Avenue of the Volcanos: Cabin Fever!

Sorry to be so late with this blog update; but we've been literally pinned down by the weather at the mountain hut on Cayambe. Everyone attempting a summit attempt has been turned back by the atrocious weather. Avalanche conditions are extreme. Even getting up to the hut was an adventure as we had to hike the last 2 miles because of the impassible road conditions. ... and we started the trek in at 14,000 ft! The hut is at 15,200. So needless to say, I was pretty whipped just getting there.

Anyway, after three days of going stir crazy we finally got out onto the glacier for some practice and technique work. Those ice slopes are incredibly intimidating; just getting onto the glacier is a big challenge. The weather finally cleared yesterday .. so we have headed down to the town of Cayambe to stay at a local hacienda to rest up for our summit attempt very early on Friday morning. Hopefully, one more day of clear weather will set the snow to give us a shot. One way or another will try to get pics of the attempt posted.

The scale of these mountains is just incredible. The Sierra and Uinta ranges -- big as they are – simply cannot measure up. Cayambe rises so incredibly high above the hut that it seems almost artificial .. like some sort of movie prop. Glad to be warm and dry tonight ... certainly won’t be that way on Friday morning. To help min8imize avalanche risk we are going to start climbing at 1:00 am when the snow and rock are all still frozen. It’s a full moon, so visibility will be great if the skies are clear.

Wish us luck!