Cotopaxi
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Trip Report (continued):
The beginning of this trip report is here.
Day 5: Resting at Tambopaxi.
Diego picked us up around 0930 and we immediately
drove towards the north entrance
of Cotopaxi National Park. After a short drive inside the park, we arrived at
the very nice lodge Tambopaxi, where
we would spend the night.
Rob and I went for a short walk in order to test out that he was getting back in
shape and hopefully, ready to climb Cotopaxi. We had a nice walk around the nearby fields, and
a good view of Sincholagua (4898m), while
Cotopaxi remained hidden in clouds. We
observed a few llamas, got
a drizzle of rain and returned to the lodge ready for dinner.
Day 6: Transfer to Refugio Cotopaxi.
Tonight, I did not sleep well! About 5 visits to the bathroom. What has affected Rob has turned
to me. I wake up feeling weak and totally dehydrated. My stomach is not keeping anything any more.
Really bad timing! In about 16 hours we are scheduled to climb a mountain almost 5900 meter high.
The queen herself showed her white dress to us this morning.
I spent the rest of the morning in bed trying to recover. We left in the late morning and drove up
to the parking lot by 1145. I started my hut climb feeling really weak and totally out of shape.
By noon, I was resting just above 4700 meter. I figured that about one third was done and decided
to rest one more time before reaching the hut. However, I was soon quite exhausted and was forced
to make another stop. Upon checking with my GPS, I had gained 18 vertical meter since my
previous rest. My morale was near absolute zero. It had taken me 15 minutes to gain 18 meter, how in the
world should I climb another 1000 vertical less than 12 hours from now?
Somehow I managed, arriving at the hut after one hour, The future looked grim, I found a bed and laid down.
Taking one dinner of "Real Turmat" (imported from Norway), I realized that I needed some
energy if this climb should be possible.
Day 7: The climb of Cotopaxi.
I woke up at midnight and had a double portion
of breakfast porridge with extra raisins and hazelnuts.
We then started out shortly after 0100. We had decided to climb
as two teams. Rob and I would form one team while Diego and Adam would make up a second
team. We started last, everybody else that wanted to attempt the climb were already on
their way.
The air was fresh and the stars were brilliant. I felt better than in what seemed like
a long time. Soon, we put on crampons and started up what I saw (from other climber's lights)
would be a long hill. We made pretty good time and kept overtaking other teams. Sometimes stuck
behind teams that seemed to advance at a snail's pace. How easy it would be if such a team
just stepped out of the trail for a minute, letting others pass? To overtake by making a new,
parallel track in the loose snow while going uphill, was sometimes just too hard.
We made a number of short rests, but I felt that we were doing fine and moreover, I felt
confident that we would succeed. It seemed almost like a miracle that my body was back
in shape having felt so miserable just a few hours earlier.
We needed to wait for quite a while just below the "crux" area. Two other teams were climbing
up the short pitch and patience was needed. We finally got up to the steeper part and the
footsteps were not perfect. Active use of the axe for security as well as some kicking of
steps seemed necessary. The next crevasse came as a big surprise, but the terrain was easy
enough in order to turn it. We kept a good pace and
arrived at the summit by 0605, 5 hours.
A few teams had arrived just before us, but the majority of teams were still on the slopes
below.
A very nice light everywhere as
the sunrise progressed rapidly.
The Cotopaxi crater looked impressive and semi-active.
Adam and Diego arrived
about 15 minutes later. Adam seemed quite exhausted and a little bit
unable to enjoy the phenomenal
scenery that unfolded around us.
A couple of young (Ecuadorian) girls arrived, they showed great joy and excitement.
"We are as close to heaven as is possible", exclaimed one of them. We left at 0650, and
started descending. At the crux point, we
had to wait while two different teams made
their way up. The downhill hike was
still very easy. It paid to make a new track and
not walk in the uphill path. The snow was still firm and supported our steps with just
perfect cushion. We stopped a
few times to photograph the route as well as impressive
ice formations since
it was too dark to see this well
while ascending. Back at the refugio
by 0845. Adam and Rob wanted a short break upstairs while I had a nice chat with an
American that was part of a larger organized tour.
He had turned back about half-way up. We could still see most of Cotopaxi from the
refugio, quite a formidable view.
By 10 AM, we made the easy descent
back down to the parking area.
A very successful day already two hours before noon.
We drove south and out of the park. Diego knew about a nice
hotel, Cuello de Luna, where we could rest
and relax, the plan being to stay there two nights before heading to our biggest and
principal goal - Chimborazo.
We exited from the park, crossed the big Pan-American highway and entered another
small dirt road leading up to our next hotel.
(This trip report continues there.)