We received this dispatch from AAI guide Tim Connelly Sunday morning, November 26. Participants arrived in Quito on Friday the 24th and spent their first day acclimatizing at Indian market at Otavalo, north of Quito and a short distance beyond the equator.

We're just one day into the trip so far and everything is going well. All arrived safely into Quito with all their gear. Otavalo was great. It's been a few years since I've seen it, and things have definitely changed. It's very clean and there's a lot more space for vendors. I limited myself to two small pieces of art.

Quito seems more in control than the past also. Not so many guards around and lots of new businesses in gringolandia.

One somewhat odd thing attached to the impending elections, which take place today, is that the whole country of Ecuador is dry of alcoholic beverages for three days before the elections!!! Seemingly unbelievable. Also it appears that everybody has to vote or they are fined $200 ... at least that is what our driver said is his case. I say odd.

Can't seem to easily get on this time clock here ... mornings are hard.

Ciao for now.

Tim

Tim called yesterday evening, the 26th, with the following news:

We climbed Pasochoa today (13,776') and everyone did well. A lot of the roads have changed because of storms and washouts over the last year and a half, so the drive to our trailhead was a bit of a serpentine route, but we got there.

We were in and out of the clouds, but we had good views of the Pasochoa's other, lower summits and down onto the grasslands below. It lifted later in the day and we saw new snow on some of the peaks, and that's a good sign.

We made sure we got back to the bus on time so our driver could get back to the city in time to vote. That $200 fine was looming [see previous dispatch]. We asked several people on the street here in Quito about it, and it appears to apply to everybody.

Tomorrow we'll climb Guagua Pichincha (15,670'), then we'll return to Quito to pick up our climbing gear, and then head to our hacienda on the lower slopes of Cayambe. Everybody is looking forward to both.

It's now 6pm and starting to get dark. Jesse, John and Ted will soon met me here at this internet cafe, and we'll be heading to dinner. A lot of places are closed because it is Sunday night, but the Magic Bean is open, and I think we'll eat there.

Everybody is acclimatizing well. It was easiest for John, who lives in Colorado and who has been hiking and skiing up high before coming down here. Ted from California felt the altitude a little bit but is fine, and Jesse felt it more, but he is steadily adjusting and says that each time we have come back to Quito from our day's travel he finds the breathing easier. So everybody ought to do fine today and be ready for our move to Cayambe.

More soon.

Ciao,

Tim

We received the following dispatch from Tim via email yesterday evening:

We are back in the Hacienda Gauchala after an excellent ascent of Cayambe. I could go back and mention our cloudy and rainy ascent of Guagua Pichincha, or our great review/ practice time on the glacier outside of the refugio, but my eyes are still painful from our midnight start on Cayambe, and so that is what I am thinking about.

Midnight. Scattered clouds made the setting half moon very dramatic, and we hardly needed our headlamps as we left the refugio and we set out up the rocky escarpment leading to the glacier.

As the moon blazed red in its setting and we set foot on the snowy glacier, we found the Southern Cross off to our right and yeeeehaaad our position on the earth.

The glacier was in excellent condition, and the cramponing on perfect neve assisted our speedy ascent. There were hindrances though.

The stars persisted, but the wind grew and the -5C temps started to bite at us a little. Lightning (no thunder) blasted around the mountain and gave us spectacular light shows. It was so far away that we felt no danger. The route up the mountain continued to be the most straightforward that I have ever encountered, and our steady pace found us keeping warm enough as we gained more and more altitude.

The wind, however, increased and brought with it moisture, coating us all with ice just as we found ourselves 400 feet below the summit in intermittent visibility and hunkered down close by a huge serac wall. Dawn began to light the sky.

We had to search to find the summit, and our only clue was the slightly ascending slopes to the left which we ascended but could not see more than 20 feet ahead at times. Then we saw the last block of the summit that required 30 feet of pitching - partially because it was pretty steep over a crevasse, and partially because we feared the wind would blow us off. We practically, some of us literally, crawled to the summit.

Jesse, a body builder and past football player from Toronto, laid grinning, covered in ice, and gasped that that was by far the hardest thing he had ever done! Ted, an accountant from California, not as dry as his humor, grinned back and observed that we were in fact "half way there."

The wind in fact never let up, but we did get to see beyond ourselves after descending 500 feet or so. The great track led us quickly down the glacier and back to the where Luiz, our driver, was waiting with hot tea water and big grins.

Now my eyes really are blazing and the Visine (eyedrop fluid) is not doing its job sufficiently, so I guess I must just go to bed and rest up for our climb of Cotopaxi in a few days.

Cheers,

Tim

Tim called the office early this morning to update us on the progress of the current Ecuador High Altitude Expedition. In addition to climbing Cayembe (18,997'), the team can now add Cotopaxi to its list of achievements, having reached the summit of this 19,348-foot volcano on the morning of December 3, 2006. Tim had the following to say about his team's climb of Cotopaxi and second successful ascent of the trip:

All in all, we had a super successful time on Cotopaxi. We left Hacienda La Cienega on Saturday, December 2nd, and headed up into Cotopaxi Park to hike around and visit the bird sanctuary at Olympia Pongo. The area around Olympia Pongo was unexpectedly crowded, due in large part to a mountain bike race that was happening in the area, which ended up working to our advantage because it lessened the number of climbers on the mountain.

We were able to avoid the crowds by hiking up a neighboring canyon where owls were said to be nesting. There we were treated to a nice surprise when team member and Denver-based geologist John Ladd began pointing out various features in the canyon walls as they related to the volcanic and geologic history of the region. John's explanations were of more than just passing interest as they definitely helped to enhance our appreciation of the mountain we were going to climb.

We arrived in the Cotopaxi hut at around 4pm and were surprised at the small number of climbers already there - only twelve parties, which is almost unheard of in my experience. I suppose we had the mountain bike race and a large festival in Quito to thank for having such limited company on the mountain. At any rate, I woke up at 11:30pm and started the water boiling, and by midnight we were all gearing up for the climb, which we began at 1am on Sunday, December 3rd.

We stepped out of the hut into excellent conditions, with a very clear sky, an awesome sky, with the moon blazing nearly full. Our climb began farther to the right of the line we have taken in the past, and we were thereby able to avoid the major crevasse and serac problems that have slowed us down in previous years. There was hardly a breeze in the air as we cramponed our way up forty to forty-five degree slopes, hopping over or weaving around perfectly negotiable crevasses. We didn't need headlamps, except for the brief interval between when the moon set, blazing red, and the equally brilliant dawn, which we experienced on Cotopaxi's summit crater.

From the summit, Antisana and the Illinizas were clearly visible to the north and west, and to the south Chimborazo appeared to have good snow coverage, which was an encouraging sight as we are planning to attempt that mountain next. After savoring the experience and view from Cotopaxi's summit, we retraced our steps back down, gathered our things at the hut, and drove out of the park, arriving back at La Cienega before noon. There we had lunch as well as some much needed sleep, and now we are waiting for our driver to take us to the market to stock up on supplies for our attempt on Chimborazo. We'll be in touch as soon as we get back from Chimborazo. Talk to you then.

Tim emailed us with the following dispatch this morning:

Folks,

We are all safe and sound here in Baños where the air is full and the colors are rich. Hard to remember the suffering that we all endured to reach the highest point in Ecuador. Sitting here comfortably in my Teva sandals and cotton shirt, I'll try and recount these last days for you as they truly are worth mentioning.

Our departure from the Hacienda la Cienega three days ago was a little delayed, as the roads to the south of Quito were blockaded at the town of Machachi (home to the mineral water Guitig) by a big strike. Luiz, our driver, was able to link together old, abandoned roads that led through haciendas and backroads, and we eventually arrived at la Cienega seven hours later - a journey that normally would take two hours. Hats off to Luiz! Our suffering at this point amounted to more enjoyment of the gardens and one last lunch from the great kitchen of the hacienda.

We journeyed south, and a few hours before dark we arrived at the Stacion Urbina to enjoy the hospitality of the folks at this renovated train station that sits on the southern boundary of Chimborazo's flanks. An excellent chicken dinner and relaxed atmosphere at 12,000 feet furthered our recovery from the climb of Cotopaxi (and Cayambe) and helped maintain our acclimatization.

The next day we made our way through Riobamba and into the park of Chimborazo. The weather turned cold and cloudy, and the rain eventually turned to sleety snow as we drove on dirt roads up past the occasional vacuña until we reached the end of the road and the lower refugio sitting at 16,000 feet.

Not too inspiring - looking out on 2-3 cm of wet snow on the trail leading up to the higher, Wymper hut where we were to spend the night. After a bit of lunch, Ted was biting at the bit and headed off into the gloom. He was quickly followed by John, and, eventually by me, after many important things were squared away. Forty-five minutes later, we were comfortably settled into this higher hut at 16,400 feet, resting up for the night. I took the opportunity to hike up an hour or so to scope out our early morning trail.

It wasn't too crowded at the hut, with only a party of Germans and Ecuadorians to juggle with during our midnight fixings and departure.

The sky was fantastic. Clear, calm, and barely 0 degrees Celsius. The moon blazed, and we could see at least several hours of our proposed route from the hut. We used our head-torches in only the parts of the route that were in shadow.

Hiking out of the hut and up towards the "corridor," Ted stopped us all at one point and voiced concern over the enormity of our task ahead. We were all feeling a little daunted by the upcoming 3,600 feet or so of ascending, especially after our previous successes, and none of us wanted to let the team down by having to turn around higher on the mountain. A quick pow-wow made sure we were all on the same page: to see how it goes, nice and steady, and not to climb the higher mountain in our minds before we get there.

And so the pain and joy began. We slowly made our way up. It got colder. The snow became less firm: a crust at times that would break under our weight. Then it got colder still. The moon continued to light our way, and a solitary thunderhead to the north would blast out lightning (but no thunder) every now and again to add to the night's surreal nature.

Snow conditions never got better, and as we prepared to traverse a higher slope, a local guide and I dug a quick test-pit to evaluate avalanche conditions. We found three feet of snow bonded well to the icy glacial slopes, but also found a few layers near the surface that were not quite able to support our weight. AND IT WAS COLD. -8 degrees Celcius or so. Thankfully, there was very little wind. Slowly, slowly.

The elevation now was beginning to take its toll, and it was getting hard to stay warm as we slowed our pace and began to breath harder; everybody pulled hard as we started to post-hole through the collapsing steps that we made.

Dawn came quickly though mist and clouds, but any warmth was a long way away. The final slopes along the edges of age-old crevasses threatened to topple us over as we continued to punch through this new snow, but we could feel the top and I could see the grins starting to appear on my fellow ropemates' faces.

And then we were there. All of a sudden, we could stop. We were atop the Veintemille summit of Chimborazo, at about 20,600 feet, and with a cloud layer surrounding the mountain below our feet, we were alone in our vistas.

It was not over, of course; at the summit we were only half way there, but the descent went quickly. Before we knew it, we were back at the hut, then we were helping Luiz load the truck, then we were driving, then we were napping, then we were sweltering in our forgotten long johns and cold weather clothing, then, finally, we were in Baños.

And now it's time to eat again and drink some sort of tropical drink, then maybe take a nap, and then repeat. We'll get back to reality in the form of Quito in a few days after we enjoy this tropical luxury a bit more.

Cheers,

Tim

We received a message from Tim saying that the weather has been bad in and around Quito and that due to flooding in the city, their access to functioning email is very limited. He will go back to making dispatches by phone and will have some trip details for us later today or tomorrow.

Tim called to leave a series of messages summarizing the trip thus far. He reiterated that flooding in Quito has knocked out email communications, among other things, throughout the city.

The group successfully climbed Pasachoa and Gua Gua Pichincha as part of their acclimatization efforts. While on the summit of Gua Gua, the weather moved in, and they had to descend quickly in an onslaught of hail, sleet, rain, thunder, and lightning. By the time they reached the base of the mountain, more than an inch of sleet and slush was on the ground. It had rained hard in the city too, and upon their return, traffic was gridlocked due to extensive flooding. It took the group several hours to work their way back through town, collect gear and supplies, and make their way north to Hacienda Guachala below Cayambe.

After a relaxing night at the hacienda, the group made its way up to the hut on Cayambe (16,200 feet). Their gear was driven to the hut, but they hiked the last hour or so to further aid their acclimatization. It started to rain just as they reached the hut and settled in for the remainder of the day.

An early rise saw the group up and on the glacier for a day spent working on cramponing technique, ice axe use, and glacier travel skills. They finished up in the early afternoon in preparation for the midnight wake-up time and their summit attempt the next morning. A soup appetizer followed by a hearty dinner had the group happy and fed for bed time at 6pm.

Tim called to wish everyone a Merry Christmas Eve and to say that they had returned from a successful climb of Cayambe.

They got out of bed at around midnight and were out the door at 1:15am. The temperature at the hut was about +3 Celsius and the visibility was quite bad. Heavy clouds and foggy mist limited the line of sight to about 10 feet through the initial rock band. Soon the group was above the layer of clouds and in the clear. The recent storms had left a bunch of fresh snow on the glacier, and the going was slow for the first few hours. Tim broke trail through the sugary and unconsolidated snow which eventually turned into a miserable breakable crust. After a few more hours of postholing, the snow conditions improved, but the going was still slow due to the amount of effort expended lower down and the high altitude.

The sunrise was spectacular as the sun illuminated the clouds above and below the group as they worked their way towards the summit. They topped out at 9am which is later than Tim prefers, but the temperature was moderately cold (-3C on the summit) and the group was doing well. On the descent, they had to rescue a fallen Nalgene bottle from a crevasse which required some trickery and technical climbing to get into and out of the icy hole.

Just before the hut, they reentered the clouds including more rain and sleet. They reached the hut at 2pm and immediately packed for Guachala which they reached at 5pm.

Today (December 23) they are off to the Cotopaxi hut.

Tim called to from Hacienda la Cienega to say that the group had returned from Cotopaxi and that all but three members of the group were able to reach the summit.

Soft snow conditions made for slow going and the group reached the summit in about 7 hours from the hut. The temps were perfect for climbing (-5C), but the snow was still sugary and unconsolidated. The skies were perfectly clear, and all of the major peaks in Ecuador were visible with the sunrise.

The group enjoyed an outstanding Christmas dinner at the hacienda, and they are off to Estacion Urbina tomorrow to sleep a little higher than the hacienda, and then Chimborazo.

A few members of the group are talking of heading to Banos and skipping the last climb but as of this dispatch, that was still uncertain.

We received the following message from Tim this morning:

Well, our good fortune finally ran out yesterday when after arriving at the Estacion Urbina, we awoke following a whole night of torrential rain and major amounts of new snow in the hills.

We received reports of at least 2 feet of fresh snow at the lower Chimborazo hut (16,000'). Besides the horrible thought of plowing through greater amounts of snow higher on the mountain, there is the very real avalanche danger that this particular route presents with that much new snow. Reports also said that the whole range here in Ecuador received this blast of snow - very unusual for this time of year. Acknowledging this avalanche risk, we as a group descided to call it quits for the mountains and head to the hot springs of Baños a day early.

Now in our sandals and shorts and with fruit drinks in hand, we are considering our next plan of action. Wish us luck and sunscreen.

Cheers,

Tim

Below is Tim's final trip report:

After deciding not to attempt Chimborazo, we headed down to Banos on Tuesday afternoon and enjoyed an easy afternoon. People were surpised to find themselves still tired from Cotopaxi, and they enjoyed having the time to catch-up on email and relax. During the day it was nice, rained a lot at night.

It's quite pretty in Baños - seems like a permanent spring. Among many other flowers, in this area hibiscus grows like big trees. On Thursday we arranged for some mountain bikes which folks rode down towards the Cascadia de Diablo and the Rio Verde. Lower down the river valley, the group then enjoyed a raft trip down towards Puyo. It was great because after a light of rain, the rivers were swollen and fast. Ran it in half the normal time. Some people hadn't been rafting before and said it wasn't too much - a class 3 or 3+.

We enjoyed several great lunches and dinners in different restaurants and stayed up late enjoying the town. A couple of people went to message therapists. On Friday got back to Quito at 3:30. We had time to organize our gear for the next morning's departure and then enjoyed an excellent dinner at a restaurant perched on side of Pichincha. We had a great view down into the night-lights of the city, and our final dinner together was as an excellent ending to a very enjoyable trip.

Our program is underway with introductions, gearchecking, and dinner this evening. The group is very outgoing and lively and off to a great start together. Seems like a strong group with excellent past experience, and everyone is hoping to achieve a new personal altitude record during the trip. All team members arrived Thursday evening and spent today exploring colonial Quito and even riding the gondola up on the slope of Pinchincha. It seems everyone is well prepared with their gear.

We had a great dinner of classic Ecuadorian food at Mama Corinda's restaurant. We talked over the details of the upcoming two weeks and answered many questions about the mountains, weather, altitude, and so on. We are now all heading off to bed early to be ready for a good day tomorrow in Otavalo.

That's about it for now,
Mark

AAI guide Mark Johnson sent this dispatch late in the afternoon on January 6th.

It's been another beautiful day here in Ecuador. We left the hotel around 8am and made our way to Otavalo, stopping by the Mitad del Mundo [Middle of the World, i.e., the equator] for a "photo opportunity." It was partly cloudy up on Cayambe - our first big objective, but as we drove toward Otavalo, the mountain enticed us with incredible views from time to time. Our route on Cayambe was clearly visible during one of these clear periods, and the sight left everyone in awe of this beautiful mountain.

Our group consists of Lisa and John, friends and climbing partners from the U.K., Will and Paul, climbing partners from California, and Art from Maryland who sends out his best to his wife Karen, son Patrick, family, and friends.

We spent the morning roaming around the market and buying gifts for folks back home. Unfortunately, the wonderful Otavalo pie shop was closed, so we didn't get to sample the local blackberry pie.

After the market, we got our first taste of moving uphill at a new altitude with a walk out of Otavalo, over the hill to the south and down to Lago San Pablo. Everyone enjoyed getting some exercise in the hot Ecadorian sun. We had a wonderful late lunch at Hacienda San Pablo, before driving back to Quito.

It has been an excellent day of getting to know each other better, seeing some new sights, and breathing air that's a little thinner than at home. We are all looking forward to our first acclimitization hike tomorrow on Pasachoa.

Hasta luego,
Mark

AAI guide Mark Johnson sent this dispatch late in the afternoon on January 7th.

Greetings again from Quito,

We have had yet another beautiful day here in Ecuador. This morning we headed out to Pasachoa under clear skies for an acclimatization hike to 13,776 feet. On the way out of town, we had views of four out of five of our climbing objectives. We enjoyed warm, sunny weather on the hike up, and everyone was able to get an easy first taste of some higher altitude and how their bodies were responding. Everybody did fine.

We saw of pair of hawks on the rocky cliffs above us as we were hiking around the backside of the mountain. We made it up the last steep grassy slopes to the summit, had a nice lunch on top, checked our blood-oxygen levels with a pulse/ox meter and spied a condor floating on the thermals! We stayed on the summit about 45 minutes then headed down with some interesting looks at local birds including some hummingbirds. Paul is a bird watcher and used his binoculars to get a better look at some of the local species. Everyone really enjoyed getting some good exercise today, and we are all hoping for a good night's sleep before our hike to 15,670 feet on Monday and our move on to Hacienda Guachala.

Hope all is well with everyone back home,
Mark

AAI guide Mark Johnson sent this dispatch the morning of January 9:

We're in a bit of a rush now, but we wanted to let everyone back home know that we had a good day yesterday, odd that it was. We got an early start to the day. Will wasn't feeling that great and so didn't go with us for the hike. Better to take it easy.

It was cloudy and foggy in the morning for the drive up to the Guagua Pichincha trailhead. As we got to the drop-off point we found that the van radiator hose was blowing water out the middle. We headed up the road while Luis took the van back to Quito somehow, putting water in the radiator every few miles. He made it back to town, got a new hose on, and returned to the drop-off point by 2pm.

We had a wonderful hike up Pichincha with some clouds and wind, but everyone made it just fine. We got back to the hotel at about 3pm and found Will feeling much better. We loaded the luggage and finally got to Hacienda Guachala through lots of traffic at about 7:30pm. Everyone was quite tired, but we had a very good late dinner and headed to bed. The team is very excited to head up to the Cayambe this morning.

We'll talk to you soon. Mark

AAI guide Mark Johnson left this message via satellite phone at 2:58am Pacific time, 5:58am Quito time:

Hi - this is Mark calling from the hut on the slopes of 18,997-foot Cayambe. Everything is fine here, and folks are feeling good - making a very nice adjustment to the altitude.

We left Guachala yesterday after a pleasant, leisurely morning at the hacienda. It's a very comfortable place. We drove to the end of the road for the hike to the hut, which took us about an hour. It was a bit cloudy but the weather is not bad.

After getting to the hut, we had lunch and then practiced prussiking. The clouds cleared a little later, and we got great views of Cayambe's summit and were able to take photos. The mountain stayed clear for a while, so we took a walk for about 45 minutes up the flank of the mountain and got to 16,000 feet. All the climbers enjoyed checking out the approach that we will take for our summit climb. People went to bed at 8pm after dinner. Again, folks are feeling quite good, and we're all pleased to be here on such a beautiful peak.

Talk to you soon,

Mark

Mark called in this afternoon (3:10pm Pacific time, 6:10pm Cayambe time) with a quick update:

We have had a great day today, and we are currently resting at the Cayambe refugio. This morning, we went out onto the glacier and practiced cramponing, ice axe skills, and roping up. You could say we generally had a very good time running around on the ice.

Everyone is pretty psyched for the climb tomorrow. The plan is to wake up tonight at midnight and be climbing by 1am. The weather is looking very ideal so far. I will report back in tomorrow from Hacienda Guachala after our climb.

Until then,

Mark

We received the following dispatch at 3:25pm Pacific time, 6:30pm Ecuador time.

Hi Everyone,

I am happy to report that we are all safely back at Hacienda Guachala after a very successful climb of Cayambe. We were up by midnight eating breakfast and preparing our packs and then out the door by 1am with our assistant guide from Ecuador, Diego.

We climbed under clear skies with only some clouds below us to the east, and by good timing, the moon rose over the ridge just before we headed out. We had a beautiful starry sky with a half waning moon to light our way. The lights of Quito and Otavalo were also interesting highlights in the terrain below.

We made it to the glacier's edge in one hour and were roped up and moving up the glacier 20 minutes later. The route was in excellent condition with perfect névé from our first step onto the snow until the summit. Surprisingly, the route is very straightforward right now with very few of the typical difficulties. We had just a couple of steep sections near the top.

We summited at 6:50 am and enjoyed great views of Antisana, Cotopaxi, the Illinizas, and Chimborazo in the distance. The climbers really enjoyed their time on top! Because conditions were so good and our group is so fit, we made it down the mountain in only an hour-and-a-half! We headed back to the hut for some delicious hot tea and snacks before packing up and heading down to Hacienda Guachala.

Everyone is very tired this evening, but very happy with the efforts of today and the incredible experience of summiting one of Ecuador's great mountains.

That's it for now. I will be in touch soon, Mark

We just received an exciting piece of news - Mark and the team summitted Cotopaxi! We will provide a full dispatch as soon as we hear more. Way to go Mark and team!

Mark called January 15 at 2:30pm Pacific time with the following summary of the team's last few days:

On Friday, we left Hacienda Guachala and drove south to La Cienaga, where we stayed the night. Saturday morning we moved to the Cotopaxi refugio (hut) in preparation for our summit attempt. In the middle of the drive, we stopped at a natural history museum where we had lunch and watched birds through the large binoculars that were set up.

We drove higher up the flanks of the mountain and then had about a 45-minute hike from the end of the road to the refugio, which we did with full packs. We arrived at the refugio at 3pm, settled in, and had a nice pesto pasta dinner at 4:30pm. Paul saw a couple of paramo wolves, (which are actually little red foxes that like to hang out around the refugio, but for some reason they call them wolves). At 6pm, we went to bed.

We woke at midnight and left for the summit at 1am. It is a fairly straightforward route currently with the recent snows, and we summited at 6:10am under a perfectly clear sky and in pretty good conditions (18 degrees F and a 15mph wind). There were lots of clouds below us, but we were treated to a sky full of stars and a crescent moon above. Also, we got to watch the sun rise over the clouded-in Amazon Basin.

We descended, packed up at the refugio, and drove back to La Cienega for the night. This morning (Monday), we left for Estacion Urbina, a small lodge situated at 13,200 feet on the flank of Chimborazo. It's pretty cloudy today and very windy, but it's supposed to clear up this evening. Tomorrow we'll be heading to the Chimborazo refugio, and then going for the summit tomorrow night. I'll report back in soon!

Mark Johnson called today at 3pm Pacific time (6pm Ecuadorian time) with the following dispatch:

Hello! We left Estacion Urbina this morning at 11am, bound for the Chimborazo refugio. The sky was beautiful and we had great views of the mountains, including our objective, Chimborazo. We stopped in Rio Bamba on the way to the refugio and picked up Diego, our Ecuadorian guide who will be helping out on our summit attempt. Diego has summited Chimborazo five times this season, and hopefully his string of successes will continue!

We drove to the lower refugio on Chimborazo and then shouldered our packs and hiked for 45 minutes to the upper refugio where we are spending the night tonight. We saw many vacuña along the way, and we also had incredible views of our climbing route.

Speaking of our route, it looks like we are going to have to climb via a variation on the standard route. Because Chimborazo's glaciers are quite bare again, there is some rockfall danger on the standard route (also called "the corridor"), so we are going to climb via what used to be the standard route (the Whymper Route), and then we will traverse to climber's left and join up with the "current standard route" at about 18,000 feet for the last push to the summit.

The weather is very beautiful right now. There are a few clouds in the sky, but I am sure they will clear off by this evening.

We plan to wake up at 11pm and leave by midnight. It is currently 6pm, and we are all on our way to bed. I'll call with another dispatch tomorrow evening.

Mark Johnson emailed from Baños today with the following dispatch:

We are currently in Baños getting settled in for the evening.

We had a great time on Chimborazo. John, Lisa, Paul, Ecuadorian Guides Diego and Jorge, and I left the refugio at midnight, according to our plan of attempting the old Whymper route up to about 19,000 feet, then traversing onto the upper slopes of the standard route. We had a beautiful clear morning, and the stars were incredibly bright since it was a new moon.

We gained the ridge east of the refugio via a snow-covered slope, then walked up the dirt ridge to about 17,300 feet. Here, John decided he was not feeling well enough and turned around with Jorge. The rest of us continued up to a rock band, which we ascended via a 50-degree rock and verglass gulley. Above were several hundred feet of rock slabs, some covered in verglass, some in frozen gravel, and a little snow here and there. Under the cover of the moonless skies, we couldn't really see anything further than the distance of our headlamp beams.

At about 18,700 feet - just below the traverse that would take us west to the normal route's upper slopes - Lisa decided she should turn around, so she and I started down while Diego and Paul continued up. We are very pleased to report that Diego and Paul summited at around 6am.

Diego and Paul returned to the refugio at about 10:30am. We were all down to the van and headed to Baños by 11:30am. We dropped Diego off in Riobamba and said our final goodbyes. We went back by Estacion Urbina to pick up Will (who had not been feeling well and could not go with us to Chimborazo) and our luggage and were all in Baños by 3pm.

Everyone has been out eating and some have headed on to bed (we got up a long time ago). We are all looking forward to a well-deserved rest tomorrow and a little exploring in this semi-tropical paradise. Everyone is happy and satisfied with their efforts on the mountains and very happy to see Paul carry the torch to the summit of Chimbo.

Mark

Mark Johnson emailed from Baños today with the following dispatch:

The lastest news from Ecuador: Our day in Baños is coming to a close. We just finished a wonderful dinner at Mama Ines's restaurant. The day has been filled with a lot of activity, including mountain biking down the hill to the Nariz del Diablo, sightseeing the beautiful waterfalls on the Rio Verde, bungee jumping, meeting other visitors from all over the world, and - believe it or not - some work via the internet for some of us.

Everyone has also tried to get a little extra sleep this morning, making up for the lack of it on Chimborazo yesterday. We have seen the first rain of the entire trip today here in Baños. It's been a warm humid day, quite a change from the crisp heights of the mountains. There is still some night life to be had, and I also I believe a little foosball playing with the locals is about to happen. Another good night's sleep and we will be on our way back to Quito for our final day.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Mark

Mark and the team members of the fourth Ecuador expedition met up on Friday evening (January 26). Mark sent the following dispatch at 6pm Quito time on Sunday January 28th.

Greetings from Quito,

The fourth trip of this Ecuadorian season is well underway. Three members of our climbing team and I met Friday night for introductions and a great dinner of classic Ecuadorian food at Mama Clorinda's restaurant. There were Evan from N.Y. City, Andrew from upstate N.Y., and James from La Conner, Washington. We had a good time talking over the upcoming events that we have planned for this trip.

Saturday morning we met another member of our climbing team, Heather from Montana, whose husband Matt was unfortunately delayed with flights in the States and would not be joining us until Sunday morning. We headed off to Otavalo for a great morning at the market, with some views of Cayambe between the clouds and then a good warm-up hike over the hill south of town to Laguna San Pablo.

The day turned out to be beautiful even though it was threatening rain early. We ended up with a little time at the end of our hike for a game of frisbee with some local kids living next to the lake. Frisbee is not a common game in Ecuador, so the kids are very curious and love to try their hand at throwing this strange round flying object. We had a lunch lakeside at a hosteria and enjoyed the views of coots (a water fowl that we also see and know as marsh birds in North America) swimming on the lake with Volcan Imbabura in the background.

Sunday morning we met up with Matt to complete our climbing team and then headed off for a day-hike of Pasachoa. The clouds burned away as the day progressed, and with a strong wind pushing us up the hill, we summited the peak via the more daring East ridge. It is a short, steep third-class scramble through the natural vegetation and over small rock steps with just enough exposure thrown in to keep your attention. The wind proved not to be too strong on the summit, allowing us to stay for almost an hour and enjoy a great lunch, an incredible view of our route on Cotopaxi, and quick peeks at Antisana. It was a great day of good exercise with a taste of altitude.

We'll be in touch soon,

Mark

Mark sent the following dispatch at 6:26am Quito time (3:26am Pacific time) this morning:

Greetings from a very sunny Ecuador!

Sunday morning dawned totally clear after several days of clouds and periodic rain. We were all very excited to see the blue skies and to have a bright sunny day to climb Pichincha. The views as we drove out of town were incredible. We could see most of the major peaks in Ecuador. Cayambe, Antisana, Cotopaxi, the Illinizas, and Chimborazo were all clearly visible. The recent snows in the mountains did not appear to leave much of a mark, as you could still see the bare ice on the bottom of the glaciers on Cayambe and Antisana.

We had a beautiful hike up Pichincha with only a bit of wind toward the summit. We were treated with rare views down into the summit crater with the fumoroles pumping. Near the summit we were greeted by a paramo wolf moving through the talus curious about these visitors to his home.

We enjoyed an extended rest on the summit, taking photos and snacking and then made a fast trip back down the mountain to the awaiting van. After collecting our luggage back at the hotel in Quito, we continued on to Hacienda Guachala to end a beautiful day in a very beautiful place. We all have high hopes that the clear weather will stay with us as we head up toward Cayambe tomorrow. Everyone is feeling quite strong and excited to move up onto our first big mountain.

Hasta luego,

Mark

Mark called in today at 5:15pm Quito time (2:15pm Pacific time) from the satellite phone and relayed the following message:

Hello from Cayambe! We are currently up at the refugio [hut] on Cayambe's flanks, after arriving here yesterday afternoon. We left Guachala around 10am yesterday and drove up to the refugio amidst fairly cloudy and windy weather. After hiking from the road's end to the refugio, we practiced the basics of knots, harnesses, and roping up to make sure everyone was on the same page. We then hiked up the first part of the route until we reached the glacier at about 16,400 feet and were lucky enough to have beautiful evening views of Cayambe's upper slopes. Once back at the refugio, we were treated to the rising moon amidst clear skies before going to bed.

This morning we woke, had breakfast, and went out onto the ice to practice the glacier skills we'll be using on our summit attempt. It was cloudy and snowing, but everyone was a trooper, and we finished our skills review in good time. We hiked back to the refugio in the late afternoon and at 4pm had a hearty dinner. It is currently 5:15pm and everyone but me is in bed already resting up for tonight's early departure. Our plan is to get up at midnight and leave for the summit at 1am. The refugio is pretty packed with climbing teams, so we all have decided to stagger our departure times to spread out climbers on the route. The weather is not supposed to clear up, unfortunately, but we're planning on going for the summit unless it worsens and the wind picks up dramatically.

I'll be writing or writing once we're back in Guachala tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Mark

Several people asked for more details on the wolf the group saw on Pichincha, and here's what Mark added in a second call:

"Paramo wolves look almost exactly like red foxes in size and color (reddish brown, maybe 18 inches at the shoulder?). I was surprised to see one at the top of Pichincha, roaming around the summit. It was probably looking for rodents, just sitting in the talus looking at our group as we came near the top, then it scampered off. It looked healthy and probably has that high altitude territory to itself. It was a very nice sighting."

Here is the latest on Ecuador from Mark:

I am happy to report that our entire climbing team summited Cayambe this morning about 7:45am. We awoke at midnight to mostly clear skies, a bright moon and about a 20mph wind at the refugio. The summit was covered with a small cloud cap and appeared to be very windy.

We were out of the refugio by 1am and were able to nagivate the approach to the glacier without a headlamp because of the nearly full moon. During the early hours of the climb, the wind continued to blow, but the summit cloud cap disappeared, improving our chances for a clear summit. As daylight began to light up the mountain, another cloud came from behind the mountain and covered the summit and upper slopes of the whole peak just as we were entering the area.

The visibility came and went as did some snow as we approached the steeper summit slopes. There were several teams on the mountain this morning, but by this point in the climb we were leading the way and finding the trail through the low visibility. After about 18,000 feet the wind picked up and we begin to collect rime ice on our clothing, packs, and faces. We made our way up the steep final slopes with only 20 yards visibility through the snow and fog.

As we approached the summit plateau the wind picked up to around 30mph with driving snow, but we were still able to find the final steep gulley leading to the summit. Everyone was elated at finally making it to the top under difficult conditions. We did not spend too much time on the summit, although a number of our climbers did manage to take some photos. We quickly made our way back down out of the higher winds and regained good visibility for the rest of the descent.

It was an excellent climb with some full conditions battled triumphantly by everyone. We are now comfortably resting at Hacienda Guachala after showers and a great lunch. Everyone is very happy and looking forward to a long night's sleep!

More tomorrow,

Mark

Here is another dispatch from Mark. Congratulations to the team on a second summit!

Hello from Ecuador,

Once again, I am happy to report that our team summited Cotopaxi on Sunday morning!

On Friday, we made the move to La Cienega in preparation for climbing Cotopaxi. The weather was somewhat unstable and it was difficult to predict what would happen as we spent Friday preparing our gear and relaxing at the Hacienda. On Saturday morning, we headed up to the Jose Ribas Refugio on Cotopaxi under cloudy skies and strong winds. We settled in and went outside occasionally to enjoy periodic views of the upper slopes of the mountain.

We had an early dinner and were in bed by 5:30pm. As we tried to rest before getting up at 11:00pm, we could hear the winds blowing hard outside the refugio. By our departure time at midnight, there were some clouds below, but the skies were all clear above us and a bright moon lit the mountain. The winds continued to blow quite hard.

We were the first team out of the refugio and were glad to be in front on the mountain. We found the snow on the glacier to be in excellent cramponing condition, which helped us make a quick ascent of the lower slopes. At this point, we split up into two rope teams so people could move at paces that were comfortable for them, and the first rope team made short work of the steeper slopes toward the summit and was on top by 6am! We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise in 30+mph winds, but still with very clear skies overhead. It was a great morning for everyone, and we were all satisfied by the great effort put forth on the mountain.

After 15 hours of sleep back at La Cienega, we drove south toward Chimborazo - our last objective. We are currently making a stop in Ambato en route to Estation Urbina, where we will sleep tonight. The morning has been beautiful with slightly hazy views of Chimborazo ahead of us. I think we are all still in need of more rest today, but we are definitely anticipating the last climb ahead of us.

I'll be in touch soon,

Mark

Mark called at 6:30 Ecuador time (3:30 Pacific time):

We're calling from the Wymper Regugio on Chimborazo. We woke this morning at Estacion Urbina to a BEAUTIFUL day - all blue skies, incredible views of Chimbo, AND we could see El Altar, which is very rare. We left Estacion Urbina at 10:30am and drove to the refugio. We had incredible views of Chimbo whole way. There was hardly a cloud anywhere near the mountain all day except for a few clouds sitting low out west that were above the cloud forest, but they are still a long way off.

Chimbo has fallen very badly out of shape - even worse since we were here last, but the team wanted to come up to the mountain to have a look for themselves. It's really bad - very, and yes, very out of shape. It's extremely dry and there is a ton of rock fall happening constantly.

The tongue of Thielmann Glacier comes down the face that we can see from the hut, and AAI's climbing route usually goes to the left (the Corridor Route), but there is tons of rockfall on that route, and it's constant. Same as on Wymper Route, which we climbed last time - regular rockfall. Huge rocks. It was in tough condition before, but now there is simply no snow on Wymper Route - it's completely rock until you get on glacier, which is WAY up on the peak. There's some ice in places, but basically most of the ice coverage is gone too. The last two weeks have brought too much sun and not enough snow to keep this fragile route in shape for a climb at this time. We had some snow and rain at times between the sunny times where we were, so we had been hoping that Chmbo was getting blasted with snow, but no such luck.

We will stay here for the night. There was another group of folks from a university in Ohio at the hut, but they also decided not to climb and left earlier. We are now the are only ones in the refugio, and we are enjoying the calm and isolation here and the great views above and below us. After a leisurely morning, we'll follow the normal expedition plan, hiking down to meet our van and then driving to Baños for a little semi-tropical R & R.

Everyone's glad we came up to take a look and all are enjoying the amazingly clear views of the mountain. And it's quite a show that the unstable mountain is putting on for us!

We'll call again or e-mail from Baños in a day or two.

Hasta pronto from all of us!

Mark emailed in with the following dispatch this afternoon:

Buenas Tardes,

It is a beautiful sunny and warm day here in Baños. We arrived this afternoon after coming down from the refugio on Chimborazo. So far we've checked into our hotel, showered, and had a delicious lunch. I think we all left Chimbo with a little disappointment over not being able to attempt the mountain, but that is a decision that has to be made sometimes.

We awoke to beautiful views of the mountain with another clear day over the Sierra Occidental here in Ecuador. After coming down to the road and meeting our vehicle, we spent a little time talking about our next adventures and hopes for climbing objectives. There are lots for fun plans for the future. For now, we are looking forward to an easy afternoon, more great food tonight, and a fun day tomorrow playing in the warm sunshine of Ecuador's lower elevations here in Baños. Everyone sends their wishes to folks back home that they are enjoying an equally beautiful day.

Hasta Mañana,

Mark

Mark emailed the following at 12:30am Baños time:

Buenas Noches,

On Thursday (yesterday), we had a great next to the last day in Baños. The weather has been warm and dry with a little wind to keep us cool. Between all of us, we have been out sampling such tourist delights as mountain biking, rafting, rappeling through waterfalls, bridge jumping, and paragliding! I feel like we have definitely taken full advantage of the great weather and all that Baños has to offer. We had a great dinner at a restaurant called Le Petit and enjoyed recapping our adventures, then topped it all off with a fantastic fruit fondue. You can't really ask for much more in a single day! For now we all all heading off to bed for a good night's rest. We will be in touch tomorrow.

Hasta Mañana,

Mark

Mark emailed with the following dispatch on Friday, February 9, at 7:30pm Quito time (after our offices were closed):

We arrived back in Quito this afternoon around 2pm, after saying our goodbyes to the lower elevations of Baños, and enjoyed a great final dinner together at Al Forno Italian Pizzeria. James and Evan spent the afternoon getting ready to leave Ecuador, while Heather, Matt, and Andrew prepared for the climb of Illiniza Norte tomorrow. Heather is staying in Ecuador for a while and will be joining us for the 10-day Illiniza/Antisana Expedition starting this Friday (February 16).

It has been a wonderful trip altogether, marked by mostly good weather and summits that didn't allow our passage without some added effort on our part - which really just added to the sweetness of standing on the top. Thanks to everyone involved in making this another excellent trip. It has been really great.

Until next time,

Mark

AAI Guide Mark Johnson emailed with the following first dispatch yesterday (Sunday, February 18):

Hola desde Quito,

After a very rainy week between our last trip and the current Illiniza/Antisana Expedition, we got under way on a very soggy Friday evening in Quito. Team members Bruce Hestad (Watertown, SD), Colin Carnahan (Nashville, TN), Becky Zadroga (Minneapolis, MN), Miguel Morais (Lisbon, Portugal), Heather Squires (Livingston, TX), and I had a very nice dinner at Mama Clorinda's restaurant - getting to know each other and talking over the upcoming trip.

Saturday morning dawned a bit cloudy, but it held promise for a little drier day for us to acclimatize on Pasachoa (13,776'). We hiked up through the wet paramo as the fog and clouds came and went around the mountain. As we ascended around the east side of the peak, we actually got a quick glimpse of Cotopaxi far to the south. We made it to the summit in time for lunch, but didn't really get any other views through the clouds that were surrounding the summit. We did manage the hike down without getting rained on although it was threatening. Even without the incredible views of a clear day, we had a great day of good exercise, acclimatization, and socializing.

Today, Sunday, dawned much clearer and drier. We headed out to climb Gua Gua Pichincha (15,670') about 8am. On the way up and out of the city, we had nice views of Cotopaxi, Cayambe, and one of our objectives - Antisana, which was wearing a thin cloud cap, indicating some winds blowing in the Eastern Cordillera (Cordillera Oriental). We had a great hike up Pichincha, enjoying some nice sunshine and warm temps. Towards the top there was a little bit of wind and the clouds began to build around us, but it was warm enough for a lunch on the summit.

Everyone was feeling a little stronger today as our bodies adjust to the altitude. A brisk hike down the mountain and we were quickly back in Quito with some time before dinner to prep our equipment for our planned departure tomorrow for the Illinizas. Everyone is excited to head out into the mountains for the next several days. We're hoping the weather continues to improve and our acclimatization continues steadily and with good result up on the Illinizas.

We'll hope to be in touch tomorrow,

Mark

Mark Johnson called at 1pm (Pacific time) from high in the Illiniza Refugio.

Hello everyone. We're here at the Illinizas. Yesterday, we left Quito about 9:30am and drove south down the Pan American Highway until we were just east of the Illinizas. We then headed up towards the peaks on a rough road as far as we could and met up with our arriero and the pack horses.

We had a quick lunch, grabbed our day packs (while the horses carried our heavier gear), and started hiking uphill into the clouds. When we arrived at the refugio a little later, we practiced basic knot skills while we waited for the horses to arrive. Then we got settled into the refugio, ate dinner, and played cards until it was dark. It had been pretty socked in all day, but once it was dark, it cleared up and we witnessed the revealing of a beautiful, starry sky outside the hut.

Our plan for this morning was to wake at 5am and start climbing Illiniza Norte by 6am, however, when I got up at 4:45am to put the water on to boil, I noticed that outside the hut there was an inch and a half of fresh snow, with more falling. I turned right around and shut the water off, then went back to bed. The top 500 feet of Illiniza Norte consists of exposed 3rd class climbing, and while it's doable with a few inches of snow, it's certainly not as safe. We all woke later at 6:30am to another half inch of snow on the ground and horrible visibility, and we decided to wait the morning out.

We had breakfast and practiced a few more skills, then at 11:30am the visibility improved and it was brighter out, though still cloudy and precipitating (a sort of slushy snow). We decided to head out then: the five climbers on the trip plus our two Ecuadorian assistant guides (Washington and Nacho), and me. Two and a half hours later, we reached the summit. The climb was fairly straightforward, with just one fixed line along the way to provide an extra measure of safety on an exposed section.

We just got back to the refugio - in all we were gone 4.5 hours. It's still cloudy with limited visibility (probably 50-60 yards). People are super psyched though - they were really chomping at the bit, and now they are happy to have made the climb of Illiniza Norte (16817'). Tomorrow, we plan to climb Illiniza Sur (17,268'). We'll probably leave at about 2 or 3am. The climb involves lots of bare glacier ice, with some snow at the top - we'll definitely be using crampons and two ice tools. It's a very different climb than Illiniza Norte. After the climb, we will hike back down to the road, then drive to Estacion Machache for the night.

All in all, folks are feeling good. I'll try to call or email tomorrow with an update.

Hasta pronto,

Mark

Mark Johnson called at 7pm (Pacific time) from Estacion Machache.

Warm Hellos from Ecuador,

We're here at Estacion Machache after a very successful summit climb of Illiniza Sur! We had great weather and a great climb. We were up at 1am and out of the hut heading for our route by 2:15am. We wanted the coldest possible conditions to make sure everything stay frozen during both our ascent and descent.

We took a direct approach to the glacier, traversing under the north face to reach a 4th class cliff. We fixed ropes on that. It was snow covered, so that was good, as it held any loose rubble in place. Above that we had good cramponing on 40-degree slopes.

Above that we belayed some 45 to 50-degree terrain, before moving back onto mellower 40-degree slopes as we moved to the summit. Just before the summit, we had a very exposed icy traverse - very exhilarating as we made the final part of our climb to the very sharp summit. More summits ought to be shaped like this - very dramatic!

We made the climb in four hours, pretty darn good time considering the technical nature of the route. We really enjoyed being on top. It stayed clear and we had superb views of all the Ecuadorian peaks, including excellent views of Antisana and el Altar, our coming goals. We were all very pleased about that. It's a lot of fun to survey the landscape where you will soon be traveling.

We made it down to the hut by 9:30am, a good pace that included some rappelling along the way. The early hour assured that the route remained in good shape on the way down. It worked out great. We were at the hut by 9:30am and shortly thereafter headed to Estacion Machache, where we've had a very relaxing afternoon. We were all pretty tired after two summits in the space of 16 hours.

We've had a great dinner, and now weĠre looking forward to bed and a fun and relaxing day at an Indian market tomorrow.

More soon,

Mark

Mark Johnson called at 5pm (Pacific time) from basecamp on Antisana.

Hello Everyone from the Ecuadorian Wilderness,

We're set up nicely here on the flanks of Antisana, seemingly with the whole world to ourselves. We're in bed now, eagerly awaiting tomorrow's climb.

We left the Estacion Machache at 8:45am this morning in strong winds and under a low haze, but the upper atmosphere was clear, and that was a good sign. We stopped at a store for a resupply of fresh food and then head east across the remote paramo that leads to Antisana. We were able to drive most of the way to base camp, walking just the last 45 minutes, while our truck got the supplies all the way to camp over the rough terrain.

The weather was still looking good when we arrived, with some low clouds but clear up high. We've had some good views of the mountain, and everyone is amazed at how big this mountain is! The weather looks promising, and I think we'll be able to climb above the clouds in about 1000 ft.

We have a big cook tent and a gas stove on which we just cooked a great big dinner of soup and quesadillas. Everyone is feeling good and is now settled into bed as it's just gotten dark in this part of the world. We plan to wake up at 1am to leave at 2am and start the climb.

We'll try to call in more news tomorrow.

Buenos noches,

Mark and the Crew.

Guide Freddy Tipan and the two team members of the fifth Ecuador expedition met up on Friday evening (Feb. 16). Freddy sent the following dispatch at 3pm Quito time on Sunday February 25th.

Tim, Doug, and I send greetings from the Andes. We have been very busy and are pleased to report we summitted on Cayambe on a beautiful day.

We got off to a good start walking and acclimatizing in Quito followed by acclimatization hikes on Pasachoa and Gua Gua Pichincha. On Sunday February 18th we hiked Pasochoa, a 13,776 ft. high peak located one-and-a-half hours southeast of Quito. The guys did very well hiking this peak, although Tim hadn't been feeling totally well the day before. Monday 19th, we hiked Guagua Pichincha a 15,728-foot high volcano located right above Quito. Both guys again did very well this day, and they were happy about their acclimatization progress. In the afternoon we drove two hours north to Hacienda Guachala. We spent a night there, and next morning we drove up to Cayambe hut. In the afternoon we went for a couple of hours walk to get higher than the hut and come back to sleep there.

The plan was to spend a couple of nights at the hut in order to get a better acclimatization for climbing Cayambe, but Tim had some problems acclimatizing (AMS symptoms), so we drove him down to Guachala where he was much more comfortable. Doug was doing great at the higher altitudes, so Wednesday morning Doug and I started early and we went to the glacier to do a four hours of skills review and training. After that we came back to the hut, had dinner, and then prepared to leave at midnight for the summit. Thursday the 22nd we had a great climb of Cayambe summitted at nine-thirty in the morning. We had nice weather, nice view, really good snow conditions, and a hot day. We really enjoyed the climb.

In the afternoon after the climb, we drove to Guachala, met Tim, and spent the night there. The next morning, Friday the 23rd, we headed to Tambopaxi. As Tim had AMS at Cayambe's hut, we thought we would go to spend a night at the hut on Cotopaxi to see how he would feel after having rested and further acclimatized for a couple of days. It turns out, he started feeling not so well again when we were higher, so we immediately headed down to Tambopaxi for the night.

On Saturday the 24th Doug and I went back up to Cotopaxi's hut. He was doing great, and we had a good chance to summit Cotopaxi today, but there was a strong wind storm which was exhausting to climb in. We made it part way but decided to give it up for the day and head back to the hut because the wind showed zero signs of easing. We were going to be more exposed the higher we went. We are thinking about giving it a shot again tomorrow if the weather cooperates! We'll soon see.

We'll send more news later,

Freddy

Mark Johnson emailed the following dispatch today at 7:30am Pacific time

Hello Everyone,

The Illiniza/Antisana expedition has come to a close after a very windy attempt on Antisana by all five expedition members. We awoke Saturday morning at 1am to a calm night at camp with beautiful starry skies. Everyone was very excited and ready to make our final summit attempt. We left camp around 2:30am and headed up a very long moraine for almost two hours before reaching the lower glacier. The wind began to blow during this time and we could see as we headed up the bottom of the glacier that the summit was becoming obscured by clouds.

The winds continued to increase as we wound our way up through the heavily crevassed glacier. The clouds also began to lower down, and our visibility was coming and going as we reached the steep slopes of the higher glacier. We made our way up a long section of steep slopes to gain the ridge between the south summit and the higher summit to our north with very little visibility, high winds, and frost forming on our clothing and faces.

We placed wands on the somewhat featureless slopes above until reaching the large crevasse that acts like a moat protecting the summit at about 9:20am. With the high winds, very low visibility, and cold temperatures, we made the decision to turn around at this high point just a little shy of the summit altitude, rather than risking a long search for a way around the crevasse in worsening conditions.

We made our way back down the glacier following our crampon marks in the icy snow and the wands we had placed. Within three hours we were back on the bottom on the glacier with visibility into the highlands below us, but the winds stayed with us all the way to camp, where we spent the remainder of the afternoon resting and trying to stay out of the winds raking down the mountain into camp. The mountain remained obscured in the clouds and high winds. Even though we had stopped just below the summit, everyone was very happy with our attempt that morning and felt a strong sense of accomplishment at our efforts.

We awoke Sunday morning after a long night of high winds to yet more wind combined with snow. After breakfast in the cook tent, we quickly packed up camp with everyone pitching in to help take the tents down. We made our way back down the road and eventually met the vehicle that was coming in to pick us up. Hotel Quito, hot showers, and a comfortable bed were only about 3 hrs away! We had a nice final dinner together in the Mariscal section of Quito Sunday evening and said our goodbyes and exchanged best wishes to our future adventures, especially to Miguel who is staying on in Ecuador to attempt the very technical and seldom climbed El Altar.

We've had a great time together, and I pass on personal thanks to all the members of this very successful expedition.

Nos Vemos,

Mark