A heavyweight battle for the ages: In the red corner, the Colorado Comrades, the Sultans of the Second City, the Jobless Journeyers weighing in at a combined 270lbs: the McSeelye Squad. Yaaaa! Woooo! In the blue corner, the reigning champion, Ecuador´s second highest peak weighing in at a billion tons with a height of 19,350 feet: The active volcano Cotopaxi. Booooo! The battle begins: The parking lot alone is higher than our peaks at home at 4,500 meters (14,700 ft) and we climbed up to the refugio for the first night which is at 4,800 meters (15,750 ft). We hiked up to the glacier with our guide on Friday afternoon and messed around with the crampons and ice axes to get prepped for the climb the next day. At this point all was well and good.
... read more