Climbing The Equator by Neville Shulman

Author:Neville Shulman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Summersdale Publishers Ltd
Published: 2011-09-17T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

MORE MOUNTAINS TO CLIMB

Just being close to a mountain is a tremendous thrill. Undoubtedly Ecuador’s most famous and toughest mountains are Chimborazo and Cotopaxi, but this country is a mountaineer’s paradise and there are many wonderful high mountains, each with its own special features and aspects. All you need is the time, the determination and a little bit of luck. Better weather conditions than I am experiencing would, of course, be quite helpful. I will certainly return to climb here again and it would be a privilege. The following are some of the mountains that I’d love to experience, and are not listed in any particular order, either of height or difficulty, but merely as the fancy took me. That’s part of the fun of climbing, ‘finding’ a mountain, and preparing to climb it or not.

COTACACHI was first climbed in 1880 by Edward Whymper and the Carrel cousins and is 4,944 metres (16,220 feet). It is on the northern shore of Lake Cuicocha and constant lake mist usually restricts visibility. Reaching the base of the mountain sometimes requires some ingenuity as the road approaches are often locked and vehicles can’t always get through. Although it’s possible to accomplish the whole expedition in one day, it’s probably preferable to arrive early enough to walk in and pitch camp as far up the base as possible, ready for an early start the next day. At the foot of the mountain there is a military post which is manned, and you need to make certain that there are no special restrictions applying at that time. I am sure the soldiers based there will help you with most things, but I’m afraid you will have to do your own climbing.

Once you start, the best way is to skirt the military post to the left and head in a north-west direction, zigzagging all the way. A series of cairns will help to guide you on the right path. There are continuous scree sections, so if you prefer to avoid them as I do, you should climb higher to the right within the rocks although this can be painful climbing. There is always a great danger of falling rock, so apart from wearing a helmet you need to keep a watchful eye on the mountain and the conditions at all times. As you work your way upwards you will come across a large col to the south-west of the mountain which will take you through to a rock basin for an exhausting but not too difficult a climb to arrive at the summit ridge. There’s more danger of falling rock there, so extreme care must be maintained at all times. It’s a knife-edge ridge trek of about 15 minutes to the summit, but there are steep drops either side so don’t rush it. There are other routes to the Summit but unless you intend to climb more than once it’s better to stick to this Normal route. The name of the mountain is thought to

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