Tag Archive for: Volcano

Summit of Cotopaxi

Congratulations are in order to our Ecuador team as they made a fantastic ascent of Cotopaxi.  Here’s expedition leader Garrett Madison‘s recap of the day and what’s next:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ecuador Volcanoes program.  Today’s January 6th and we were fortunate and lucky to have climbed Cotopaxi today, Ecuador’s second highest peak, with great weather, fantastic conditions on the mountain, both route conditions and weather.  We had views of Cayambe, which we climbed a few days before, and also of Chimborazo, our next objective, Ecuador’s highest peak and the furtherest point from the center of the Earth.

We came down to the Tambopaxi Lodge here in the national park, had a restful afternoon, a nice dinner, and now we’re getting ready for bed for some much needed sleep.

Tomorrow we’re off the Baños for a couple days of rest in the thermal hot springs and then off to Chimborazo!  All’s well here in Ecuador!

Cotopaxi climbing

Cotopaxi climbing

Nearing the summit of Cotopaxi

Nearing the summit of Cotopaxi

Garrett Madison on top of Cotopaxi

Garrett Madison on top of Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi summit team!

Cotopaxi summit team!

Heading down from the top of Cotopaxi

Heading down from the top of Cotopaxi


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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

Summit of Cayambe

Congratulations Ecuador team on yesterday’s summit of Cayambe (5790m/18,996ft)!  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, called in this expedition dispatch with the details of the climb:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in for the Ecuador Volcanoes team in Quito, Ecuador.

We just climbed Mount Cayambe yesterday – over 19,000 ft.  It was a snowy day.  We were in the clouds most of the day and then had a view near the top on New Year’s Day.  It was a full-on climb!  We had some snow, a little wind, but we made it and got back down to the hut last night, celebrated, spent the night there at 13,000 ft. in the Cayambe Hut.

Today we drove back to Quito for a brief rest.  The day after tomorrow, we’re going to make our way towards Cotopaxi.

Everyone’s doing well!  We had a great first climb.  Happy New Year 2021!

Cayambe Hut - Refugio Ruales Oleas Bergé

Cayambe Hut – Refugio Ruales Oleas Bergé

Climbing Cayambe

Climbing Cayambe

Getting above the clouds on Cayambe

Getting above the clouds on Cayambe

Celebrating summit number one - Cayambe

Celebrating summit number one – Cayambe

Enjoying the Cayambe Hut

Enjoying the Cayambe Hut

Sunset on the Cayambe Hut

Sunset on the Cayambe Hut


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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

On the summit of Imbabura

One last day of acclimatization hiking around Otavalo before the team heads to Cayambe tomorrow.  Garrett provides the details of today’s hike up the Imbabura volcano:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Ecuador Volcanoes program.  Today we hiked up the volcano Imbabura – 15,000 ft.!  It was a beautiful hike up this inactive stratovolcano in northern Ecuador.  It hasn’t erupted in over 14,000 years, but its intermittently capped with snow – no permanent glaciers.  Very fertile slopes around Imbabura.

We got back down this evening, had a nice dinner here at the Hacienda Pinsaqui for our last night.  Tomorrow we’re gonna pack up and drive to Cayambe, up to the mountain hut on the volcano and get ready for our first glaciated climb.

All’s well here in Ecuador!  We’ve been having a great time and are excited to head to our first mountain soon.

Acclimation hike on the Imbabura volcano

Acclimation hike on the Imbabura volcano

Nearing the summit of Imbabura

Nearing the summit of Imbabura


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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

Instagram:

Laguna Cuicocha, Ecuador

Our Ecuador team continued their acclimatization today with a hike around Laguna Cuicocha just west of Otavalo.  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, has today’s dispatch:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Ecuador Volcanoes program.  Today we hiked around Lake Cuicocha and it was nice weather, we got to see the lake and some nice views overlooking the hills around including the summit we did yesterday and tomorrow’s objective as well.  Another great day here acclimitizing in Ecuador.  We’re staying at the Hacienda Pinsaqui, which is a great accomidation.

We are excited for tomorrow’s hike and then heading over to Cayambe, the first glaciated volcano in our program.  Everyone’s doing well and all’s good here in Ecuador!

Acclimatization hike near Laguna Cuicocha, Ecuador

Acclimatization hike near Laguna Cuicocha, Ecuador

Hiking around Laguna Cuicocha, Ecuador

Hiking around Laguna Cuicocha, Ecuador

The view of Laguna Cuicocha, Ecuador

The view of Laguna Cuicocha, Ecuador


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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

Instagram:

Laguna de Mojanda, Ecuador

Our Ecuador team has jumped right into their acclimatization after just arriving in Quito last night.  Garrett Madison provides a recap of the day:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in the Ecuador Volcanoes climb program.  Today we left Quito in the morning and drove to our first acclimatization hike, Fuya Fuya, and we hiked up to 14,000 ft. (4275m).  Day one!  Wow, really strong crew.

And then we came to Hacienda Pinsaqui, an old hacienda here in the countryside of Ecuador, and had a nice evening cocktail, some music, and a nice dinner.  Looking forward to a good night’s rest and tomorrow we’re heading off for another acclimatization hike.

All’s well here in Ecuador.  We’re very excited to be here with our good friend and local guide, Estalin Suárez, and heading to Cayambe soon after.


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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

Instagram:

Today we kick off our final expedition of 2020 in the capital city of Quito, Ecuador.  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, provides this initial Ecuador Volcanoes expedition dispatch.  We hope you will follow along.

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Ecuador Volcanoes program.  Today we are meeting in Quito, Ecuador.  I’ve just arrived and tomorrow we are heading out to the small town of Otavalo and going for our first acclimitization hike up to about 12,000 ft. (3658m).

Our first volcano that we are heading towards is Cayambe (5758m/18,891ft).  And then after Cayambe, we’ll come back to Quito for a couple of nights and then head off to Cotopaxi (5897m/19,347ft) and then Chimborazo (6310m/20,702ft), the highest peak in Ecuador and the closest point to the Sun.

We’re looking forward to a great trip here in Ecuador with Todd and Jen.  We’ll get started here tomorrow.  All’s well!


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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

Instagram:

Early this morning our Ecuador climbers reached the summit of Cayambe at 5,790 m (19,000 ft)! Located in the Cordillera Central, this glaciated super-volcano runs along the Ecuadorian Andes mountain range. The volcano and most of its slopes are located within the Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve. Weather conditions looked beautiful on the summit today with epic views from high above the clouds! After a short rest at the high altitude hut, our team packed up their gear and will now drive back down the mountain and toward their next mountain ascent on Chimborazo.

Way to go team!!

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William enjoying the amazing summit views from Cayambe.

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Summit success!

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Route to summit.

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Lower glacier crossing.

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Beautiful views in the Andes as our climbers set off for the Ecuador volcanoes! Our team will spend the first few days acclimating on local peaks close to Quito in preparation for Cayambe at an elevation of 18,996 feet. For a detailed overview of this exciting climb please visit our page here.

To the top!

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William celebrating his first summit of Pasochoa. This extinct volcano is located in the Guayllabamba river basin in the Ecuadorian Andes.

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Yesterday Jeff, José, and I summited Pichincha in record time and enjoyed panoramic views of Cayambe, Cotopaxi (active), and many other notorious mountains across Ecuador. Once we reached the summit at 15,700 feet we had lunch and continued to acclimate as we prepare for the journey to Cayambe hut today. After our climb we checked out of our hotel in Quito and drove a short distance to Hacienda Guachala, a famous establishment that dates back to 1580! As we fell asleep we enjoyed a warm fire in our room and woke up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee on our patio. Today we will journey to the Cayambe hut and begin to review the technical skills that we will need for the climb. Service will become harder to find but I will try and update the blog as soon as I am able. Onward!

-Andrew

 

Photos taken below by Andrew Tierney

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Bouldering across a rock field as we make our way up Pichincha.

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Jeff and José Luis climbing up the last few steps of Pichincha!

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Jeff and Andrew at the summit of Pichincha (15,700 feet).

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Beautiful views looking over the city of Quito from Pichincha!

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Today Jeff Glasbrenner and I explored the rolling country side and completed acclimatization hikes near Quito. We cruised to the top of Pasochoa at 13,860 ft and bagged another nearby summit as well. After a day of hiking we explored the beautiful city of Quito where we saw the historic sites and had an authentic Ecuadorian dinner in town. Tomorrow we will continue to acclimate to the altitude with our amazing guide, José Luis, and climb Pinchincha at 15,700 ft. The weather is beautiful and our team is very excited to begin our journey to Cayambe in the days to come.

To the top!

-Andrew Tierney

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Photos taken using DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone and GoPro Hero4. Enjoy!

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Virgin of El Panecillo overlooking the city of Quito

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Church of San Francisco

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One of my favorite shots looking over the city of Quito!

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Basílica del Voto Nacional – Quito

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Rolling layers of fog made for a beautiful picture here from the summit of Pasochoa (13,860′).

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Jeff and I taking our first summit photo! More to come!!

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Our adventure rig for the week!

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Climbing down from Pasochoa over the rolling hills outside of Quito

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Palace in the Plaza Grande

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Church of La Compañía de Jesús

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