Around the world with Weston & Dana

Midnight Moon on 20,730′ Chimborazo

June 2011

Running short on time and seeing a weather window we quickly grabbed a cab and took the first hostel we could find after our bus ride from Banos.  With Jordan under the weather and constantly in the Bano from a meal in Banos (go figure) Ben and I pushed on heading up to the hut on Chimborazo.  We found ourselves rapidly rummaging through our packs double checking our gear list before our hired cab would arrive at 2pm.  Of course the very first time in the history of foreign cab rides our taxi was early, the one day we probably could have used an extra 15 minutes to get our gear in order.

Route we climbed on Chimborazo

The ride up the winding dusty road to the lower hut was masked in cold dark fog, leaving Ecuador’s highest peak shrouded in secrecy.  At the old wooden gate a bundled up man signaled for us to get out.  The wind ripped the door open as we scurried over to the little hut.  Inside a single light bulb and the sound of a statickey old radio filled the room. We filled out our paperwork for climbing and paid the gentlemen the park entrance fees totally a mere $2 per person!  Our cab continued to rattle along the dusty road as our incredibly knowledgable driver pointed at everything he could see through the fog.  He even drew us a map of the route we should take on the back of a napkin, if that doesn’t instill a thought of confidence I don’t know what does.  I mentally kept imagining Ben and I standing on a ridge at twenty-thousand feet arguing over who was holding the napkin map and which pocket we had put it in.

Photo title "Burro Battle" Local man trying to tame the stubborn burro

A sheep herder watches after her flock on the flanks of Chimborazo

The dust swirled amongst the fog working itself deep into our pile of gear that had just been left in a foreign looking moonscape.  We decided to spend the first night at the lower hut to give our bodies one more day of rest and acclimatization.  Ben and I spent the evening sipping tea around an old fireplace chatting to a man from Switzerland who had spent some time working in Wisconsin and Minnesota for a farm equipment company.  The long day of bus transfers, cabs & frantic gear sorting would have sent most people to bed early.  Yet for me when you know that you are in place you may never return to and it seems so spectacular I can’t help but want to explore as much as I can.  So I grabbed my camera and headed out around 11pm to head up the ridge.  As the rock on the rope that weighted the door rose the moon light spilled across the old wooden floor of the hut.  The sky had cleared and the moon was casting shadows across the desolate landscape.  I spent several hours exploring the ridge and taking in the size of Chimborazo in the glowing moonlight knowing that the following night I would have my shadow cast upon her great ridge of volcanic red rock.

Star Trails behind Chimborazo with a full moon rising on the right

Night exposure of Chimborazo with clouds racing over the summit

That morning we took our time gathering our gear and making our way to the upper hut, which would become our launching point later that evening.  Upon arrival around lunch time we began hydrating ourselves until we ran clear.  We also ramped up our calorie intake in anticipation of the climb.  With our last minute gear checks complete we lounged in the warm sun inspecting what we could of our route.  After awhile I began to wander from camp looking for the wildlife that was making the interesting calls we could hear from camp.  With some patience and crawling behind rocks I managed to get close enough to the pack of Vicuna.  They are basically a smaller alpaca that lives at altitudes as high as 17,000′ feet.  These particular ones that I photographed were located on the ridge to the east of camp at about 16,500′.

Vicuna at 16,500' on Chimborazo

Ben boiled some water and we made another bag of freeze dried food for an early dinner as we awaited nightfall.  From camp we could here the rocks crashing down the section known as “El Corridor”.  Neither of us actually slept that afternoon.  It was more of a kindergarten nap time where no one really sleeps because as soon as you get comfortable you need to use the bathroom which in our case was outside.  Then when you finally get comfortable you are all of a sudden hungry.  As soon as you eat something you wake up thirsty and worry that you are getting dehydrated before the climb.  Next thing you know you are standing outside using the bathroom again.  This vicious cycle works its way over and over until it’s time to actually climb.  For us that time was 11pm.

With the moon high above our heads we left our headlamps off chasing our shadows that the full moon cast on the eerie red volcanic rock of Chimborazo.  The first mile was pretty easy following a dried creek bed to the base of the steep slopes and saddle we needed to gain.  As we began lifting our legs higher we both know that we were entering the “El Corridor” section.  Our boots had difficulty getting purchase on the frozen scree.  Despite the cold and seemingly frozen slope, the golfball to bowling ball sized rocks kept whizzing past making a distinct zipping noise as they attempted to reach terminal velocity.  At this point we decided to spread apart in the most active areas and go one at a time while the other watched the slope above.  Sure enough a baseball came sailing down buzzing Ben like fighter pilot showing off his skills.  Gaining the ridge at the toe of the glacier was a big relief.  It was here that the only other two climbers on the mountain caught up to us as I shot some photos on the ridge.

Ice falls in "El Corridor"

A 60 second exposure on the saddle between the glacier and "El Corridor"

The wind ripped across the saddle blinding our eyes with tiny bits of volcanic dust.  We continued with our hand held covering our right temple to try and shelter the wind.  Reaching the toe of the glacier was a huge relief for our eyes.  With our harnesses already on we quickly tied a New Zealand coil between us and began to make progress up the glacier.  The moonlight was reflected even brighter on the snow of the glacier.  Navigating through the maze of small cracks and crevasses was a far easier task in the clear moonlight than it had been on Cotopaxi during the ice storm.  We climbed for several hours taking mandatory breaks to drink, eat and swing leads.  We ran into the group ahead of us again just as they were descending the first lower summit, Cumbre Veintimilla, which was their groups high point.  After a brief exchange and clouds beginning to roll in we decided to make a push for the true summit, Cumbre Whympher.  An additional 40 minutes of climbing led us to the final wall of the Whympher summit.  Every couple of steps at nearly 21,000′ feet required a pause and breath.  We felt good at this altitude with no signs of any altitude related sickness.  We watched the sun rise just as we topped out on Cumbre Whympher.  Unfortunately it was one of the most lack luster sun rises of the trip.  Regardless the view and feeling of standing atop Ecuador’s highest peak was phenomenal and an experience I will never forget.

Ben picking his way through the penitentes on Chimborazo

Ben Standing atop the El Cumbre Whympher aka the true summit

In fitting style the short video of me on the summit turned out blurry.  Lets just say that our brains are not exactly 100% at this altitude.

Weston high on the glacial ridge of Chimborazo

After summiting the sun became intensified lending to our concerns of recrossing the “El Corridor” area any later than we absolutely had to.  Despite going down hill it seemed to be nearly as much work as going up hill with our tired legs and softening snow.  We swung leads increasing the our mandatory stops to 5 minutes for every 30 minutes of descending in order to ensure that we stayed hydrated and kept our stomachs happy.  Even with this their is only so many clif bars and goo shots with caffeine one man can consume in a day.  As we removed the rope at the toe of the glacier we could already hear the rocks hurling through “El Corridor”.  In the best interest of our noggins we both agreed to neglect our stomachs for the hour as we navigated the final pitches.  Watching out for one another we nearly jogged some sections of the corridor.  Our boots sank deep in the reddish mud that had been solid ice only hours before.  As the ground began to level we smiled and knew that we had made it, although we held off on a celebratory photo until our packs lay on the ground at the hut.  Upon arrival at the hut is was high fives and congratulatory hug.  We both deeply wished that Jordan could have joined us on our final peak in Ecuador.  Although both Ben and I had a very similar experience when in Peru, it was in Peru in which I did not make it to bathroom in time for number 2…. something I hoped wouldn’t happen until sometime after age 80.  Either way we will be back for more in this beautiful country filled with generous people whose smile was infectious.

Ben and Weston after climbing 20,730' Chimborazo of Ecuador

Looking back at Chimborazo

We shouldered our packs for one more time to hike back down the trail.  Thankfully our cab driver we had arranged for was sitting there waiting for us.  He crammed our packs into the trunk.  The engine sputtered and was soon rattling its way back down the mountain side.  Back in town the three of us went out for dinner and celebrated our incredible trip over a few beers.  Upon our return to our hostel we watched a fiery sunset set behind Chimborazo.  It was a bitter sweet ending to our trip.  South America remains my favorite place to travel and is one of the few places I could move to and spend several years exploring.  Ecuador was a great country filled with some of the most generous people I have ever met.

Fiery sunset on Chimborazo as seen from Riobamba

Photo Essay &  a short break from Climbing Trip Reports

With some time to burn and the weather outlook being 50/50 for our final peak, Chimbarazo, it was time to hit the hot springs of Banos.  The photos will tell the rest with the exception of a short paragraph on letting 3 gringos loose in rural Ecuador driving rented mini dune buggies.

To celebrate the success of our first 3 peaks we took a break in Banos & went out for dinner and drinks.  Unfortunately Jordan got a bad taco and ended up on the Bano in Banos.  For the next three days Jordan would battle a stomach bug with full courses of medication and some disgusting rehydration salts to try and get back on course for our final peak.

Nothing like a 2 hour bus ride turning into 5 hours courtesy of a land slide only a couple miles from our final destination

Jordan riding with the gear on our way to Banos

Banos sits on the shoulder of the active volcano Tungurahua 16,480'

This is what we came for, climbing these smoking mountains

Ben sipping on a fresh cracked coconut

Interesting plants that grow in massive clusters

The city of Banos

An old Land Rover that has seen better days on the streets of Banos Ecuador

 What happens when you give a couple cowboys from Colorado more than one horse?  

During our down time in Banos we decided to rent some of these “street legal” dune buggies.  For around $5 an hour including gas we found ourselves tearing around the rural Ecuadorian hillsides.  These dune buggies were a bit slow for our liking going up hill, but on the flats or going down hill we could go around 40-45 miles per hour.  In the open cockpit it was a frenzy of flying dirt and splashing puddles from who ever was in front.  Jordan seemed to have a slightly higher performance machine which he took full advantage of whipping huge donuts and blasting down the rocky slopes.

Our tour took us high up the hillsides through green pastures and waterfalls around every corner pouring through the soupy mix of clouds.  As cowboys will be cowboys on the open road,  a bit of friendly racing soon ensued.  Our buggies suspension rattled and strained as we forced it to its limit around the tight corners.  Our faces covered in mud from spraying one another and avoiding the dry sections.  The motor roared to life in my buggy inching me closer as I buzzed the back of Jordan’s Blue Beast.  I dipped right and snuck past on the inside corner briefly exchanging a glance with Jordan.  He stayed hot on my tail buzzing me through the next corner and probably would have reclaimed his position in front except for the narrowing rough pathway we were on.  The next corner came as a surprise for both of us.

Taking up 110% of our already narrow road way was a beat up blue pickup truck filled with farming equipment.  The sound of the motor was immediately drowned out by the sound of gravel being thrown everywhere as the buggy’s locked up brakes skidded right into the home-made solid steel brush guard.  A split second later Jordan came skidding into my buggy sideways.  Ben managed to avoid the three car pileup by locking up the brakes and mowing a little bit of the brush alongside the road.  To our surprise our buggy’s motors were still running and the driver of the farm truck seemed just as surprised.  After a brief exchange of seeing if everyone was all right we got out of their faster than we had come in. We wanted to limit the opportunity for the police or anyone else for that matter, in extorting us for some gringo cash.

We returned our buggy’s hardly raising an eyebrow as they already had plenty of cosmetic problems before.  We figured from here on out we would stick with the climbing.

Team Photo - Ben and Weston standing, Jordan in the drivers seat

Racing along the back roads of Ecuador

Rural back roads near Banos Ecuador

Huge waterfalls in rural Ecuador

Jordan ripping donuts in the Blue Beast Buggy

With the weather seemingly in our favor we wasted no time in our return from Illiniza.  To warm up from our cold showers we celebrated with a couple bottles of ice cold beer.  Every piece of gear was removed from our packs and inspected, inventoried, and separated into piles.  Each pile represented a meal or equipment for a specific portion of our next climb and was divided equally by weight amongst our packs.  The remainder of the evening was spent looking at maps discussing strategy and possible scenarios we might encounter over the following days.  Part of our adventure in Ecuador was being our own guides, porters and translators. Every minor detail is left up to us which in turn can make transporting 500lbs of gear from climb to climb without incident a successful and rewarding day.

After asking around we caught wind that the large hut located on the northern flank of Cotopaxi was pretty full.  We opted to bring our tent instead and hike above the hut closer to the start of the glacier.  Turns out we made the right call as the hut was over flowing with other climbers as we passed it, although the three of us in our tent is also technically over flowing.  At least in our tent you know who to yell at when you get a foot in the face.  As to be expected in South America our ride to the mountain was late.  With the late ride we were just barely able to establish camp in the fierce winds in time for dark further.  The winds wrecked havoc on our tents guylines because we couldn’t find rocks heavy enough to secure the load.  We were surrounded by basketball sized chunks of lava rock weighing almost nothing.  It was more akin to a Hollywood movie set.  We could throw a basketball sized “heavy” rock for thirty feet.  It took nearly 100′ of guyline to secure our tent to the side of Cotopaxi.

Ben on the approach to camp

100' of guyline and our tent was secured to the side of Cotopaxi

The tent shuttered violently with the sound of small rocks and accelerated dust particles slamming into us.  The three of use crammed into the tent in an attempt to get comfortable and catch a few hours of sleep before our midnight start time.  Soon we realized that sleep would only be something we dreamed of.  I gave up first grabbing my camera to try and capture a few night shots despite the wind.  Jordan seemed the most comfortable and quite, if you could even call it that.  Ben seemed right at home as he always seems to be on big mountains.  Either that or he had snuck a bag of beef jerky into his sleeping bag again.  He usually avoids eating the loud and crunchy pub mix as not to attract the attention of the others in the tent who might be looking to infringe on his share.

Our tent holding steady as clouds rip across the summit of Cotopaxi

The lights of Quito reflected in the low clouds as seen from camp on Cotopaxi

Their was no need for an alarm clock for our midnight start.  Sleep never came, only a brief chance to lay down. This was made more uncomfortable either because of the altitude or the fact that I might have been laying slightly down hill.  The stove roared to life turning the dirty unleaded gasoline from Quito into piping hot cups of tea and meals in a bag.  We tucked our hot bags of food into our jackets to let them “cook”.  The warmth radiated against our stomach as we did our final double checks on equipment.  The stars would come and go overhead as our equipment clanged loudly on our harnesses in the wind.  We climbed with our heads hung low avoiding as much of the dust laden wind as possible.  The visibility worsened at toe of the glacier as we stopped to don crampons and rope up.

Weston and Jordan Winters part way up Cotopaxi at 2 am, the weather would get worse before it got better

The bottom portion of the glacier was a rat race with the other climbing teams.  Our objective was to be ahead of most of the 80 or so other people (we found out how many started at the hut the following day) before the route narrowed into the labyrinth of crevasses towering glaciers and seracs.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to shoot nearly as many photos as I had hoped in the more exciting parts of the route due to the weather.  The weather had turned into a wind hammering ice storm.  The ice would cling to anything in sight, building up to an inch thick on much of our equipment rendering some of it useless.  Our jackets, packs and faces became weighted with the heavy ice buildup.  Each time we stopped for a snack and water we would crack off as much ice as possible from each others equipment to lessen our work load at nearly 19,000′.

Route finding in the labyrinth of glaciers on Cotopaxi

Worthless gear from an ice storm on Cotopaxi

The sun rose but we never actually saw it.  The clouds engulfed us in a pink hue as the wind kept up its relentless push.  With first light we soon realized that only one set of tracks was ahead of us, a team of two just beyond our sight.  Our efforts down low had paid off giving us quick passage through the bottleneck areas of the route.  We climbed higher above the clouds giving us a surreal feeling of being high above everything else around us.

Jordan catching the first rays of sunlight at nearly 19,000' on Cotopaxi

Ben high above the clouds

Just below the summit of Cotopaxi

Ben covered in ice on cotopaxi

The summit had been much anticipated by all of us as it sits on the rim of a smoking volcano.  Unfortunately the clouds obscured our view but the excitement of making the summit overshadowed the weather on this day.  We spent about twenty minutes on top exchanging photos and had shakes before preparing ourselves for our descent.

Team Cabelleros de Colorado on the summit of 19,347' Cotopaxi

Weston celebrating on the summit of Cotopaxi

Our descent was tiring and complicated by heavy cloud cover.  At times we had to rely on finding our next bamboo wand with neon orange tape to safely navigate through the heavily crevassed areas.  Our somewhat slow descent was then compounded by the lower slopes becoming soft.  The final pitches felt like we were hiking on sand.  The only upside of the softened snow, a mile long glissade on the apron until we hit the dirt path leading back to our camp.  The only casualty was Ben’s rear end that seems to always be a magnet for hidden rocks during glissades.

Upon return to camp I was overwhelmed with contradicting feelings.  I was starving yet felt like I wanted to vomit.  I wanted to sleep yet I could not get comfortable until the my starvation/vomit feelings had been resolved.  Everything was also complicated by the fact that we still had to pack up camp, hike out & find a ride all before the park gates closed.  In the end food & water seemed to be the cure all.  I laid in my sleeping bag on a rock eating snickers bars & pub mix until my belly could handle no more.  As my jaw grew sore from my feverish pace of consumption sleep finally won out.  A short 30 minute snooze and it was time to finish what we had started.  We packed up camp and hustled down the trail back to the end of the road in search of a ride.  Lucky for us a man in a white pickup had room in the back.  A true adventure always incorporates riding the back of a vehicle off-road and following local driving customs rather than laws.

Weston and Ben hitching a 2 hour ride back to our hostel (Photo Jordan Winters)

Still starving I asked our driver if he had a favorite restaurant along the Pan American Highway.  He replied that his favorite was the Illiniza Restaurant.  I then asked him if he would take us there, in exchange we would buy him dinner.  He could hardly believe what he was hearing.  Before we knew it we were walking into the equivalent of a Wisconsin supper club packed to the brim with locals for Sunday dinner.  Needless to say we got some looks.  Three haggard looking gringo climbers still wearing our outerwear accompanied by our taxi driver.  We enjoyed a local three course meal including a fantastic appetizer of corn and cheese, both of which came from the land behind the restaurant.  By the time we returned to our hostel we had been up for about 42 hours staright and had successfully climbed Cotopaxi at 19,347′, needless to say celebration would have to wait.

With 3 of 4 objectives completed and not a single weather day used we had some extra time to explore and give Ben’s rump a rest.  It was time to hit the hot springs of Banos along with an unexpected adventure of three competitive guys driving rental buggies at high speeds on Ecuadors rural mountain roads.

Ecuador – Part Two – Illiniza Sur

Our first real test of the trip… was figuring out how to fit all of our bags into the taxi cab over to the bus terminal.  Much to the delight of the hostel owners and cab driver they watched as we played tetris with bags, including Ben and Weston in the backseat.  Based on a series of sounds while going over large bumps I deducted that the rear wheels of the vehicle were rubbing against the wheel well somewhere very close to my lower back.  Jordan got shotgun and took the liberty of narrating anything interesting that we passed by.  We hopped an 80 cent bus ride headed towards Latacunga and El Chaupi.  After some confusion the driver dropped us off alongside the Pan American Highway in what seemed like the middle of nowhere.  Before we could even get the map out, a rusted out diesel fuming bus came to a screeching stop just long enough for us to get one foot in the door.  The driver took us the remaining way to El Chaupi which would become our gear storage and home for the next week as we set out to climb Illiniza Sur and Cotopaxi.

El Chaupi - the front yard across from the Hostel

El Chaupi is a quiet little town known for it’s milk cows and farms.  This one- road- town took little more than a scan with the eyes to explore the entire town.  The school was across the street, the general store two doors down, and the police station just beyond that.  We were the only ones at the hostel which was nice as we could sort gear and spread out for the evening.  The following morning I can’t remember if it was the rooster that I awoke to or the sound of Ben threatening to kill the rooster.  Either way we were off to gain the hut for our attempt at Illiniza Sur.

Clouds literally rolling over the hills

We hired a four wheel drive truck to take us to the trailhead for the hut.  After much discussion with the driver we arranged for him to come pick us up the following afternoon.  The hiking was a sandy and dusty affair with low clouds engulfing us at times then disappearing to clear skies moments later.  At one point we looked down to the green valley below and a small rainbow appeared.  It was an odd sight to view a rainbow from above.

Looking down valley at the rainbow.

Jordan hiking past a rock carving along the trail up to the hut.

The hut was nestled up against the wall of Illiniza Norte helping to disperse the prevailing winds.  Freddie the hut keeper greeted us and showed us around his humble abode.  He told us the weather had been in an excellent pattern, clear mornings and stormy afternoons till sunset and that we should be set for our ascent.  Right on cue as the sun disappeared below the horizon the clouds began to part.

Sunset and clearing skis from the hut on Illiniza.

We laid in our bunks listening to the wind howl outside making mixed conversation with the Swiss climbers and Freddie.  One of the Swiss knew German and English.  Ben and I knew Spanish and English.  So every time the Swiss had a question it would start in German then one of them would ask us in English to ask Freddie in Spanish.  It was a round robin of international phone tag.  Freddie was eager to learn English.  He had a heavy bound book filled with blank sheets that other climbers would write down some sort of translation, for example writing one through ten in English so he could practice.  We taught Freddie and Freddie taught us.  We laid in our bunks listening to the wind howl outside making mixed conversation with the Swiss climbers and Freddie. Just as the hut became quiet and we said, “guten nacht”, “buenos noches” and “goodnight” I said something very humorous to Ben in Spanish.  We all laughed and Freddie could hardly contain himself.  The mood was light, spirits were high, and the sleep was deep despite the wind rattling the tin roof inches above some of the bunks.

Cotopaxi - Our next objective as seen from Illiniza Sur

The Cabelleros de Colorado (Cowboys of Colorado) were the first to begin climbing just after dawn.  The sky was deep blue and Cotopaxi slowly came into view like a full moon rising from the horizon.  As a team we felt great keeping a steady pace as the sun climbed above us.  We soon spotted the other teams making their way up the shoulder towards the more sustained face of the summit.

Ben taking a break on a shelf below the final face

Making quick work of the shoulder the hike soon began to turn into a scramble and some low grade rock climbing maneuvers.  In spots we watched as the loose rock would tumble down the side, careening off cliffs finally coming to rest in the heap of talus far below.  The route became slower and more difficult the higher we got on the face.  To our surprise, what we thought was a false summit soon revealed otherwise, as we realized we were standing on the highest point around.

Jordan and Ben making it across the shoulder with the summit in view

Jordan inspecting the next task

Making the final push to the summit with Illiniza Norte and Cotopaxi in the background

Cabelloros de Colorado - Ben, Weston & Jordan sitting atop the summit of Illiniza Sur

The wind ripped across us as we snacked on crushed crackers and snicker bars, behind some of the summit blocks for protection.  Gazing out from our cinched hoods we enjoyed spectacular views of Cotopaxi and Illiniza Norte.  The clouds had filled in between us and Cotopaxi and it appeared as though we could walk across the cloud tops from peak to peak.  The Swiss soon joined us on the summit and we shook hands and exchanged photos enjoying the good weather and the first test of the trip.  Heading down we made far faster time than we had imagined, giving us a nice hot lunch break back at the hut before gathering our items and heading back to town.

Our next objective... Cotopaxi

Back down at trailhead we waited for our ride.  Nearly four hours passed before a man in a white truck pulled up.  He said he was part of the other driver’s family and that our original driver couldn’t make it, so he would give us a ride back to town.  Either way we were happy to be heading back for a hot shower and a home cooked meal.  The only problem was that the shower did not produce any hot water.  Instead it more closely resembled a torture device.  Seeing as I have a poor record of being electrocuted while abroad we all drew straws for who would go first.  Jordan ponied up and suffered through the cold shower like a champ avoiding both hypothermia and electrocution.   It was Ben who had the hardest go of it, sounding more like the rooster he had threatened to kill the morning before.

Waiting and waiting some more at the trailhead.

"The Shower" AKA the Hypothermic Electrocution Chamber

Ecuador

June 2011

El Caballeros de Colorado – Jordan Winters, Ben Lysdahl & Weston Bierma

With plane tickets fluctuating in price like the Dow Jones Industrial I took a flight down one night earlier than Jordan and Ben to save a couple hundred bucks.  A good friend of mine gave me and my nearly 200 pounds of equipment and food a lift to the Denver airport (thanks again Johnny Wisco).

Double checking my gear in the garage.

The flights were less than memorable nearly having to beg for a full can of Coke to keep my self semi coherent through my layover in Panama.  Thanks to the Coke I was able enjoy one of my favorite landings to this day.  Just moments after sunset our plane made a huge banking turn over the ocean revealing the hundreds of boats sitting in the bay awaiting their call to ascend the fish ladder through the Panama canal.  Silently adrift it was a city of lights on the bay.

Immediately upon exiting the plane my brow became heavy with sweat.  The sweat began to drip, possibly from the humidity or possibly from me frantically searching for my spanish.  At first I spoke slowly, drip by drip word by word, but quickly it all came back and before I knew it my spanish and the sweat was flowing simultaneously in Panama.

I found my connecting gate and settled into a seat before my short flight south to Quito.  My mind was well aware of the next the challenge, finding a cab in Quito at midnight.  The fog had become dense drifting right into the airport as gates opened and planes unloaded in Panama.  The fog left little to view upon take off.  The flight to Quito was short, landing in a sea of city lights. With my sunglasses on it was time to set foot outside the safety of the metal detectors.  Sunglasses on at nearly all times has become a travel staple for me.  It keeps cab drives on edge and pick pockets wondering where you are looking and best of all you feel like a rock star rather than a nervous gringo.

I grabbed my three bags of gear as if I was getting intimate with them, as I was determined not to loose any gear on day one, and flagged the first cab I saw.  The driver popped the trunk but I shut it and loaded up the back seat staying close to my packs filled with climbing gear, camera equipment, and spicy hot sauce to flavor the meals in the other bags.  Either I got lucky or the sunglasses worked, either way I ended up exactly where I asked to go at 1am in Quito.

Palm trees and white churches fill Quito's old town.

A couple sings and plays accordion in the Old Town streets of Quito

Sitting high above Quito on Panecillo hill is a 150 foot tall statue "Virgen de Quito"

Amor - Many local couples would climb the bell tower and gaze upon the "Virgen de Quito" together

Atop the bell tower downtown Quito

My head hit the pillow hard, but not for long.  Even a free breakfast in a country where breakfast is less than one US dollar will get me out of bed.  I filled my stomach and hit the road with my glasses on.  I explored Quito on foot from old town church’s to local ceviche joints I was enjoying picking up from where I had left off on my last trip, feeling oddly at home.  With a big soccer match for Ecuador that evening I decided to seek out a very local pub to enjoy the game.  I found myself sitting at the bar surrounded by locals cheering on every touch of the ball.

It was well after midnight when I made my way back to the hotel hoping to meet up with Ben and Jordan who had left the states earlier that morning.  Delayed.  In that case, time to call it a night and head to bed.  I awoke to the bed shaking as Ben and Jordan were yelling and shouting… the trip was under way.  We sat around eating some American snacks discussing each others flights and the local weather forecast.  We soon realized the time and hit the sack as we had planned a warm up peak for the next morning just outside of Quito.

Rucu Pichincha

Do I take pleasure in other peoples misery? Sometimes… when it is humorous and warranted.  In this case it was a younger American girl during breakfast at our hostel.  She wanted a bag lunch from our waitress, except she did not speak a single word of Spanish.  She become increasingly frustrated that no one understood her, complicated by the fact that the hostel did not have lunch, only breakfast.  We left our waitress a generous tip for our complimentary breakfast and could not believe the arrogance of our fellow citizen.

Off we went to our first mini adventure of the trip.  Quito’s urban sprawl creeps up the shoulder towards Rucu Pichincha leaving you with a helicopter view from the summit of the capital 6,000 feet below.  This was a perfect warm up getting our legs stretched and our lungs accustomed to the thin air.  We made quick work of the peak spending an hour on the summit gazing out at Cotopaxi, Illiniza, and Chimborazo… our objectives and adventures for the following week.

Ben in Quito with Cotopaxi in the window reflection

Jordan Winters hiking towards the summit of Rucu Pichincha 15,407'

Sitting high above Quito with Cotopaxi dominating the backdrop

All the way down I had one thing on my mind, ceviche.  We took a quick shower, dropped off some gear and picked up our fuel bottles before heading out for dinner.  We sat looking out on a square filled with great people watching sipping cerveza and devouring our first round of ceviche.  Afterwards we walked the downtown streets feeling refreshed and ready for the challenges ahead.  Our final objective was to get fuel for our stove.  A local filled me in that our fuel of choice, white gas, was illegal in much of the country as it is somehow boiled down and made into some sort of addictive drug concoction.  After much discussion we settled on unleaded gasoline with some particles floating around in it.  It’s all part of the adventure and now it’s time to come along on the ride to Latacunga and our first major peak, Illiniza Sur.

A typical central highlands ceviche with a tomato base

Ben helping fill up our fuel bottles with some dirty unleaded gasoline.

Ben sticking his head out of the bus window above one of my favorite city names in the world "Latacunga"