Quilindaña--the other side of Cotopaxi

Finally, a new post. Last weekend my friend Jeff invited me to join a trip to Quilindaña which was being organized by Mark Thurbur. Mark is pretty well known around town; he´s been climbing around Ecuador long enough to still own a Chouinard ice-axe, be kidnapped by Achuar Indians and held for a 2 million dollar ransom, and write the climbing guidebook to Ecuador. So, minus the whole kidnapping thing, he seemed like a good/safe guy to hit the mountains with. In addition, Jeff is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines and a DEA agent, so I generally feel pretty good about his presence on any expedition that takes us far off the beaten path (the bullet-proof windows in his jeep helps).

And Quilindaña is way way way off the path.

My local guide friend, Pepinico, says that the mountain probably gets climbed once a year. Hearing our plans for this rarely climbed jewel, three new friends also decided to join us.

Mario--A strong climber who attended the same university as I did, ASU, and knew my father-in-law as his mechanic in Boone!
Patricia--A Fort Collins girl who works with Mario, and loves O´dells brewery almost as much as we do.
and
Caroline--Mario´s girlfriend and an amazing photographer. (The pictures on this post are...well, they ain´t mine that´s for sure)


Upon entering the gates to Cotopaxi National Park, it´s still two hours of four wheeling and five hours of hard backpacking to get to the basecamp. The mountain itself is not that hard, but it is a royal bitch-in-the-ass to get there. Several river crossings and a locked gate that required Mark´s promise to not kill any cows to facilitate its opening landed us at the remote and beautiful Hacienda El Tambo. From this Hacienda we trekked over two passes, and through several wet sections of Andean Paramo grassland before arriving at a small alpine lake nestled at the base of the mountain. Our weather was the typical mix of Scottish/Ecuadorian mush that we have become accustomed to. Luckily, our evening was dry, and the morning dawned clear and relatively warm for 4600 meters. Within the first hour of climbing we discovered what the clouds of the previous day were hiding on the mountain--lots of snow. We needed crampons. Unfortunately, the last time Mark was on the mountain he climbed it in rubber galoshes--jungle boots, and he just couldn´t fathom the thought that we would encounter lots of hard snow. We putzed around for a bit, looking for a way around the hard packed snow, but it soon became obvious that we would need to turn around.


The hike out was much quicker than the way in, though again, we were soaked by the constant rain. Arriving back in Quito in enough time for sushi night with my wife, I was pleased with the new friends made. Mario and I spent the trip trading NC climbing stories. Patricia and I tortured each other with thoughts of Colorado beer. Jeff and I swapped analysis of the latest tent designs. Caroline and I traded journalism stories, and Mark and I spoke about the remodel of his bosses house in Boulder that my best friend Glen worked on. What a small world the climbing community is, and what a pleasure it is to be a member of it.


If you would like to see all of Caroline's gorgeous photos from the trip, they are here. When I first looked at these, I wondered if she was on the same trip as me...I don't remember these kinds of views...I just remember clouds and rain! Also, her website is at www.carolinebennett.com