was really intersting and neat digging out a flat spot in the side of this hill in order to set the tent. We enjoyed a nice pasta dinner and sunset above the clouds which was pretty spectacular. Than after melting snow for water for the next day we went to bed around 6. The weather held and we began the climb just after 2 AM. A really clear yet brisk morning.
Sunrise with Cotopaxi & Antisana in the background
Sunrise with Cotopaxi & Antisana in the background
Our guide approaching the summit and sun
Looking back at the false summit
After climbing steady for five and a half hours we approached the summit. Our guide was not a big fan of breaks, slow and steady he would say, although at times it seemed like we were moving pretty fast. We finally reached the summit around 7:30. We were fully frosted at this point as there was a stiff wind blowing across the summit ridge. Despite being cold we still managed to get a couple of throws in with the frisbee at 6,310M. Pretty sick! We had done it, we had arrived at the closest point to the sun. So I guess that´s as close as you can go. I jumped off the highest thing I could find so maybe got up to 6310.6M.
The decent proved to be quite epic. It started after we had gone down about 30 minutes and our guide relized he had lost his cell phone. He went back up to look for it well we waited and froze. We than decided to help him and ended up summiting again for the second time that day. But to no avail. It was gone, lost in the snow at least for another 10 years until all the glaciers melt. This was our means of calling our return transportation. Ughhhh! So he than decided he wanted to catch another party that was about 45 minutes ahead of us and try to hitch a ride. We pretty much sprinted down the mountain but all for not as they had no room for us. We packed the camp and finished the decent back to the refugio. My legs were exshausted. And although I´m the one with the glacier experience I ended up hitting a crampon tip wrong and slipped down the snow slope. Tina caught me with the rope right as I was regaining my grip in the snow. Heart was pumping but never in real danger as we were lower down on mellower slopes. But Tina likes to talk about how she saved my life. We finally made it back to the refugio and after waiting an hour caught a ride with some German tourists and their guide. The only caviot was that we had to go to this place and wait for them to eat lunch on the way down. Back at the hostel we ate a bunch of food and then went to bed for about 14 hours. And that next day we decided a little beach, warmth, and sunshine might be in order.
Finally reached the summit. An interesting place to run into John Lennon I thought.
Ahhhh! Warm sunny beach. (slight contrast in climate between these photos)
Spent the next five weeks just chilling on the beach, studying spanish, sipping fruity drinks, and working at a hostal.
-Steven
1 comment:
where are the bikes?
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