Ecuador Volcanoes Expedition Dispatch
November 15, 2010 – Cotopaxi is Hiding in the Clouds
This Leila Silveira reporting from Cotopaxi National Park. Cotopaxi is the highest active volcano in the world at 19,348ft (5,897m) and that’s the climb our team is planning to attempt tonight.
Helvecio working from Tambopaxi
in his spare moments
Our team woke up today in great spirits. After a good night sleep and some excellent meals, they feel ready to go up. Helvecio used every spare moment he had here to catch up with his family and work on line. Hugo was not far behind; he was talking with his wife several times this morning. Steve and Lynette rested and were as usual very relaxed and calm for the upcoming climb.
The history of Cotopaxi is fascinating. It is said that in 1534 the Spanish conquistadors engaged in a war with the locals for the control of what is now Ecuador. During a battle on the flanks of Cotopaxi the mountain began to erupt. The locals viewed that as a sign from their god and ran off in fear.
Since then there have been many eruptions. The most famous one was in 1877; smoke from the volcano could be seen from Quito; towns closer to the volcano were demolished and its residents buried alive.
We decided to shower and have lunch here at our lodge where there was excellent food. We all left here for the hut clean, well fed and very happy.
The weather is still unstable, it has been raining on and off for several hours. Nobody has seen the mountain yet, which is actually in my opinion the most beautiful mountain in Ecuador. Hugo, who woke up early this morning, said that he saw a little bit of the bottom part of the mountain, but that’s pretty much it. We have some visibility on some hills around us but Cotopaxi itself has been hiding in the clouds.
Well, tonight at midnight the team will start going up. Hopefully the weather will clear up a bit so we will be able to see the crater and the amazing views from the top.
The plan now is to go to sleep early and have an alpine start around midnight and 1am.
Our comfortable bus cruises the highlands of Ecuador taking us to our next climbs.
There’s plenty of room inside the bus.
Moving in to the Tambopaxi Lodge
Cotopaxi is above is; this is what we would see with clear weather.
This is what we are actually seeing today. We know that it is up there somewhere!
Left: Oswaldo welcoming our group to Tambopaxi Lodge;
Right: Lots of gear to move inside
Left: Steve moving in; Right: Once in the lodge the duffel bags are unpacked and more organization begins.
This is the view we are hoping for tomorrow morning.