Chimborazo - to 6000+ metres
Trip Start
Aug 21, 2008
1
10
11
Trip End
Sep 14, 2008
Chimborazo, Ecuador
Friday, September 5, 2008
We hiked up to the base camp at 5000m - a pretty basic lodge where an old couple looked after the place and were trying to fix the roof. Still not clear, but at least nothing was falling from the sky.
This was a more difficult climb and instead of the big groups trying for Cotopaxi, we were the only ones there. The refuge manager said that noone had reached the summit for quite a while - well over a week. I wasnīt sure what to think - would the weather force us back again?
The usual start for the climb is 11pm, but we chose to go a bit later at about 12:30am and set a quick pace. It was a clear night and we could see the lights of Riobamba below and a few stars above. Head lamps on, we decided to go up the west face and climb steeply to a place called the chimney (at least I think thatīs what it translated to). Miltonīs English was worse than my Spanish so the conversations were pretty limited, but he was good fun to be with which helped.
At about 5700m (and around 3:30am), the footprints of the most recent climbers that had made an attempt (the night before stopped), and we faced a steep wall to the saddle under the summit. We had marked a half dozen crevasses on the way, but from here it was hard to tell the best way to go. There had been so much new snow in the past week that we were soon thigh deep in snow. The top 10cm would be ice, then you would crack through to deep snow.
Milton started saying peligrosso at this point which Iīd worked out meant dangerous, but we pressed on. This was super hard work and started feeling a bit dangerous as these were perfect conditions for avalanches to start especially as it got steeper. We passed the 6000m/20000ft mark at about 5am, but soon after at about 6100m Milton mentioned ninos/peligrosso again and we turned around. Given he had on the way told me he was happy to take me up a volcano that only just erupted a few months ago and Lonely Planet quoted as being suicidal even to go to the base camp, I agreed.
Sadly only about 200m from the top, but just before the last steep 60 degree climb where later I found out some climbers had recently died in an avalanche.
The views on the way down with the sun coming up were fantastic and seeing the mountain fully lit up by the sun right through to 9am was spectacular.
So, at least Iīd made it up past 6000m and without becoming one of the many who didnīt make it back whose memorials line the path on the way up.
Comments
Chimborazo
Well done! Sounds like an awesome effort and glad to hear that you had a sensible guide who also beared his 'ninos' in mind when deciding whether to go on. Great that the skies were clear enough to enjoy sunrise and the descent.