Conquering the Peaks of Ecuador!

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One would think after the Jungle adventure we were all adventured out however to those who know us that was not to be the end of it!!!

We decided to climb Coto Paxi one of the most famouse Volcanos in Ecuador reaching aheight of 5897m above sea level, tipped with glaciers and a touch of insanity in those who attempt to conquer this towering monstrosity.. however the decision was made and some prior preperation was required to ensure we even got a hundred meters.. to put this into perspective Mount Bulla village is around 1600m abouve sea level and at around 4500m your at cloud level and can sometimes level out with a passing aeroplane!

So we climbed Rucu Pichincha a basic climb close to Quito and then booked our three day adventure. In the first day climbed Illiniza Norde which peaked at 5200m above sea leavel and was a recommended must before attempting Coto Paxi. On the Saturday we reached base camp on Illiniza at approximately 1pm after a 3 hour hike which took us to 4600m which was mostly a straight forward uphill climb. We then continued on to summit which was slightly more techincal scaling rocky peaks and using ropes to ascend... but we made it and summited at around 3 pm.. one of the most exhilerating feelings to experience .. and a must do for anyone who can handle the effects of altitude.

On sunday we rose at 10am and started our Coto Paxi challenge... we got to base camp at around 12 at 4600m, after a climb of which 300m took one hour... a bitter sweet taste of what was to come...
We ate lunch and were fitted out with ski boots, crampons and an ice pick and were taken through the basics of ice climbing. at around 4pm we were tucked into bed with our alarms set from 12.30am as the ascent had to be done at night whilst the glaciers were hard enough to scale.
We woke up at 12.30am had some breakfast and trudged out into pitch black darkness below 0 degree temperatures and had to remind ourselves why on earth we were doing this.. (at this a point the answers were limited.. ¨iv paid now¨.. was one of the first that popped into mind!!) ..but off we went hoping I wasnt going to stab myself in the foot with my ice pick and crampons and that there were new batterries in my head torch which was the only thing guiding the way..
we had 8 hours to summit if not we would have to turn back otherwise the ice would be to soft to return on.

We began the ascent at 12.45. We reached the glacier at around 1:30am and put crampons on and started the ascent of which was on a 60degree angle the whole way... after 4 hours of climbing we made 5300m, our drinks had almost frozen over and unfortunately at this point I had to call it quits, the altitude and personal strength where taking its toll and I knew if i didnt turn back i wouldnt physically be able to make it down... great experince though and will definately try it again after a few more climbs and a bit more experince in ice climbing!!

The views on the climb of quito where breathtaking but unfortuantely some of the best pictures i couldnt capture for you all as it was to dark....

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Photos

Illiniza Norde
Coto Paxi in the distance could be seen whilst climbing Illiniza... talk about inspiration!!!