Vulcan Cotopaxi

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Having enjoyed the climbing and acclimatizing on Volcan Carihuyrazo, I was ready and in need of another challenge. So it didn’t take a lot of arm twisting for me to sign up for the mountain that most people come to Ecuador for - the perfectly coned Volcan Cotopaxi. With the mountain’s peak at 5897m and even steeper than Carihuyrazo, the challenge was certainly a tall one. After a couple of days rest I set off, armed with a guide, for some 3 hrs by car to Parque Nacional Cotopaxi. We drove to the refugio at 4800m and spent the afternoon trekking around that and to the snowline for acclimatization. After an early dinner, it was early to bed in the freezing cold refugio... we were scheduled to start the climb at midnight. As the climb should take around six hours it’s necessary to start at midnight because, due to the power of the sun, the risk of avalanche on descent is a very real danger.
I didn’t get a lot of sleep mainly due to the blistering cold. Thermals and arctic sleeping bags didn’t have a lot of an effect on the perishing air. With nerves also running high it wasn’t the best of starts. We ended up setting off at just past one o’clock in the morning and trekked to the receding snowline at around 5050m. Donning crampons we started the climb. At this point anticipation was running very high, it would be a long, hard morning. As I’m not a mountaineer, or in good physical shape, the climb will be particularly hard. Walking in crampons is difficult enough for an amateur, climbing with crampons at altitude - well that’s a different ball game. Would I even make it? That was a question that I would keep asking myself!
As we started to ascend, behind us the lights of the country’s capital, Quito, sprawled in the distant valley. We found that all-important climbing rhythm and before I knew it we were at 5600m and the climber’s ridge. Here we took a short break, ate chocolate and drank the trusted coca tea. As the sun started to appear, it uncovered the last sections of the climb. The last 300m looked like hell on a Monday morning. ‘You’re a strong man Felipe’ was the motivational spiel offered from Paulo my guide while I was picking up my jaw from the floor. ‘No you’re strong, I’ve just got English spirit’. Never did I think I would ever hear myself say that.
We started our final ascent, fatigue was starting to niggle and the mountain became even steeper. I had to dig deeper and deeper, every breath harder and with every metre - less air. Now I was told that this is not a technical climb, you just need to dig deep. Yet I found myself at 5800m with a 15m ice wall to climb. Using the crampons and ice picks we scaled the late inclusion to the itinerary. As I lay exhausted at the top of the ‘wall’ the last 100m would require some real effort. For that last thirty minutes I had to search my soul - at the bottom of it, I found the summit of Cotopaxi and her perfectly shaped, still active creator, draped in snow. The panoramic view was indescribable with all of Ecuador’s ten peaks over 5000m visible. As the sun continued to rise, it projected Cotopaxi’s shadow over the valley below, displaying her perfectly formed coned shape. The feeling of achievement, adulation and ecstasy came flooding through my veins as I took in the 360˚ views, while the sizzling crater released wave after wave of simmering sulphuric steam. The climbers on Cotopaxi’s summit congratulated each other euphorically for a short period. An American charity climber scattered the ashes of his friend, who was claimed by prostate cancer - scenes that add to the mystic and wonder that seem to encapsulate these special places on this planet.
I managed to get to the summit in six and a half hours, which I was quite pleased with. I just had to get back down…
The descent was hard on my legs, I actually prefer to go up than down anyway and fatigue certainly didn’t help. I took my time and admired the snow formations on the edges of the volcan’s glaciers while having a good laugh with Paulo on the differences between Ecuador and England, well mainly football! The climb was an unforgettable experience - a personal achievement and also my hardest achievement. When I left England I didn’t think that I would be scaling 5900m. Now I find myself setting goals of 6000m!!
Full Volcan Cotopaxi Photos on Flickr

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