ECUADOR BLOG 2006 WELCOME TO ECUADOR Day 1: Monday June 5th written by Debby Davison Penny, Judy and Graham are part of the CADA delegation there for the send-off. We all get bags of goodies, including protien bars, jelly bellies, balloons and mint water. The flight to Los Angeles is uneventful. We fly from Los Angeles to Miami where we change planes to travel to Quito. The flight is delayed in leaving when we have to retrn to the gate to remove some luggage that was inadvertently placed on board out flight. The nearly 2 hour delay would prove to be highly unfortunate. By the time we arrive in Quito, fog has descended on the mountain city and our flight was diverted to the coastal city of Guayaquil. We are bused to the Hampton Inn or the Grand Hotel Guayaquil to spend the night. Day 2: Tuesday June 6th written by Debby Davison Day 3: Wednesday June 7th (continued by Susan Keller) The day is cloudy and overcast, as we fill our water bottles and camel-packs then board the bus to drive to our first climb. We travel an Ecuadorean "90 minutes", which has ended up being as short as 55 minutes and as long as 2 1/2 hours; we have learned to be flexible. Our destination is Laguna Cuicocha at the foot of Volcan Cotacachi. Our first glimpse from the trail around its rim is quite impressive: it´s an icy crater lake, 600 feet deep with steep sides plunging almost straight down into its depths. There are two islands in its center. separated by a narrow channel known as the Canal del Ensueno (Dream Canal). We begin what will prove to be a somewhat challenging trek around 3/4 of the lake; challenging not only because of the altitude, which will reach over 11,600 feet, but also because of the trail itself, which is narrow at times, with shear drops to the lake below, and which has many steps leading us up and down elevation changes. At the same time, we see exquisitely colored wild flowers, a variety of birds--including the largest humming birds any of us have ever observed, as well at several hawks--and views of the lake, which is often blanketed by fog. Reaching our destination, we are greeted by the makings of a wonderful picnic lunch, set up by our guides Natalia and Andres and our driver Julio with our eager help. Sandwiches never tasted so good! After lunch, we drive to Otavalo, and its Indian crafts and textile market
that is the most famous in Ecuador. The quantity and quality of the rugs,
sweaters, scarves and shawls--as well as jewelry and other souvenirs--is
overwhelming, all displayed at outdoor booths tended by the native people,
proudly dressed in their colorful costumes. Our visit is cut short by a
sudden, vigorous rainfall, which will prove to be the first of many we have
experienced in this, Ecuador´s "dry" season!
Upon returning to Hacienda Cusin, some of us dodge raindrops to visit the Day 4: Thursday June 8 Upon arriving, Fernando greeted us at the porch and our muddy boots were promptly collected to be dried and cleaned for us. In addition, he graciously offered to wash all or our wet and muddy clothes. The fireplaces were burning and the home was now ours for the next 2 days. An amazing dinner in the family dining room was served later with most of the meal having been grown or raised on the farm. It is hard to believe I am up at 9,200 in the Ecuadorian Andes with this group of amazing people. I feel so blessed to have this experience personally and to be able to help the kids in Santa Barbara at the same time. Thank you to all of you who are supporting this trip. You are making a difference. Day 5: Friday June 9th Take care, Day 6: Saturday June 10th written by Sherry Lafler Day 7: Sunday June 11th written by Tokie and Sally Day 8: Monday June 12th written by John Herzog After a nice trout or chicken lunch at the refuge, clouds hovered overhead and dumped a steady hail shower for more than 15 minutes. Cotopaxi, which was magnificent in the distance is completely cloud covered. The hikers spend tonight att he refuge - men in one room, women in the other. All thoughts are on preparing mentally for the ascent of Cotopaxi. Day 10: Wednesday June 14th - 9 a.m. through 10 p.m. written by Tokie Our mini hike today is a 3 hour mostly flat walk down valley from the refuge led by our awesome guides Juan and Ciello. Juan has a yellow balloon with a happy face painted on it tied to his backpack which sets the tone for a playful and enthusiastic trek. The valley floor we cross is covered with beautiful alpine grasses, wildflowers, and the occasional scattering of bones of animals long since passed. Meandering streams and rivers flow with ice cold glacial waters and at a few places we are helped across by Ciello. We stop after about 2 hours in a cozy spot for our picnic lunch of tuna sandwiches, snacks, and warm camaraderie. The scenery surrounding us is spectacular. Majestic Cotopaxi watches over us as do many other peaks and there are rolling hills in the foreground. Wild horses graze and gallop joyfully in the fields in the distance. Some of us stretch out on the grass with our packs as pillows to watch the clouds and the birds swirl overhead or… for a little siesta. I could stay here for hours. I will never forget the beauty of this magical place that we trekked today and I will come back here many times in my thoughts in the years to come. All too soon it is time to head back and a leisurely stroll along the stream takes us back to the refuge. The majority of the afternoon we spend organizing, checking, and packing up our gear, working with our climbing teams and guides. We have 5 wonderful and expert guides that will be taking us up the mountain. There will be 2 or 3 of us roped together per guide. We head to dinner at 5:30 p.m. and most of us are in bed by 7 p.m. to be ready for our 10 p.m. wake up call. We are tired, excited, and not surprisingly there is nervous anticipation of our upcoming close encounter with our new friend - Cotopaxi. Onward, Day 10, June 14 (Wednesday) from 10:00 pm - Day 11, June 15 (Thursday) noon by Eliane Alexandre It’s midnight, we start to climb the volcano with the head guide, Aime, who is making a good pace-we don’t stop. Then we have a quick stop at the Refugio Rivas, 15,750 ft. At 1:00 am we are at the base of the Cotopaxi glacier. We carefully put on our crampons and attach the ice axes to the harness and Sally and I get roped in with our guide Mauricio. Three other teams are getting ready as well with a guide for each one. Time to negotiate the entrance of the glacier with a crevasse that is not very easy. The three of us step on the ice with our crampons and ice axes. Mauricio makes it easier with a steady slow pace, going up in the middle of the night with the full moon. The view of the city lights of Quito gives the dimension of the Cotopaxi volcano--how high we are and how small we are against this giant mountain! It is so magical. The night is so clear that I turn off my headlamp. We go over crevasses, still no fatigue. I feel good. Then we meet climbers who decided to turn back. We keep going up and more climbers are going down. The wind picks up and soon I realize that we are now only two teams going up: Patty and Natalia with Juan, and Sally and I with Mauricio. We are putting our lives in the hand of our competent guides. It’s now 5 a.m. and I feel good, light with great energy. I am enjoying every step on the way up. I am singing and screaming my lungs out! The wind is getting stronger as we get higher. When we stop, my body chills, even with the warm gear, but it is okay. The problem is my hands--they feel frozen. I cannot reach for my camera to take pictures because my fingers have lost sensitivity. I go to take a drink of water and my water is frozen. With the slow pace, I don’t feel any fatigue yet. The sunrise appears and it’s beautiful! We are over the clouds and can see other mountain peaks. I feel like a bird. I keep singing. I am determined to meet the other team on the summit, but our guide says 20 minutes more and then we have to turn around. On a 40% slope, with 60 mile/hour winds and the sunrays hitting the ice, it makes the surface of the glacier very shiny. It’s beautiful but getting dangerous. The snow is getting soft very fast and a crust of two inches detaches from the glacier. Wearing the goggles, my left eye is blurry. I keep cleaning the goggles but with no result. Then I knew my eye has been damaged during the night from the extreme winds. Now I have only one eye to see the face of the mountain, but I’m still happy. It’s 7:30 a.m. and we are on the ridge and see Patty Bryant and her team coming down. With only about 1,000 feet more to the summit, we all decide to turn back. It’s too dangerous to continue. I am very frustrated being so close to the summit, not tired, yet forced to head down. Patty reminded me that safety comes first and that it’s about the journey not the destination. So it’s time to get down now and I start to run, forgetting about being roped with two other people. The sun gets brighter and it gets a little warmer. I could start to move my fingers and reach for my camera out of my jacket. The way down is relaxing with so much beauty all around us--the scenery is unbelievable! The crevasses are much bigger in the daylight than when we crossed them at night. There’s more wind now and the clouds are moving in. I start to shoot pictures. This is the most challenging climb I have ever done-from the Refugio, 12,300 ft. to about 18,948 ft. For whatever reason, my mind and body were up to it and I feel very lucky. During this journey, I thought a lot about the kids back home who are also facing great challenges and climbing their own mountains to rise above drug and alcohol abuse. I felt very privileged to join the Summit for Danny teams on this wonderful adventure in support of these kids. The support from my friends in Santa Barbara and their generous donations will make a difference in the lives of our youth and give these kids and their families the programs and services needed to succeed in their fight against drugs and alcohol abuse and have a better life. Day 10-11: Wednesday June 14th, 10 p.m. through June 15th 12 noon written by Patty Bryant Our guide Juan, was a very fast hiker and we caught up with the rest of our group at the glacier. It was nice to see the team but it was apparent that this climb was beyond our ability level. I was glad for our group, we had talked previously about not focusing solely on reaching the summit but enjoying the journey. The reason we were here is for the kids back home who had their own struggles. At the glacier we put on our crampons, attach our ice ax to our harness and get roped in. We have almost a full moon so we turn our headlamps off. We are at about 16,000 feet and the city lights of Quito are beautiful. There is something magical about hiking in such rugged mountains in the middle of the night. We are all grateful for such competent guides. We literally put our lives in their hands. The route to the summit has been changed so we have to criss-cross the mountain on very steep slopes. When you use crampons it is very important to put all 12 points in the snow. Doing this on a steep slope is Chinese water torture for someone with bad knees. I thought of all the people in our group with knee problems. The glacier was much more challenging than anyone expected. Jumping the crevasses was not bad in the dark, after the sun rose is another story as you could see how deep they ran. I asked Juan if it was common for people to fall on the glacier. He enthusiastically said “Oh yes, all the time.” I asked “How far?” to which he replied “Oh, maybe 3-4 meters.” I thought to myself, “I hope someone who has practiced an ice ax self arrest can figure it out before they slide into oblivion.” Several of our team have turned back. I finally tell Bob that he should. Also the slope angle is killing his knees. We are near the group so Bob suggests we all turn back. The mountain was beyond our skill level and he was worried for the safety of the group. Most of the climbers agreed to turn back at that point. I chose to keep going. I really wanted someone from our group to reach the summit. I continued my slow approach to the summit. Our plan was to walk ½ hour, drink, walk another ½ hour, drink and eat. My pack was heavy and I regretted bringing so much food and water. I came upon Bob Foster and Richard Kelliher and was glad they were still climbing. The slope was getting steeper and I started to feel the altitude. My new plan was to walk 25 steps, stop, breathe 5 breaths. My muscles were sore. You use very different muscles side stepping up a mountain with crampons and an ice ax. Each step you have to secure the ice ax or you may be using the self arrest movement. I am grateful each time we change directions as I can switch the ice ax to the other hand to rest the one that was being used. I look back and I no longer see Bob Foster and Richard Kelliher. I figure they must have turned back also. My resolve is even stronger to reach the summit. The sun is coming up and I hope it gets a little warmer. I’m wearing all my warm clothes and I’m still chilled. It is very windy. Our goal was to be at the summit by 7 a.m. When you climb on a glacier, you need to be off the glacier before the snow gets too soft. Seeing the sunrise was beautiful but I knew we were behind schedule. The wind was growing stronger and Juan was getting worried. He tried to pick up the pace but I kept saying, “slower please.” Finally we got to a very steep section. Even though it was very difficult, my spirits lightened. I thought this must be the famed wall. When you reach the wall, you have an hour to the summit. Soon Juan says, “We go back. We’re too slow and weather is bad.” I tell him I can go faster. We decide to continue. We take a small break to eat and drink. Only our 2nd or 3rd break. I share my water with Juan and Natalia because theirs are both frozen. We are all dehydrated, but it is too steep to stop. I keep waiting for the flat section Juan spoke of, by now I figure it must be on the summit. The wind picks up as we gain altitude and Juan wants to turn back. I convince him to try for just a little longer to see what the weather will do and he agrees. Finally we turn a corner and I see the infamous wall. It is supposed to be a 45-degree slope, but it looks straight up and down. There is a group of 3 climbers on the wall. Later Juan tells me it is a very technical climb. I see the flat section Juan had spoken of. Once I climb this last steep section, I will be there. We can drink and eat then. The wind is even stronger now. I take 1 step forward and it blows me back 3. The snow is softening from the sun and I hope our way down is safe. I don’t want the snow to soften around the edges of the crevasse because it would be easy to fall in. Juan says that we should go back. I ask him if it would be unsafe to keep going and he says yes. There is too much wind and the snow is softening. My heart sinks, but just for a moment. The surrounding beauty is incredible. Juan points out all the surrounding peaks. I think to myself, “I’ll be back.” I didn’t want to think about the trip down. I don’t like heights. I try to focus just on the tracks ahead. Off in the distance I see another group of climbers. I say to Juan, “if they can go, can’t I try?” He says it is not safe and I respect his judgment. The mountains are unforgiving and more people die on their way down. The snow may be OK to reach the summit but would not be safe for the descent. We reach the other climbers and I can’t believe Sally Arnold and Eliane Alexander were still climbing. We’re happy to see each other and agree to all go back. I tripped and fell a few times and slid 1-2 feet, just enough to practice ice ax arrest. I heard later that another team member fell 10 feet before the group stopped him. Your life really does depend on the people you are roped in with. I was glad to get to solid ground and take my crampons off. I walked down to a smooth rock and waited for the other climbers. I looked out over the valley with the mountain peaks on either side and thought “Ecuador is a magical place. I’ll be back." Day 11: Thursday June 15th written by Sally Arnold For me it was a hard struggle going up and down the mountain. I just kept telling myself that I had to keep going – the path was not easy and it was not meant to be easy – the same as it is not easy for our youth to climb up and away from alcohol and drug abuse ---and these thoughts kept me going up the mountain. The trek down the mountain was also difficult, however, the surrounding awesome view points, high above the clouds, made it all very worthwhile. Once we reached the parking lot we were transported back to the Tambopaxi Refugio where we welcomed a delicious hot lunch and then onto the bus for a rather bumpy ride back to the Swissôtel in Quito where we had our final dinner. Warmly submitted, ;-) Day 11: Thursday June 15th written by Sally Arnold Until next time, Day 11: Thursday June 15th Cotopaxi Summit Attempt They were bused back to Quito for a good night's sleep and will board a flight back to Santa Barbara tomorrow, arriving at the local airport at 7PM
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