Trip Reports
The Ecuador team summited Cayambe early this morning! Cayambe is a beautiful (5.790 m/18,996 ft) peak in the Northern Ecuadorian Andes. They awoke early and left the hut in the dark climbing by headlamp this morning. We’ll post an audio dispatch when they check in this evening!
Dennis called to check in from the Nov. 28 Mountain Trip Aconcagua team. It sounds like everything is going great and we need to give our head guide for the Aconcagua program, Fermin, a big raise! They are in base camp today, and will climb up to Camp 1 tomorrow carrying a bit of gear,…
Our first Aconcagua team of the climbing season arrived at the Plaza Argentina Base Camp today, but unfortunately, the satellite phone connection was very poor and Jack Strickland’s message was largely unintelligible. They crossed the chilly Vacas River early in the morning and then hiked up the tributary Relinchos Valley. After some steep side hill…
A very poor connection prevented a lot of information from being relayed, but our Ecuador Volcanoes team of Alan Frankl and Phil McDonald just climbed two extinct volcanoes, Fuya Fuya (4.263 m/13,986 ft) and Imbabura(4.630 m/15,190 ft) as they acclimatize for an attempt on the third highest peak in the country, Cayambe. Pablo Puruncajas, a native…
Our guide Fermin called from the site of the team’s second camp on their hike into Base Camp on Aconcagua. This camp is called “Casa de Piedra” (House of Stone) for an old hut that had been erected out of (you guessed it!) stone, under a large boulder. The camp is located just above the…
Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America, and also holds the distinction of being the highest peak outside of Asia. Located on the border of Chile and Argentina, the second highest of the famed Seven Summits is a challenge that is accessible to many mountaineers. The mountain has many routes and the route we…
Vanessa called in after the team turned back from their attempt at climbing Chimborazo, the highest peak in Ecuador. She referenced conditions not feeling safe and what she was referring to was the amount and intensity of the rockfall hazard that threatens the lower part of the route. Not too long ago, there was a…
Vanessa called in from a very nice lodge on the flank of Ecuador’s highest mountain, Chimborazo. They drove up from the nearby city of Riobamba and spent today resting and acclimatizing before tonight’s attempt to climb Chimborazo. The plan is to start at about 10 pm this evening and climb through the night, so as…
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We had to look for another climb for today after our original objective, the volcano Cotopaxi, decided to erupt for the first time in more than 50 years. Luckily, Ecuador has many volcanoes to choose from, and we were able to shift gears and climb an extinct volcano, Corazon (15,600ft). It was a…