Cotopaxi
Trip Start
Nov 18, 2008
1
9
55
Trip End
Nov 17, 2009
Latacunga,
Ecuador
Thursday, December 18, 2008
We spent a night in Latacunga to source all the equipment weŽd need for the ascent. This proved more difficult than weŽd imagined as we discovered that there was nowhere to buy a stove and they wanted us to pay $30 for the hire of 2 rollmats!
Got organised though as we found the local market and had an hour to dash about haggling for pans, pasta, tomatoes, matches, bowls, etc! So we took a bus which dropped us off at the park entrance and we started to walk! And walk, and walk..... 6km later, carrying everything we owned, having waded through a river in flip-flops we arrived at the control station in the dark! The park was closed!! After a little persuasion the security man kindly offered to let us in and drive us up to the camping ground 12km further along the track for a nominal fee of $15!! We lept at the chance! So we arrived to find we were the only ones camping! It was well and truly dark by now and there were strange noises all around! We bravely pitched the tent inside a hut by tying the guy ropes onto concrete blocks! In the absence of rollmats we laid all our clothes out and managed to get some sleep! In the morning we woke to find we had a perfect view of a cloudless sunrise on Cotopaxi! And the noises had been cows, deer and mice!
Spent the next 2 days aclimatising in the national park and watching the mountain! We were starting to get a bit anxious with all 5897m of mountain looming over us!
We returned to Latacunga to hire the mountaineering equipment we needed! It was pretty old and basic but it worked! And we thought that by the look of the boots they would know the way to the summit by themselves!
We struck it lucky on arriving back at the park entrance and agreed a price with Roberto, our one-armed truck driver to take us up to the reffugio and pick us up the following morning. After an evening in the Jose Ribbas Reffugio at 4800m playing an ecuadorian card game with a Mexican digeredoo player, his ecuadorian girlfriend and a german guy called Christian we were ready for anything!
We woke at 12midnight, and started walking at 1.15am by headtorch light.
We walked up and up and up till Pete was convinced we were nearly there, then saw there was still a huge distance to go, Pete let out a wee swear word, and we continued up and up! We were feeling a bit ropey thanks to a combination of no sleep, altitude, nerves and no appetite! The snow was really crusted on the top layer but underneath it was like polystyrene bean-bag beans so it was realy hard going to climb up! But we made it to the summit just after 7am as the sun rose. At the summit with us were a Norwegian skier and a Sweedish photographer! The first thing the swede said was "dat was a pain in de ass." Pete reckons it was even harder than running the Marathon.
We were really pleased to make it to the summit together without a guide and enjoyed it even though our fingers began to turn a strange blue-ish colour near the top! And in true Scottish style, weŽd saved ourselves about $170 by doing it ourselves!
We walked down slowly enjoying the view as it was cloudfree, better weather than the previous few days. We watched the Norwegian skier for a while too and returned to the hut knackered!
WeŽre now spending a few days in Banos (named after the thermal baths) relaxing and soaking in the thermal pools and enjoying the activities on offer here too. We went mountainbiking today and Pete did his first bridge swing! WeŽll see what tomorrow brings...
Comments
Cotopaxi
Congrats on your nearly 6000er!