After arriving in Quito, (the biggest city in Ecuador which lies at 2800 m.a.s.l). I decided to acclimatise for a few days and then walk up a couple of mountains to get fit for the high altitude cycling. The first mountain which I climbed was 'Volcán Rucu Pichincha' (4627m), It is easily accessible seeing it lies just outside of Quito. When landing at the airport of Quito one thinks the plane is about to hit this mountain... Shortly after that one thinks the plane is going to hit a city building seeing the airport is right in the city! It is still rainy season in February and so the view was not too spectacular! After 'Rucu Pichincha' I climbed 'Volcán Corazon' (4788m), again the weather was not too great but on the summit I was able to see across to the towering ice cone of Cotopaxi which is a beautiful sight.
left: The old railway line with the old railway station near Machachi. After climbing 'Corazon', I had a long walk back to the Panamerican highway past this old railway station. I jumped onto a bus, 2km down the road which took me back to a nearby hostel. That evening I got ready for the 3rd climb, 'Iliniza Norte' (5126m).
On the 24.02.'06, I headed off early in the morning to climb Iliniza Norte(5126m) on a solo tour. The weather was ok in the morning but by the time I reached the steep section of the mountain at 4600m, thick mist rolled in and I could hardly see a thing. I nevertheless continued, climbing up a sandy and steep colour on the northern side of the mountain. At about 4900m I then had to climb along some rock ledges to reach the summit. I got to the top at around 11am. Due to the bad weather I returned back down the mountain using the normal route which was luckily marked with stones. I have to be honest, at one stage I really did not know which way to go and I could have kicked myself for not having my GPS with me! I returned to Quito that night, then I enjoyed a hot shower when suddenly there was a knock on the door...I opened it to find that Gabriel had already arrived! A great surprise! A couple of minutes later we were sitting in a restaurant.... 'salud amigo' obviously with an Ecuadorian beer!
A day later (25.02.'06) Felix arrived at the airport. It was great to see him. At last the 3 of us in Quito, ready for some Andean adventure! It was less than a year ago that the 3 of us sat in a tent during a heavy snowstorm (see: Pulka tour 2005) in the Swedish mountains and discussed the possibility of a trans Andean cycle ride.
28.02.'06: 3 days later the 3 of us were already on the slope of 'Iliniza Norte'. This would have been my second ascent of the mountain but on a different route. The weather was so bad that we turned back near the final rock ledges (just to the right of Gabriels head). Felix was also showing signs of AMS (acute mountain sickness) at close to 4900m and so turning back was the right thing to do. It was a good day and a good opportunity for Gabriel and Felix to catch up on climatising.
left: Felix and Gabriel on the balcony of the beautiful 'Hostería Nina Rumy'. We stayed in a little village called El Chaupi (3250m.a.s.l)to acclimatise for Cotopaxi. The hostería in the village was great. It has lovely rooms with beds covered with thick blankets, a TV room with DVDs. The price of 9 US dollars includes breakfast and a big dinner. The view from the balcony across to the 2 summits of Iliniza is amazing!
On the 01.03.'06, two guides, (Fausto and Marco) picked us up in El Chaupi. We drove up to the 'Cotopaxi National Park' with a 4x4 and after negotiating a river and a bad road we got to an ideal place to camp for the night at 3800m.a.s.l.
That same afternoon, Fausto led us up 'Rumiñahui' (4643m). The weather was still not very good and the view from the top was straight into a thick band of mist! Wow!!! But on the way down, under the cloud cover we could see over the vast Ecuadorian Altiplano. This weather was beginning to worry me! I really wanted to ascend Cotopaxi (5897m) in superb weather and not in heavy mist with GPS navigation!
The following day (02.03.'06), we headed for the base camp (hut) on the steep slope of Cotopaxi. On the way the clouds lifted and Cotopaxi showed it's beautiful 1000m (in altitude) ice cone.
right: Together with our guides, unpacking our gear, getting ready for the walk up to the hut at 4800m. Our guides, Fausto and Marco were really great chaps, and an occasional joke would be heard from them from time to time while breathing hard in the thin mountain air. Instead of trying to navigate our way through the serac zone, we decided that a guide would be the better option. It was worth it and a lot of fun!
left: Gabriel at 4650m, walking up to hut on the slope of Cotopaxi. The going at this altitude is already quite slow, especially in the sand!
A mountain fox in search for food at 4800m.a.s.l.
left: Mountain foxes become active on the slopes of Cotopaxi as the sun goes down! (photo taken with my 300mm zoom lens on my Nikon D70 Camera). It was also time for us to go to bed at 7pm. 5 hours later (midnight) is the time to get up, get on the mountaineering gear and have breakfast (yes, at a time when others are sitting in a pub, sipping a beer or getting ready for bed!).
right: At 1:30am after the first half an hour of walking it was time to put on our crampons at 4900m. It was the perfect day for a Cotopaxi ascent. Millions of stars were out above our heads, in the distance we could see the lightning of a distant thunderstorm (Ecuador has about 250 micro climates!).
By 4:30 am we reached the 'serac zone' with it's huge towering icewalls at 5650m.a.s.l. At this time of the day it is very cold especially with wind and a clear sky, so the shelter of a huge serac is a welcome, except for the 2 ice needles that came down and hit my head, luckily only small ones!
....and after a long, hard and slow walk due to lack of oxygen we stood on the summit of Cotopaxi (5897m) at 6.02 am, shortly before sunrise!
Sunrise on the summit of Cotopaxi! It was also time to get out my swiss alcoholic drink (Apenzeller) which contains 42 different swiss mountain herbs and spices, a tradition amongst my climbing friends upon reaching a summit! I soon realized that our two excellent guides, Fausto and Marco really loved the stuff and the little bottle was finished in no time!!!
right: Felix, Gabriel and I on the summit of Cotopaxi (5897m). Gabriel, where is your Swedish flag? (usually on every trip!).
left: The volcanic active Cotopaxi crater, seen from the highest point on the crater rim.
right: A towering mass of ice on the slope of Cotopaxi, one can clearly see the layers of ice forming the glacier. The two black spots are Marco and Felix. It is also clear why one should be off the mountain by mid morning when the equatorial sun heats up the ice mass and can cause extremely large pieces of ice to crash down the slope.
left: The shadow of Cotopaxi falling on the clouds far below. In the distance is 'Iliniza Sur' and 'Iliniza Norte', also above the cloud zone. The two Iliniza peaks are peaks remaining from an old volcanic cone. Both peaks are above 5000m.
right: All three of us back down at the base of Cotopaxi after a successful climb. In the background is 'Rumiñahui' which we had climbed 2 days before. After our climb we went back to Quito for a good dinner and a bottle of Chilean red wine.
left: The old railway line with the old railway station near Machachi. After climbing 'Corazon', I had a long walk back to the Panamerican highway past this old railway station. I jumped onto a bus, 2km down the road which took me back to a nearby hostel. That evening I got ready for the 3rd climb, 'Iliniza Norte' (5126m).
On the 24.02.'06, I headed off early in the morning to climb Iliniza Norte(5126m) on a solo tour. The weather was ok in the morning but by the time I reached the steep section of the mountain at 4600m, thick mist rolled in and I could hardly see a thing. I nevertheless continued, climbing up a sandy and steep colour on the northern side of the mountain. At about 4900m I then had to climb along some rock ledges to reach the summit. I got to the top at around 11am. Due to the bad weather I returned back down the mountain using the normal route which was luckily marked with stones. I have to be honest, at one stage I really did not know which way to go and I could have kicked myself for not having my GPS with me! I returned to Quito that night, then I enjoyed a hot shower when suddenly there was a knock on the door...I opened it to find that Gabriel had already arrived! A great surprise! A couple of minutes later we were sitting in a restaurant.... 'salud amigo' obviously with an Ecuadorian beer!
A day later (25.02.'06) Felix arrived at the airport. It was great to see him. At last the 3 of us in Quito, ready for some Andean adventure! It was less than a year ago that the 3 of us sat in a tent during a heavy snowstorm (see: 
28.02.'06: 3 days later the 3 of us were already on the slope of 'Iliniza Norte'. This would have been my second ascent of the mountain but on a different route. The weather was so bad that we turned back near the final rock ledges (just to the right of Gabriels head). Felix was also showing signs of AMS (acute mountain sickness) at close to 4900m and so turning back was the right thing to do. It was a good day and a good opportunity for Gabriel and Felix to catch up on climatising. 
left: Felix and Gabriel on the balcony of the beautiful 'Hostería Nina Rumy'. We stayed in a little village called El Chaupi (3250m.a.s.l)to acclimatise for Cotopaxi. The hostería in the village was great. It has lovely rooms with beds covered with thick blankets, a TV room with DVDs. The price of 9 US dollars includes breakfast and a big dinner. The view from the balcony across to the 2 summits of Iliniza is amazing!
On the 01.03.'06, two guides, (Fausto and Marco) picked us up in El Chaupi. We drove up to the 'Cotopaxi National Park' with a 4x4 and after negotiating a river and a bad road we got to an ideal place to camp for the night at 3800m.a.s.l. 
That same afternoon, Fausto led us up 'Rumiñahui' (4643m). The weather was still not very good and the view from the top was straight into a thick band of mist! Wow!!! But on the way down, under the cloud cover we could see over the vast Ecuadorian Altiplano. This weather was beginning to worry me! I really wanted to ascend Cotopaxi (5897m) in superb weather and not in heavy mist with GPS navigation!
The following day (02.03.'06), we headed for the base camp (hut) on the steep slope of Cotopaxi. On the way the clouds lifted and Cotopaxi showed it's beautiful 1000m (in altitude) ice cone. 
right: Together with our guides, unpacking our gear, getting ready for the walk up to the hut at 4800m. Our guides, Fausto and Marco were really great chaps, and an occasional joke would be heard from them from time to time while breathing hard in the thin mountain air. Instead of trying to navigate our way through the serac zone, we decided that a guide would be the better option. It was worth it and a lot of fun!
left: Gabriel at 4650m, walking up to hut on the slope of Cotopaxi. The going at this altitude is already quite slow, especially in the sand!
A mountain fox in search for food at 4800m.a.s.l.
left: Mountain foxes become active on the slopes of Cotopaxi as the sun goes down! (photo taken with my 300mm zoom lens on my Nikon D70 Camera). It was also time for us to go to bed at 7pm. 5 hours later (midnight) is the time to get up, get on the mountaineering gear and have breakfast (yes, at a time when others are sitting in a pub, sipping a beer or getting ready for bed!).
right: At 1:30am after the first half an hour of walking it was time to put on our crampons at 4900m. It was the perfect day for a Cotopaxi ascent. Millions of stars were out above our heads, in the distance we could see the lightning of a distant thunderstorm (Ecuador has about 250 micro climates!).
By 4:30 am we reached the 'serac zone' with it's huge towering icewalls at 5650m.a.s.l. At this time of the day it is very cold especially with wind and a clear sky, so the shelter of a huge serac is a welcome, except for the 2 ice needles that came down and hit my head, luckily only small ones!
....and after a long, hard and slow walk due to lack of oxygen we stood on the summit of Cotopaxi (5897m) at 6.02 am, shortly before sunrise!
Sunrise on the summit of Cotopaxi! It was also time to get out my swiss alcoholic drink (Apenzeller) which contains 42 different swiss mountain herbs and spices, a tradition amongst my climbing friends upon reaching a summit! I soon realized that our two excellent guides, Fausto and Marco really loved the stuff and the little bottle was finished in no time!!!
right: Felix, Gabriel and I on the summit of Cotopaxi (5897m). Gabriel, where is your Swedish flag? (usually on every trip!).
left: The volcanic active Cotopaxi crater, seen from the highest point on the crater rim.
right: A towering mass of ice on the slope of Cotopaxi, one can clearly see the layers of ice forming the glacier. The two black spots are Marco and Felix. It is also clear why one should be off the mountain by mid morning when the equatorial sun heats up the ice mass and can cause extremely large pieces of ice to crash down the slope.
left: The shadow of Cotopaxi falling on the clouds far below. In the distance is 'Iliniza Sur' and 'Iliniza Norte', also above the cloud zone. The two Iliniza peaks are peaks remaining from an old volcanic cone. Both peaks are above 5000m.
right: All three of us back down at the base of Cotopaxi after a successful climb. In the background is 'Rumiñahui' which we had climbed 2 days before. After our climb we went back to Quito for a good dinner and a bottle of Chilean red wine.