Ecuador 2023.01.02 Archives

Ecuador 2023.01.02

Rest Day in Baños!

The team had a wonderful day exploring the beautiful city of Baños! In an effort to recover after their successful summit of Cayambe, the team returned to lower elevation to rest their bodies, eat good food, and take in the sights and sounds of this must-visit place. Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez, checks in with this dispatch after a fun and restful day in Ecuador:

Hello! This is Estalin calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ecuador Volcanoes expedition – today is January 10.

We are at the city called Baños de Agua Santa (1820m/5,971ft) – a really nice place for rest! We came after Cayambe (5790m/18,996ft) just to recover here. It’s not as high as Quito (2850m/9,350ft) – we are at 1,800 meters about.

We spent the day doing the water pool tour. Now everybody is just resting getting ready for our main summit push, which is Chimborazo (6263m/20,549ft)!

Everything is going great with this expedition. Stay tuned!

Th team high above the river below!

Taking in the beautiful waterfalls around Baños!

Climber, Stephane Mayer, enjoying the increased oxygen at lower altitude!

The team taking a break from the alpine, and enjoying the jungle!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

January 10, 2023/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ecuador 2023.01.02

Success on Cayambe!

We are excited to announce that the entire Madison Mountaineering team reached the summit of Cayambe and is safely off the mountain! The team experienced perfect weather and relished in the moment while standing at nearly 19,000 feet, with views above the clouds. Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez checks in with today’s dispatch from Quito:

Hello! This is Estalin calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ecuador Volcanoes expedition.

I’m very, very happy to announce that the whole team reached the summit of Cayambe Volcano (5790m/18,996ft) in the perfect weather! So, at the moment the whole team is in Quito (2850m/9,350ft) resting, and tomorrow we’re going to drive to Baños (1820m/5,971ft) to have a couple days for rest. Then we’ll push to our main goal which is Chimborazo (6263m/20,549ft)!

Stay tuned…

Ascending the final few steps towards the summit.

Aerial photo of the summit of Cayambe, sitting above the clouds.

The team descending Cayambe after a safe and successful summit!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions. Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

January 9, 2023/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ecuador 2023.01.02

Illiniza Norte Summit!

The team on the summit of Illiniza Norte!

The summits keep coming in Ecuador! Today, the team summited Illiniza Norte, and is resting up as they prepare for their next climb on Cayambe. Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez, checks in with todays dispatch from Ecuador:

Hello! This is Estalin calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ecuador Volcanoes expedition – today is January 6th.

We just summited Illiniza Norte (5126m/16,818ft) which is 16,800 feet. We had a great day on the mountain! Now we are resting at a really nice lodge – call it Chuquiragua!

Yesterday we went up to the Illiniza’s hut (4750m/15,580ft) and we spent the night there. We pushed to the summit very early in the morning!

So now everybody is resting and getting ready for the next mountain, which is going to be Cayambe (5790m/18996ft) .

Stay tuned and talk later!

The team beginning their hike towards Illiniza Hut.

En route to Illiniza Hut!

Snow on the ground after arriving at the refuge!

Alpine start for the summit push on Illiniza Norte!

Looking over at Illiniza Sur!

Ascending the ridge towards the summit

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions. Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

January 6, 2023/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ecuador 2023.01.02

El Corazón Summit Success!

Today, our team pushed forward in their acclimatization efforts, successfully reaching the summit of El Corazón! This process of acclimatizing on smaller peaks will ultimately help our team adapt to the higher altitude they’ll experience on bigger peaks later in the expedition. Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez, checks in with todays dispatch from Ecuador:

Hello! This is Estalin calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ecuador Volcanoes expedition – today is January 4th. Today we had a really, really great day! It was sunny, no wind, kind of perfect weather! Everybody reached the summit of Corazón Volcano (4784m/15,696ft), which is 15,700 feet. This was our second mountain for the acclimatization process. Everybody is feeling good, a little bit tired, but feeling good! (We’re) getting ready for tomorrow – we’re going to Illinizas hut tomorrow.

Stay tuned… (We’ll) talk in a couple of days!

The team hiking through the Ecuadorian highlands!

On the trail towards Corazón!

The team with Illiniza in the background.

Climber, Josh Garrison, climbing the ridge towards the summit of Corazón!

Aerial photo with the team on the summit!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions. Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

January 5, 2023/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ecuador 2023.01.02

Ecuador Volcanoes Expedition Kickoff!

The team during their acclimatization hike of Pasochoa Volcano!

The Madison Mountaineering Ecuador Volcanoes expedition is off to a great start after the entire team reached the summit of Pasochoa Volcano! This summit comes as part of the teams acclimatization efforts, as bigger mountains are on the horizon for later in the scheduled itinerary. Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez, checks in with todays dispatch from Ecuador:

Hello! This Estalin calling in for the Madison (Mountaineering) Ecuador Volcanoes expedition.

Today we started our acclimatization process with a summit of Pasochoa Volcano (4200m/13,779ft), which is 13,700 feet. The weather was quite good – a little bit cloudy, but we could reach the summit! All the group did it – all the group reached the summit.

Everybody’s feeling good, motivated for the next mountains. We just got dinner here at the lodge, now everybody is going to have a rest and get ready for the next mountain!

Keep in touch and talk tomorrow!

Climbers on the summit!

Our climbers ascending the 13,000′ trail towards the summit of Pasochoa!

Traversing the ridge line on the way towards the summit!

Our team on the walk out from a successful first climb!

Cloudy skies did not stop the fun!

Ascending Pasochoa!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions. Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

January 4, 2023/0 Comments/by Garrett