Camping
Hiking (Day Hikes)
Quito, Ecuador
Volcanoes in Quito, Ecuador
Let’s get crazy high, yo.
A hopefully-triumphant UVA Outdoors return with silly me, co-founder of this super-rad club, to volcanic summits on the equator. The final one – Cotopaxi — involves glacier trekking up to its 19,347-foot peak. Glacier trekking is my favorite outdoor adventure. No glacier trekking or high altitude experience required.
Ecuador has many high-altitude volcanoes. It’s on the equator, so high altitude there is warmer than at other places on the planet. Some of the volcanoes are active or dormant, some are extinct. Adventuring to and up these high summits costs less than many other such places in the world.
This adventure is mostly a repeat of ODC’s summer 2023 adventure, which we had also planned to end with Cotopaxi, but volcanic activity shut the mountain down! So we went up 18,996-foot Cayambe instead. Cotopaxi has re-opened! Let’s get up there! Here’s my writeup and some trip pix from summer2023: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.763296722471797&type=3 You’ll see that writeup reveals how old fart I technically am. You’ll find me to act close to just as young as the typical ODCer age.
Prior to and in preparation for glacier-trekking up the 19er, we’ll hike up some lower (but still high-up) summits in the region. The plan includes doing hikes 1 and 3 on the following website.
https://missadventurepants.com/blog/chimborazo-cayambe-pichincha-iliniza
Those of you who need to gain a parental unit’s blessing to attend, feel free to let them know I co-guided this adventure before, I’ve led somewhere between 500 and 1,000 outdoor adventures of widely varying types, my profession is wilderness medicine instructor-trainer and primarily teaching wilderness first aid classes, and I’m a Wilderness EMT and Geo Medic, and this adventure’s high altitude acclimatization plan for everyone follows Wilderness Medical Society and CDC recommendations as closely as possible. Plus, for the two highest summits on this adventure (Illiniza Norte and Cotopaxi) we will hire professional local guides arranged by the same local legend in the Ecuadorian mountaineering community we collaborated with in summer 2023. You can give your parents the following bio link about me, and I will be happy to talk directly to them if desired. But hey, you’re an adult so hopefully you’re freeeeeeeee to decide on your own. https://www.solowfa.com/matt-rosefsky.html
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Here’s our itinerary plan, details subject to unexpected changes but the dates are set.
2025:
Key to the below:
date: (#; #; #) day’s description.
= (Max altitude during day; sleeping altitude this night; cardio activity this day)
July 18: (9350; 9350; none or chill city walk) Arrive Quito (~9,350 feet). Pick flights which arrive morning-time to maximize your acclimatization, or arrive a day earlier. We will inform who is arriving Quito airport at around the same time so you can get into the city together. Explore Quito on your own or preferably with others in the group. Mateo will NOT be present this day (will be already in Ecuador elsewhere). Co-Leader Maya should be present. One youth hostel dorm room exclusively for our group.
July 19: (9350; 9350; none or chill city walk) Explore Quito on your own or preferably with others in the group. Mateo arrives late afternoon. We’ll dinner together and I’ll run a trip orientation and safety chat, Q&A. Same youth hostel dorm room exclusively for our group.
July 20 (9481; ~10675; local hike) Check out of youth hostel, store bags there, 5 to 7 mile easy hike in Quito’s Parque Metropolitano Guanquiltagua, marked trail with side trails, can view Cotopaxi, Cotacachi, Cayambe and Antisuna volcanoes on a clear day. Rent vehicles, drive to a campsite (where TBD) somewhere around 10,675 feet – possibly a volcanic crater lagoon.
July 21 (12000; 12000; chill trail walks) Drive to campsite in Papallacta, take it easy day, casual walks on trails at campsite.
July 22 (12000; 12000; hike maybe) Perhaps find a local hike TBD, then enjoy afternoon at hot springs. Same campsite.
July 23 (13451; 13451; none) Morning return to Quito: take TeleferiQo, camp out where the cable car drops us off. Spend afternoon/eve chilling there, enjoy views. Optional arrange-on-your-own Horseback riding? Para gliding? https://teleferico.com.ec/product/parapente/
July 24 (15406; 13451; hike) Quito: from top of TeleferiQo, non-technical ~6mile day hike to summit of Rucu Pichincha volcano. Same campsite.
July 25 (15090; 15090; none or some hike from vehicle to refugio) Guided transport to Nuevos Horizontes Refuge, base for the next day’s trek. Dorm-style sleep in refugio.
July 26 (16785; 9469; hike) Morning local-professional-guided hike with rock scrambling (helmet required) to summit of Illiniza Norte. Guided transport likely to town of Machachi, sleep in hostel there.
July 27 (15760; 15760; none or some hike from vehicle to refugio) Rent any needed gear for glacier trekking, guided transport to Refugio Jose Rivas at Cotopaxi. Dorm-style sleep in refugio.
July 28 (19347; 9350 or 15760; Glacial hike up Cotopaxi or zero day). Pre-dawn departure for Cotopaxi summit bid with same professional guides as we had on Illiniza Norte; return to Quito. If weather not suitable this day for summit bid, zero day at same refugio (walk around if you want) and summit attempt next day.
July 29 (?; 9350; ?) Back-up day for summit bid in case weather cancels prior day’s summit bid. Otherwise, rest and further explore Quito on own or preferably with others. Fly home extremely late tonight or next day. Or fly on to the Galapagos!
July 30: Fly home. … or maybe some fly on to Galapagos! Getting a bed on a private boat and sailing from island to island, is the popular and perhaps best way to visit. Cheaper and what Ana and I did some years back, was get internal flights to one of the islands and back from another island, and take a scheduled ferry in between.
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In the weeks and hopefully months leading up to the trip I’ll be hiking as much as I can to tune physical fitness, you’re of course super-welcome to join me.
As the days in Ecuador progress, if you suffer altitude illness or just don’t want to carry on with the higher summits further in the trip, it’s all good, you won’t be required to join us for the subsequent hikes and you’ll be responsible for yourself from then on out, perhaps and hopefully still joining us in whatever accommodations already arranged. At any point on a hike if you’re suffering mild altitude illness, you must not carry on up higher. I will educate you on prevention, signs, symptoms and treatment of this.
Everyone should have Diamox (acetazolamide) prescribed to them. I highly suggest taking it to help prevent altitude illness, unless you’re very old (50+). Prevention dose is half dose; full dose is used to treat altitude illness. As for vaccinations, I will inform participants of any CDC-recommended ones. If you’re accepted onto this trip please let me know if and when you already have a visit scheduled with your regular doc, so I can fill you in on what prescriptions to get, helping you avoid a separate visit to a travel medications clinic if you want.
During the Cotopaxi summit bid and one or two of the earlier treks, everyone will have a walkie talkie on them as a further safety measure.
Eligible participants are:
> physically fit;
> experienced (by trip start date) in hiking up mountain trails like those here in Shenandoah, trails combined to ascend 4,000 feet in one day.
> comfortable with the idea** of trekking on a glacier while wearing crampons and being rope-tied to other participants ahead of and behind you, as a crevasse safety measure;
> not known to suffer altitude illness**.
If you want to chat about any of the above or anything regarding this trip, please email me at mr (at) solowfa (dot) com and let me know your phone number and generally good times to call you, and we’ll arrange a call. Sorry this old-school homeboy is not a texter and is overwhelmed with emails.
**Prior glacier trekking experience is NOT required. Prior high-altitude exposure is NOT required. If you have been to high altitude before and you suffered mild (or worse) altitude illness, let’s chat so I can learn about your experience, what you suffered, how high you went, and what acclimatization happened beforehand — to determine if it’s safe for you and others to join in.
We will email all confirmed participants, an exact what-to-bring list.
SIGNUP DEADLINE: there is much info to get to trip participants, much Q&A to come, and many details to plan. January through June is crazy busy work season for me amidst other life challenges, so by Christmas 2024 I’m trying to get your questions answered, signups confirmed, trip fees paid, and as many of the trip details planned and reservations made as possible. Then for all confirmed participants it’s as smooth-sailing as can be winter and spring, with everyone knowing next personal planning steps and having tons of time to do them.
GETTING OFF WAIT LIST:
1) Once you’ve joined the wait list, we’ll stay in periodic touch to let you know if we’re able to welcome you aboard or if you’re on the wait list for some time longer.
2) Once we tell you we’re able to welcome you aboard, the $850 trip fee (see below) will be due by Christmas Day to secure your spot. If you need to be on a payment plan, please reach out to me and I’ll do my best to accommodate and work with you. If you need to cancel, it will be your responsibility to work with someone else we approve to attend this trip, to get the trip fee from them to reimburse you. We counted on your trip fee to support the ideal group size for maximum group discounts for everyone.
TRIP FEE: In 2023 it was around $750 including professional local guides, lodgings, transports, some meals; not including plane ticket, airport transfers, or any gear rentals you get in Ecuador. This trip fee of $850 hopefully will be sufficient (TBD, waiting on figuring out 2025 costs) and if we don’t spend that much we’ll refund the difference after the trip.
Participants, let’s please collaborate in running this adventure.
Help Requests (in collaboration with Mateo):
> Communicate with our head Ecuadorian guide to make all arrangements.
> Night of July 20 help with finding a place to camp at around 10,650 feet elevation.
> Determine some cool options for July 29 if we didn’t need to use it as back-up day for summit attempt.
> Put together the exact final itinerary
> Reserve local lodging
> Help whoever will drive to rent vehicle(s)
> Assemble an itinerary with dates, lodgings and other key contact info, suitable for sharing with parents/family/friends.
> Receive questions (which I’ll help answer) and send out group communications.
> Treasurer: receive, dole out and keep track of payments before and during trip (trip fee to a venmo account??); do final accounting and make any refunds to participants if cash was left over.
> Flights search
> Get everyone’s flight information.
> Coordinate who needs to borrow what ODC gear and facilitate gear distribution and return.
> Anything else you would you be interested in doing to help out?
I’m excited to usher in 7 kind and adventurous souls to my favorite type of outdoor adventure: glacier trekking. High adventures ahead! 🙂