Ecuador: Climbing Volcanoes
Latacunga, Ecuador
Almost right in the center of Ecuador and just south of the equator, a perfectly formed active volcano collects snow and towers over the otherwise impressive nearby mountain tops. Since its last eruption, Cotopaxi has accumulated nearly one thousand feet of blue glacial ice around its 5,897 meter peak; though if you can manage to make it to the summit, besides the spectacular view, you will see that the snow has melted down to the rock, forming a crater and leaving no doubt that the volcano is still very much active.
Cotopaxi is the world’s tallest active volcano and can clearly be seen from Quito, the small Andean nation’s sprawling capital. The volcano sits in the center of Cotopaxi National Park, located about an hour south of Quito, and has become a popular tourist attraction. There are a number of options for the adventurous traveler, including mountain biking down the rocky base of the volcano, horseback riding tours or camping overnight within the park, though of course the real challenge is to grab an ice axe and struggle over sheets of solid ice through the night to watch the sun rise from its summit.
Turning off the Pan-American Highway and into the national park the elevation, at around 3,000 meters, is not much higher than Quito but it is also the lowest you will be until you make your exit the same way. The road winds itself through the altiplano on its way to the famous volcano. As you climb in elevation the weather becomes cold and the plant life slowly disappears. Huge boulders thrown down the mountain are randomly scattered near the roadside; evidence of the volcanic past. The road is always bumpy but at first it is fairly straight and the elevation climb is gradual. There is a small museum a few miles from the entrance where you can find out more about the history and wildlife of the area, and if you cross the road there is a small path that goes to the edge of a wide canyon, a sight worth seeing. The road continues on and takes you past Laguna Limpiopungo, which is a shallow lake in the shadow of the vast peaks around it. This is your most likely place to see any wildlife and a popular spot for pictures, on a clear day you can catch the reflection of Cotopaxi’s peak on the glass-like waters of the lake. Once past the lake, the road begins to twist and turn as it climbs the volcanoes wide base. By this point the road is marked by little more than the occasional line of rocks designed to stop 4 by 4’s from making their own way through the altiplano. It is noticeably colder here than at the entrance and often shrouded in low lying clouds; the road dead ends in a gravel parking lot at an elevation of 4,500 meters.
Three quarters of a mile from the parking lot is the José Rivas Refuge. While there is a wide path and it is only a climb of 300 meters (the refuge is at 4,800 meters) this is the first taste of what climbing the volcano is really like. The path is mostly made up of loose volcanic soil and slips beneath your feet as if you are climbing a mountain of sand. The lack of oxygen from the altitude takes a few hours to really hit you but after a few minutes you should begin to feel it here. While the refuge can easily be seen from the parking lot the climb is much harder than it looks because of the loose soil and high altitude. One of the most difficult parts of climbing Cotopaxi is its elevation. Most experts agree that you should not climb more than one thousand meters in elevation in any single day but by the time you get to the refuge you will have nearly doubled that since you entered the park and will only have a few hours rest until you attempt another thousand meters over sheets of solid ice.
The permanent ice traditionally starts just past the refuge at around 5,000 meters but varies from year to year and lately, like all equatorial glaciers, has been receding. If you have hired a guide (see sidebar for information about travel agencies and tours) and there is time, he or she may take you to some ice nearby to practice putting on your crampons and climbing on nearby glaciers. The refuge is rather basic and has no heat but it does provide a kitchen the climbers can use and has a large room with closely stacked bunk beds on the second floor. In the high tourist season (May to August) there may be up to two dozen people that will attempt to summit the volcano each day – most of them go to sleep by seven or eight in the evening, because as if Cotopaxi wasn’t already hard enough, you have to do it all in the dark.
All expeditions leave the base camp at midnight to avoid traversing ice bridges that become dangerous after a few hours of melting in the sun. Once you reach the ice line, you put on your crampons, keep your head down and your ice axe in your hand. A guide will usually take two people and each group of three is bound together with climbing rope. The ice is often as steep as a forty-five degree angle and sometimes more, not to mention there are some crevices hundreds of meters deep. A fall could be bad, very bad, but the theory is that if someone in the group was to fall then the other two could throw down their ice axes and be able to stop them from a more serious slide. The climb should take around seven hours and if you time it right, and you pretty much have to, the sun rises over the Andes just as you reach the top. To one side you may look down into the deep crater of the volcano, which has melted away the ice, and to the other you can see some of the tallest peaks in the longest mountain range in the world. If you are lucky enough to get a clear day, it’s hard to imagine anything more beautiful.
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Organizing a Climb to the Top –
While it is possible to climb without a guide it is not very common and unless you are an experienced climber with your own equipment it is best to hire a guide. Most companies will assign one guide for every two climbers, as well as provide all the equipment and transportation though most companies do not cover your entrance fee to the park ($10). The trip is two days and one night. The cost is generally $125 to $175 per person but is negotiable. If business is slow or your group is large the agency can be persuaded to drop the price a little. Most tours are booked and leave from one of three places; Quito, Baños or Latacunga. Any travel agency in these three cities will be familiar with the climb and other Cotopaxi related activities and offer to take you. Many agencies share their resources (guides and equipment) and those that do not have the capacity to take you themselves will sub-contract the tour once the sale is made - this is especially common in Baños. A brief list of some of the many agencies that operate the tour from Quito are: Adventure Planet Ecuador (tel. 02/2871-105; www.adventureplanet-ecuador.com), Surtrek (tel. 02/2231-534; www.surtrek.com) and Safari Ecuador (tel. 02/2222-505; www.safari.com.ec).
All the above companies also organize longer treks around the park, as well as climbs to the summits of other nearby peaks, including Rumiñahui, Iliniza Norte, and Iliniza Sur, all of which are good practice climbs to tackle before attempting Cotopaxi.