Cotopaxi

Back at Latacunga I was toying with the idea of climbing a frozen volcano called Cotopaxi. Enduring a stomach bug since leaving Montanita and not having completed the recommended acclimatization days, left me unsure if I would go through with the climb. On one hand this was now my last opportunity to quickly climb a height above the boys 5,364m on Everest, having missed my opportunity to climb above 6,000 in La Paz, on the other hand it was quite expensive ($170 if two people or $260 solo). Given there is a 40% climbers failure rate and I was already sick, this still wasn't quite enough to deter me from bragging rights, finally.

Jess had just checked in to the hostel when I returned, also keen to climb in the morning we teamed up, guides only taking up a maximum of two people at a time. Setting off the next morning we picked up supplies and made our way to the base camp at 4,800m which included an hours hike up from the carpark. It turns out around 30 special forces members were going to be climbing the same morning as part o their rescue training, definitely a reassuring feeling should anything serious happen on the volcano.

The idea is to set off in the night to arrive for a magnificent sunrise, so at midnight we loaded up on carbs and ventured out in to the darkness to begin the climb. After an hours walking we stopped at the edge of the ice to strap on crampons (the same things I used for my glacier hike in Patagonia), pull out our ice axes and tie a rope between the three of us. It was quite a surreal feeling as we ascended up a section that was void of any wind under a starry nights sky, the little headlamps of climbers floated upwards in the eerie landscape. Apart from the special forces team, 4 other guides were leading people up the mountain.

This volcano is not to be taken light-heartidly, even without the state my stomach was in, I would still say this is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. You just need to push forward for hours on end (usually 6 - 7 hours to summit), it was freezing cold too which meant stopping was only going to make you more tired and cold anyway. Apparently they are going to change the restrictions so that less experienced climbers will no longer be able to tackle this one.

Whilst climbing in pairs makes this exercise a little cheaper, if one should get sick along the way, both climbers need to come down. Jess and I had discussed this and were both willing to push as hard as our body's could handle, not wanting to let each other down. Towards the last 400m ascent while the light was beginning to touch the horizon, the going really got tough, some of the snow sections ended up quite deep and we were having to pause every few steps to get our breath back to continue. After what felt like an eternity we clambered on to the summit, collapsing in ecstasy for making the top, even though it was a complete white out, we were extremely satisfied with the achievement(although seeing some mates photos of the crater does make me jealous).

On the way down the clouds decided to subside a little, giving way to a magnificent view down the volcano and out towards Quito. The morning showed a more detailed panorama of the landscape we had covered, it was a spectacular sight which gave us the inspiration we needed to push on until the end.