Chimbo

Chimbo
Man! That's big!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

First Up: Cayambe!

I arrive in Quito on Tuesday night, Dec. 14, and will be staying at the Hotel Reina Isabel for the first night. Then on to Otavalo and staying at Hotel Pinsaqui. Hopefully, I will get a chance to tour the market at Otavalo. I get "glacier ready" with some background training on Cayambe the next 4 days and will be roughing it at Cayambe Hut at 15,257 ft. Man! that is by far the highest I've ever slept. Hope I don't snore everybody to death! The glacier training is mostly review for me, as I did a lot of this stuff back in the 1980's in the Sierra .. but its been a long time. Last time I climbed anything with an ice ax was a soolo climb of the north slope of Baden Powell right outside of Los Angeles in 1996. Don't laugh .. That is a steep, iced up mountain, and in the spring the north side can get glacier hard.!

Cayambe @18,997 ft elevation is Ecuador’s third highest mountain. Cayambe is the only place on the entire planet where you can find snow and ice at the equator! Should make for some good pix! Because of the low latitude, the Ecuadorian volcanos are prone to avalanches; so apparently every body climbs at night using headlamps ... wow, ain't that gonna be a trip. I've posted a picture of the Cayambe Hut with the mountain behind it on my blog template.

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