High Peaks in Ecuador
June 2007Ali Criscitiello on the summit of Cotopaxi.
Alison Criscitiello of Boston, Massachusetts, reports:
The string of volcanoes that winds across the highlands of Ecuador has drawn me for several years. Not knowing how I would perform at altitude, I had stayed away from such high peaks until now.
My first week was spent acclimatizing near Quito and climbing smaller peaks: Pasochoa, Guagua Pichincha, and Rucu Pichincha. Pasochoa’s lower slopes are home to rare cedars, hummingbirds, and orchids. The crater is large and opens to the west, with its 13,776-foot summit above. I live near sea level, so day one on Pasochoa was not as easy as I had hoped. After reaching the true summit, I pushed through the up and down of the other four peaks along the crater rim. The second one was vastly different than the first—a spire with jungle flora dropping off on all sides over 1,600 feet. The next day I hiked Guagua Pichincha and got to the top with even breath. Crosses near the 15,696-foot summit sit as a remembrance to those who have fallen into the crater. On one side of the crater rim sulfur and steam fill the air. On the windward side, only feet away, it was below freezing, icy, and windy. Pichincha’s second-highest peak, Rucu, offered another good climb on day three at 15,413 feet.
After a rest day I headed for the Ilinizas with my Italian climbing partner, Angelo Cimolato. We spent the night in Chaupi and got a 5 a.m. start the next morning. Though there is a rustic refuge on Iliniza, we opted to leave Chaupi early and do it in a day. We were back in town by 1 p.m., very happy to have made it to the top in unforgiving conditions—hard snow and no visibility. From the stormy 16,818-foot summit of Iliniza Norte, Iliniza Sur was nowhere to be seen. Several running belays were needed for the final few hundred feet.
We returned to Quito for a day and then headed to Cayambe. Unfortunately, we waited several days at the refuge for the bad weather to pass, but it did not. I shared the refuge those few long days with 18 firefighters who were waiting out the weather as well, hoping to do some training on the lower glacier. Conditions were terrible: well below freezing at the refuge, with hard snow that persisted for over a week. Knowing the avalanche danger would be too high for a summit attempt, we spent our last day on Cayambe ice climbing in the whiteout before taking the treacherous road back down through hail and snow.
The same snow that fell on Cayambe fell for much of the month of June on Cotopaxi and Chimborazo as well. I knew my best chance for a safe summit was Cotopaxi, so we left for Tambopaxi and stayed the night there. The staff (and the puro) were excellent at the hut. The following day, Angelo, our friend Edgar Vaca, and I hiked up to Jose Ribas Refuge at 15,729 feet to spend a few hours before a 1 a.m. departure. After ascending some rocky slopes, there are several 35-degree ice ramps to climb. I rested at the platform at around 17,000 feet, the first slope gentle enough to really take a break. From there, it was not far to the impressive Yanasacha, a 400-foot wall. After descending into the bergschrund, we climbed the 55-degree face to the crater rim. It was incredibly windy, as local climbers say it almost always is. Just as the sun rose around 6:30 a.m., we stood on the summit, looking down into the crater and on the clouds below, breathing heavily but feeling great. By 9 a.m. we had descended to the refuge and were off the ice, drinking hot chocolate, and accepting congratulations from the many teams who turned around that day.
Though bad weather and high avalanche danger made Cayambe and Chimborazo unclimbable during the weeks of my visit to Ecuador, I felt far from defeated. Summiting Cotopaxi and Iliniza Norte with no altitude issues has turned my thoughts, finally, to some of the highest peaks in the world. It still surprises me when I find myself to be the only woman on a mountain, which was the case on Iliniza Norte, Cayambe, and Cotopaxi. Having learned that I climb well at high altitude, I am excited to climb higher—to someday be another woman on top of the highest peaks in the world.
I would like to express my gratitude to the AAC for the Mountain Fellowship Fund Grant, and to EMS for its generous gear donations, without which the expedition would not have been possible.