Buenos
dias all!!
Well,
my weekend was slightly disappointing for my whole Andinismo class.
However, we did do all we could to make the best of it, and in my
opinion, we did a pretty dang good job!!
So
here was the plan: last Friday, I left with my Andinismo class to go
to Cotopaxi, one of the highest mountains/volcanoes in Ecuador. Our
goal was the summit. Although I was extremely nervous (I wasn't sure
how my body would react at 20,000 feet), I was PUMPED. I could not
wait. If you type in Cotopaxi in Google images, you'll understand
why. It is absolutely gorgeous. On a clear day, you can see
numerous mountains in the distance, not to mention, it probably feels
like being on top of the world (for real). So on Friday we drove to
our first refuge on the north face of the volcano. The refuge was
amazing. I wouldn't even classify it as a refuge, but more as a
cabin. It was warm, decorated, and it even had a kitchen with tile
counter tops and water that you could drink from the tap (which you
can't even do in Quito)!! It was pretty luxurious. So Friday night
we didn't do much other than let our bodies adjust a bit to the
altitude. We played cards, and sat around the fire and chatted until
we got tired and decided to go to bed.
On
Saturday we got up and relaxed a bit more before our (planned) ascent
to our second refuge. We put on all of our gear that had to be
fitted, which included waterproof everything, climbing harnesses, and
mountaineering boots and cramp-ons (boot spikes!!). This practice
helped us to make sure we could put everything on quickly and easily
at the next refuge (which was not comfortable and was cold) in the
dark.
I
suppose I should explain our planned schedule up the volcano. In
order to climb a mountain like Cotopaxi, it is best to leave in the
middle of the night (we would have left at one in the morning) when
the snow is the hardest. So climbers usually get up, drink some tea
and maybe have a little snack, put on all of their gear in the dark
(with the help of a head lamp of course), and head for the top in the
middle of the night, using only their head lamp (and maybe some moon
light if lucky) to guide their path. Now our group supposedly would
have taken about five hours to get to the top from the second refuge,
and about the same amount of time to get down. So we would have been
hiking in the snow from one in the morning until 11 AM the next day.
Wow. Remember though, this was just the PLAN.
After
we finished fitting all of our equipment, it began to rain.
Actually, pour. Great. And the thing that was even better, was that
pouring rain at our refuge, meant snow storn at the next refuge.
Yikes. But it was fine, we would wait a bit, and then leave for the
second refuge. No biggie. A little rain and snow never hurt anyone,
right? So we waited for a bit, and the rain stopped!! Woohoo!! We
began packing our bags. As we were about ready to leave, the rain
started again. Diego, our Andinismo teacher, didn't look to happy.
He went to talk to the guides and the people who ran the refuge, and
then came to talk to our group of eight about the bad news: almost no
chance of getting to the top. What a crushing discussion. We had
all been so excited. To make the next part short, we eventually
decided as a group that we might as well just go home that day
instead of waiting around at the refuge in hopes of climbing some of
Cotopaxi the next day, when even the chances of that were slim. So
we left for Quito Saturday afternoon, and when we got back, we
decided that we couldn't go all weekend without doing ANYTHING, so we
decided to climb Pichincha, the mountain in Quito, the following day.
Great plan!!
So
Sunday we took the Teleferico (which is like a chair lift, but
instead of chairs, it has little glass box things that fit six people
and are attached to a cord) up Pichincha!! We weren't very comforted
when an American girl told us a scary story about thieves with
machetes on the mountain when we were buying our tickets for the
Teleferico. However, when she found out that us five Americans were
with the three Ecuadorians in front of us, she said we'd be fine. We
prayed she was right.
The
ride up the Teleferico was... well, cloudy. We couldn't really see
anything, which was disappointing (you can see all of Quito and
beyond on a clear day). After the Teleferico dropped us off higher
up, we started up the mountain. As we got higher and higher, it got
colder and snow began to appear. And then, the path kind of
disappeared and we relied on our Ecuadorian friends to tell us where
to go. Eventually, we had to climb rocks. That was a bit freaky
considering the rocks were slippery with snow, our hands were
freezing, and slipping in the wrong spot could be really bad news
(about a 50 foot drop of bad news). It took us about two or three
hours to get to the top. Of course, when we got there, it began to
snow, or sleet, or do something weird. So we left pretty quickly.
Shortly after it began to, uhhh, precipitate, it started thundering.
Ooooh what a beautiful sound. Especially when it echoes off of every
mountain around you. How awesome!! But we continued on, picking up
a group of four high school exchange kids on our way back (who I
think may have been kind of lost, sadly enough). Our hike back was
nice. It was comforting to not have to climb the rocks at the summit
anymore, and to know that if you fell down, you might just slide for
a bit down the snow-covered sand hill until a rock stopped you.
Also, on our hike back, the clouds decided to clear up a bit, so we
could actually see!! The view of Quito was pretty, and the trip was
well worth it =)
As
for the rest of my life in general, I am currently extremely jealous
of the group of about eight friends who DID climb Cotopaxi this past
weekend because they were on the other face of the volcano where the
weather (apparently) wasn't that bad (although they didn't get to the
top, they still got somethin). Also, my foot hates me. It's still
infected or something from my beach weekend (I don't think climbing
Pichincha helped it too much, haha), and the receptionist at the
University Health Clinic now knows who I am because I apparently am
now one of their frequent customers. Joy!! But anyway, although I'm
jealous and mad at my foot, I'm still having an absolutely fabulous
time. However, I am getting excited to come home to see everyone!!
So much to look forward to! I hope you're all able to say the
same... anything exciting happening? Write me if you have time!! =)
Oh and also, more pictures here!! Enjoy!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2375277&l=764bc&id=8630239
Love
and hugs and more love, Jenna
If
you don't risk anything, you risk even more
