So, after some time in Quito we get a visit from the lovely Vicky and Adam that we met in Argentina. It’s so great to catch up and the British humour is fantastic! Love the dryness! We get to hang out and eat curry and drink beer just like home.
As Vicky and Adam are both incredibly athletic and we seem to end up being active together all the time we somehow decide that our next physical challenge will be to climb Cotopaxi. Cotopaxi is a volcano that is 5897meters high. I feel quite worried after the mountain in Bolivia but at the same time I think that this time I’m better acclimatised as I run every other day here in Quito (2800m) and I’ve been taking iron tablets to increase my haemoglobin for transporting oxygen! At altitude your body has to work incredibly hard because the air is so thin and I remember from my last experience how awful it is when you just can’t get any air into your lungs (or any O2 at least).
We make our plans and we end up with a group of 8, Pablo and me, Adam and Vicky, Kevin, Ali (a friend of Vicky and Adams from home who is over travelling and is lovely also) and two American guys, AJ and Andy. We book with a company that we feel comfortable with and we have one guide between two people.
The weekend gets off to a typically Ecuadorian start with our guides arriving late and it taking ages to organise equipment! Vicky has to get boots from another company but after loads of pfaffing we’re on our way to Cotopaxi. We arrive at the car park and it seems like the refugio that we’re staying at is just up a wee hill. Now, although it is only 300m higher it terms of altitude we are loaded down with kit and have to stop multiple times- I am extremely worried that if I’m struggling to get to the refugio how on earth am I going to get to the summit?! My boots hurt and I’m struggling to breath- not a promising start. Also, once we take all our stuff out our bags we realise that we have forgotten our camera, grrr.
After we’re organised we head off to a nearby glacier to practice using our crampons and ice axes. This is much easier and we get to spend more time with our guides who we like. The weather is nice and bright and we feel much more positive after some time rolling about in the snow practising catching ourselves with the axes. We head back to the refugio (freezing by the way) for some food then it’s off to bed to about 6pm as we’re getting up at midnight to start the climb.
After a couple of hours fitful sleep, where I’m woken on mulitple occasions gasping for air, we get up. Everyone feels a bit sick and not very positive about the upcoming ordeal. We try to eat something but stomachs are churning.
Eventually we head off into the night, it is pitch black and absolutely freezing. We’re all wearing about 10 layers of clothing but the cold is cutting through. The first hour we all walk together until we hit the ice. At that point we separate into groups of two plus one guide ad we don our crampons and attach our ropes. Here comes the hard part. Pablo and I manage to get our favourite guide, a man named Segundo. I had warmed to him soon after meeting him as he complimented my spanish! Also he has a very patient manner and seems to be very tolerant when I’ve been slow earlier in the day. It turns out we have absolutely chosen the correct guide as he’s incredibly patient and happy to walk at my pace (read- incredibly slowly!). For the first couple of hours we walk with no problems but after about 5300m altitude we start to feel a bit rough. Even P starts to feel a bit sick and he has previously never had problems at altitude. We continue on as we don’t want to quit after spending money and we think that Vicky and Adam are just behind us. Kevin and one of the Amerian guys charged past early at a cracking pace. The wind gets stronger and stronger the higher we go and we feel weaker and weaker. Segundo is fantastic and slows when we need and rests when we need. We continue on for another couple of hours before we really struggle. At that point we start discussing turning back. We can see lights in the distance of the other walkers and they seem to be miles away. The mountain is so steep that we’re having to stop frequently and we’re both struggling to breath. Pablo tells me afterwards that the whole time he was thinking “break, break woman!” so we could turn back. Segundo continues to encourage us to do a wee bit more everytime we collapse near tears. I am so tired that my eyes are closing and all I can think about is hypothermia, fortunately the sun starts to come up at this point and that really helps us. When it’s pitch black you can’t see where you are and how far you’ve come. Eventually after what seems like hours we meet Kevin coming back down. As P and I are lying on the ground gasping for air Kevin brightly tells us that we’re only about 20mins from the summit (somehow he’s completely unaffected by the altitude- his guide tells them it’s the fastest he’s ever got to the top with tourists. At this point I really hate him- and everyone really.). Anyway, P and I pull ourselves together and battle on for the last bit until finally we reach the summit.
It is amazing. There are 360 degree views and it is beautiful- mountains all around and Quito in the distance. There is also the crater of the volcano which is both impressive and bit disconcerting at the same time. It is absolutely freezing so we’re not able to stay long. After some celebratory hugs and a couple fo photos taken by another guide who is at the top with another group we start the painful descent down.
After about 5 and a half hours to get up we are exhausted but all we want is to go to bed so we start to head down the mountain quite quickly, it absolutely kills my knees but P is really not feeling well and we both just want to get down son we push through and head down in about 3 hours. We meet Vicky and Adam on the way but it sems their guide got sick so they had to head down for about an hour until they found another guide then come back up so they are exhausted when we see them. They give it their best try but after their additional exertion they have nothing left to get to the summit. Ali was incredibly badly affeceted by the altitude so she had to be carried down the mountain and was really unwell. From the 8 that started the climb only 4 got to the top whcih seems to be average statsistics. Lonely Planet advises that even fit, experienced, acclimatised climbers wil only manage one out of two attempts so considering our lack of experience I’m pleased with our group attempt. P tells me that although the Bolivia mountain was more technical he found Cotopaxi more difficult overall.
Back at the refugio we are all in loads of pain although extremely high about our acheivement. P and I try to sleep but my sleeping bag is so cold that it actually hurts my skin. We have some tea and once everyone returns we head back to Quito for some well deserved pizza and DVDs! Amazing experience, made all the more special for the people we shared it with.
