Luke's Life: The story of Cotopaxi

May 20th, 2011

It is 7:00am and I am back on the rooftop balcony of the hostel that I was in before we headed off to Cotopaxi to attempt to climb. Here is the story of the Cotopaxi ascent (pics following):

I got picked up from our hostel at 9 in the morning on the 18th. I found out that there was another girl from the hostel that was also hiking. Her name is pronounced Shee-nos, but to be perfectly honest I don't know how to spell it. It is Welsh, so I think there is an odd letter at the beginning that is not found on the American keyboard. Her nickname is pronounced Seen, so that is what I call her! In any case, we headed out in the transport provided for us to a mountaineering shop where we were fitted for our gear. We got hiking boots...and I mean hiking boots. They barely bent in the middle and are made so that you can put ice cramp-ons on them. We also got a waterproof jacket and pants, gaiters for keeping snow out of out boots, fleece pants, a harness, and a big pair of gloves. I didn't realize that I was going to need all of this to begin with, but I am glad I had all of the warm things. At the shop, the other climber that was leaving Quito from us came by. Emma, who had lived in Quito in the late 1990s, is an experienced climber. She has been up 3 of the 7 highest peaks on each continent, pretty impressive! She had attempted Cotopaxi about 10 times before she actually made it to the top. Not a good sign for us!

We headed out to the national park where the volcano is located. Luckily, we had a beautiful sunny day for the ride out and to take some pictures pre-climb. It is really interesting that the mountain is not really in a chain per se. It just juts up out of the earth and is surrounded on all sides, more or less, by flat land. I guess that is an artifact of it being a volcano, but it still makes for an impressive looking mountain. We finally made it to the parking area of the refuge, where we would stay the night, at about 2 in the afternoon. By that time, the other guys who were hiking in our group, Chris and Evan (both with impressive mountain-men beards), had met up with us. We ate a small lunch and then headed up onto a small skiff of snow to practice walking in out boots and cramp-ons. For those who are unfamiliar with cramp-ons, like I was before seeing them in the mountaineering shop, they are little pieces of metal with a lot of spikes on them that attach to the bottom of hiking shoes to help you grip on the snow and the ice of the volcano's glacier. Actually using them was pretty easy for me. I guess some experienced hikers don't like them because they say using the cramp-ons feels a little more unstable, but I actually felt more comfortable with them on. After practicing, we headed into the refuge, ate a small dinner, and went to "bed." Mind you, it was only 6pm at this point. For anyone who is used to going to bed at 11, it is not easy to sleep that early. I threw some earplugs in and tried to sleep, but it was to no avail. I got about 20 or 30 minutes of shut eye before 11:30pm rolled around and it was time to get up and start getting ready to hit the mountain.

When I got out of my sleeping bag, I was nervous. Not because of the hike, but my stomach did not feel good. The diarrhea was not gone and I was slightly worried about getting up on the mountain and having to go! But, no turning back at that point. I got all of it out that I could and geared up. When we all emerged from the refuge, we looked up and saw a nearly full moon and stars shining bright - a great sign for the climb. Weather is one of the main things that keeps people from summiting. That day, the only thing that would keep us from getting us to the top would be us. As we began climbing, I did not feel good. The altitude was not bothering me, but my stomach definitely was. Apparently, this is normal though. I didn't know it at the time, however, so I was not in good spirits. After about an hour and a half of walking, we made it to the edge of the glacier. Here, our group of 5 hikers and 3 guides split. Myself and Seen were with the first guide as it seemed like we were the two strongest of the hikers. I didn't know it at the time, but Emma had already puked and Chris was developing some major blisters on his feet.

After the split, our guide pushed Seen and I pretty hard. There were a few times when I really needed a break, but he grabbed the rope that we were attached by and gave a hard tug that got me going again. It was pretty tough going in places. Even though there we no spots where we actually had to climb straight up, there were a few places where we were going up at about a 65 degree angle. The altitude was also not as much of a factor as I would have thought. When we surpassed 5,600 meters and I still wasn't influenced too much, I knew from there on out it would be a mental challenge. Staying focused was the key to getting to the top. It was cold, dark (around 3:30am at this point), and silent except for the sound of two others trudging through the snow. In other words, not conditions that normally lead to positive thinking. To keep it together and my feet moving, I began a cadence in my head (and out loud at times for that matter) that went a little like: "stake, step right, step left, breathe." Stake to make me plunge my ice axe into the ground, steps for my feet, and breathe to remind myself to take a breath before the cycle started again.

Finally, at 5:45am, after over 5 hours of trekking up the mountain, we took the last few steps that put us on top of the mountain. I did it!!! I can't explain the feelings I had standing at the top of 5,897 meters (19,347ft) of monsterous mountain...I was exhausted, but at the same time exhilerated for finishing something that is physically and mentally really tough. My feet and hands were numb from the cold, but I didn't care. It was a feeling a near euphoria! Definitely on the top 5 list of most challenging/amazing things that I have ever done. The view from the top, while a little misty when we got there, cleared as the sun came up. It was just plain jaw-dropping. We saw all of the high volcanos and mountains of Ecuador: Chimborazo, Huayna Pitosi, Cayambe, and even Tungurahua which was spewing ash nearly 90km away. We even got a chance to see inside the belly of the beast when a cloud cleared and the Cotopaxi crater exposed itself.

After about a half an hour of reveling in the glory, it was time to make the 2.5 hour journey back down the mountain. It is not something you feel like doing after going up for so long, but the scenery on the way down was incredible. We could see all of the crevasses, ice formations, and snowy vistas that were obscured by the darkness just a few hours earlier. By the time we reached the refuge, I was beat. We packed up our gear, and after another 25 minute hike down to the car park, we were on out way back to Quito. All in all, 4 out of the 5 people in our group were able to summit (Emma beat her upset stomach, but the blisters were too much for Chris), beating the odds of about 50% that actually make it up the mountain. Our guide told us that it was one of the best weather days he has ever been on the mountain for. I guess I have good luck to go along with my strong willpower and testicular fortitude!

"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." - Sir Edmund Hillary

I sure as hell didn't climb Everest, but I feel pretty damn proud about getting up Cotopaxi.