Forum Index > Trip Reports > Peakbagging Ecuador - Dec 2022
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Gimpilator
infinity/21M



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics
Location: Edmonds, WA
Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostSat Feb 04, 2023 8:12 am 
Went with Steven to do some peaks in Ecuador. I did most of the planning for this trip, so it’s a little surprising it turned out to be so successful. 22 peaks. We would have done Cotopaxi, but it was erupting. We would have done Antisana, but the day we had it scheduled, Steven had a freak medical situation which required an overnight stay in the hospital. We will climb Cotopaxi and Cotocachi, next time... Panecillo - 9895' Ungüi - 11,739’ Cerro Sincholagua - 10,951’ Cerro La Marca - 10,085’ Atacazo - 14,623’ Volcán Pichincha - 15,696’ Volcán Pichincha Ruku - 15,354’ Volcán Cayambe - 18,996’ Volcán Iliniza - 17,195’ Volcán Iliniza Pico Norte - 16,831’ Colina Guangüiltagua - 9843’ Pasochoa - 13,776’ Pico Veintimilla - 20,433’ Volcán Chimborazo – 20,561’ (17th most prominent on earth) Cerro Cusin - 13,163’ El Lechero – 9265’ Volcán Imbabura - 15,161’ Fuya Fuya - 14,039’ Fuya Fuya East Peak - 13,986’ Cerro Negro - 13,986’ Volcán Tungurahua - 16,480’ Cerro Ilalo - 10,479’ I arrived a few days before Steven, for extra acclimatization, culture and the pre-Columbian museums.
Tajumulco and Tacaná in Guatemala (climbed in 2017)
Tajumulco and Tacaná in Guatemala (climbed in 2017)
12-10-22 Panecillo – 9895' A small hill downtown Quito. I think the name means sugarloaf.
Paneciillo
Paneciillo
12-11 Ungüi – 11,739’ Short easy hike, accessible by taxi.
12-12 Cerro Sincholagua – 10,951’ Steven found some good little volcanoes for us to start with. Not to be confused with the other larger Sincholagua. There was a nice lady at the trailhead with two dogs. The one not on a leash bit my leg, eventually leaving a huge scar. Online resources claim rabies rates in Ecuador are near zero, so no subsequent action taken.
dog lady
dog lady
Cerro La Marca - 10,085’
12-13 Atacazo – 14,623’ Mostly a drive up (taxi), but very scenic.
Pichincha
Pichincha
12-14 Volcán Pichincha – 15,696’ We drove to the hut in a hired truck. Weather was deteriorating, even in the early morning, so we rushed to the summit. Some difficult scramble moves near the top were pretty sketchy with rime ice.
12-15 Volcán Pichincha Ruku – 15,354’ Nice hike from the cable lift station.
summit
summit
soaring above Quito
soaring above Quito
12-16,17 Volcán Cayambe – 18,996’ We used Lonely Summits company for all the glacier routes. Seems like guides are now required for foreigners in the national parks.
crevasse
crevasse
The weather on summit day morning was not great, with light rain and much clouds. In the dark, on the glacier, there was a loud whooshing like a big eagle flying right over my head, followed by a strange vibration. All rope teams were alarmed by this loud failure in the snow layers, so we exited the glacier immediately and scrambled up an alternative rock ridge.
Cayambe summit
Cayambe summit
Near the summit there were some very large crevasses partially filled with mist and icicles.
12-19,20 Volcán Iliniza – 17,195’ Steven went to climb an ice route for the main peak, but I preferred to solo scramble the north peak. It was fun to watch his progressing headlamp in the dark.
Culpeo (Andean fox)
Culpeo (Andean fox)
Steven's headlamp
Steven's headlamp
Corazon
Corazon
Norte
Norte
Volcán Iliniza Pico Norte – 16,831’ After a half hour on the north summit, some other people showed up.
Cotopaxi erupting
Cotopaxi erupting
a photo of two birds
a photo of two birds
people coming up
people coming up
descent route
descent route
12-21 Colina Guangüiltagua – 9843’ Just a small hill in the city park. 12-22,23 Antisana (scheduled) An entire rope team died the week before, including a 12 year old girl. This bad omen preceded Steven’s surprise hospital stay. 12-24 Pasochoa - 13,776’ We did this hike to test Steven and see if he was really in good enough health for Chimborazo.
he seems ok now
he seems ok now

Summitpost | YouTube | Peakbagger

geyer, Bramble_Scramble, dylpickle, Now I Fly  GaliWalker
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Gimpilator
infinity/21M



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics
Location: Edmonds, WA
Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostSat Feb 04, 2023 8:12 am 
12-25,26 Pico Veintimilla – 20,433’ The first summit you pass over on the way to the main peak.
Volcán Chimborazo – 20,561’ In the dome tents, someone Steven had met on Mount Triumph recognized him. What are the chances? We ended up on the summit together, in the dark, despite starting an hour later than their group.
Chimborazo summit
Chimborazo summit
cuy (Guinea pig)  :burger:
cuy (Guinea pig) burger.gif
12-27 Cerro Cusin – 13,163’ Exploratory hike without info.
summit cross
summit cross
El Lechero – 9265’ Culturally significant hill near town. Interesting mythology associated with the summit tree.
12-28 Volcán Imbabura – 15,161’ My favorite peak in Ecuador, very scenic and a fun scramble route.
Cayambe
Cayambe
Cerro Negro and Fuya Fuya
Cerro Negro and Fuya Fuya
Imbabura summit
Imbabura summit
Fuya Fuya group
Fuya Fuya group
Cayambe and Cusin
Cayambe and Cusin
Cotocachi
Cotocachi
Imbabura summit
Imbabura summit
Cayambe
Cayambe
12-29 Fuya Fuya – 14,039’ The main peak features some class 4.
Cayambe and Cerro Negro
Cayambe and Cerro Negro
east peak
east peak
main peak
main peak
photo by Steven
photo by Steven
Cotocachi
Cotocachi
Fuya Fuya East Peak – 13,986’
main peak
main peak
Cerro Negro – 13,986’ A mysterous peak, with a lot of scrambling on wet mud, and serious exposure. Had to go up and over a near vertical gendarme to reach the summit.
mud gendarme with death exposure
mud gendarme with death exposure
Cerro Negro
Cerro Negro
12-31-22 to 1-1-23 Volcán Tungurahua – 16,480’ Nice big volcano with jungle-tube trails on the lower reaches. This peak is known locally as the “throat of fire”. Often erupting, and not climbable. Used the company Andean Summit Adventure, to set up logistics with the national park.
Tungurahua
Tungurahua
photo by Steven
photo by Steven
refugio
refugio
photo by Steven
photo by Steven
Altair (major badass peak)
Altair (major badass peak)
Tungurahua summit
Tungurahua summit
Chimborazo showing
Chimborazo showing
1-3 Cerro Ilalo – 10,479’ On my last day in Ecuador, Steven and I did a popular local peak. Overnight rain made the trail like hiking on melted chocolate.
unbelievably slippery
unbelievably slippery
After the hike, I flew to Argentina to meet Petter Bjørstad.

Summitpost | YouTube | Peakbagger

LukeHelgeson, Bramble_Scramble, dylpickle, zimmertr, freddyfredpants, reststep, fffej50, SeanSullivan86, Now I Fly  geyer, GaliWalker, awilsondc
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RichP
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PostSat Feb 04, 2023 10:40 am 
Thanks for including the food shots. Looks delicious as do the mountains. up.gif

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Silas
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PostSat Feb 04, 2023 11:10 am 
Thanks for posting. You really did tons while down there. Brings back memories from when we climbed Ilinza 10-12 years ago. Cheers.

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Dustin Trails
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Location: Ashford, WA
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PostSat Feb 04, 2023 8:06 pm 
You two had a productive trip down here. I just did Tungurahua today and thought it was a pretty nice hike, although it was windy and cloudy up high. It looks like you had nicer conditions! For what it's worth, Panecillo means small bread loaf and is the name the Spaniards gave to the hill when they arrived. I made a list on peakbagger called the "Ecuador Big Ten", which is how the ten highest peaks in Ecuador are sometimes referred to here. Tungurahua is #9 on the list.

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Fletcher
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PostSun Feb 05, 2023 1:09 am 
Incredible photos Adam. And it looks like it was an incredible trip!!

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Tom
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PostSun Feb 05, 2023 2:39 am 
Looks like you ate well. up.gif

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puzzlr
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puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks
PostSun Feb 05, 2023 2:08 pm 
When you post these epic multi-multi-peak reports I feel validated if I even share one with you - in this case Volcán Pichincha Ruku, probably the easiest one except for the mysterious El Lechero. I searched for that and found an informed 2018 report about damage to the tree. I guess it has survived at least to this day.

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Prosit
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PostSun Feb 05, 2023 6:58 pm 
Looks like you two had mostly good weather and a great, very ambitious trip! Thanks for posting this, it brings back some fond memories. One of my brothers was in the Peace Corps based out of Riobamba when I visited him there in 1984. Like you, we did some smaller climbs to get acclimated, and I recognize your pictures of the scramble section on Pichincha. We climbed the two Ilinizas, Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, before I set off overland down to Peru on a solo adventure. I remember that I brought down gear for both of us for the glacier climbs. Upon arrival in Quito, everyone’s luggage was being inspected. They were going through everything pretty thoroughly. When they finally got to me and opened up my bag on the table, the first thing he grabbed out was an ice axe. He looked up at me and asked, “Alpinista?”. “Si, alpinista”, I replied. He smiled, closed my bag and waved me on without another look. Another fun fact about Chimborazo is that, due to equatorial bulge, it is said to be the furthest point of land from the center of the earth.
My brother doing his best Indiana Jones impression on Pichincha
My brother doing his best Indiana Jones impression on Pichincha

Gimpilator
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pclark
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PostWed Feb 08, 2023 11:49 am 
Congrats on a great trip. I lived for 4.5 years in the north part of Quito. Climbed several of these, but wasn't climbing much. The route I used on Cerro Negro was pretty straight forward from the road to Tabacundo on the eastern side of the mountain. I took a few visitors on different occasions. It's a fun day trip up with a taxi to Mojanda from Otavalo, climbing Fuya Fuya and Cerro Negro, then hiking out to Tabacundo. I wish I would have done Imbabura. Your pictures make me all the sadder not to have made it a priority. The food pics are a great addition to the report. They make me hungry!

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