Cotopaxi

So Comparative Ecology and Conservation Spring 2006 ended on May 20th. I spent the so called ¨evaluation¨ week leading up to that date at a farm called La Hesperia and also in Quito. Our group filled out forms, listened to each other´s presentations of our Independent Study Projects and basically spent a lot of time together. I took our final spanish oral exam (I´m pleased to say my spanish improved) and also got my ¨salida¨, permission to leave the country. In many ways the week was stressing just knowing that study abroad was about to end and so many good friends were about to leave, but at the same time I also like to think that I would be able to see many of them again, and think on the many more adventures coming up for me still staying on in South America. It was especially hard to say goodbye to our wonderful academic directors, Xavier and Sylvia as well as Aldemar. On the Friday, we all went out for lunch at the same pizza place we went to our first night in Ecuador (it´s special like that) and afterwards the ADs headed out. But not before they were hugged thoroughly by all of us and I gave Xavier a piggy-back ride.
On Saturday the group flight left around 4 in the afternoon, and sad goodbyes were made all around. The crowning moment was when Pritha tried to enter the passenger
check-in by walking out the airport exit. Oh well, we were all a little spaced out. About half the group was left behind -- all of us deciding to stay for a week to 2 months longer in South America to travel, show parents/significant others around and/or volunteer for longer. I spent the rest of the evening with some of my friends, and we went to watch the Da Vinci Code at 9:40pm before returning to the hostel. It creeped me out but I liked it overall.
The next day a whole group of us went up the Teleferico gondala and made the hike up Pichincha (mountain overlooking Quito). I had done this already but I like the hike a lot. The real reason behind the hike though, was acclimatization for Phase 2: Cotopaxi.

Cotopaxi is a gorgeous snowy mountain located about 2 hours south of Quito. At 5897m (19,347 ft) tall (that´s 2m higher than Kilimanjaro), I and a couple of friends couldn´t resist the challenge. Together, Dylan, Zack, Susan, Sarah and I planned to take the 2 day trip to summit the volcano with Rainforest Tours, accompanied by Sarah´s mom, who would stay at the Refugio (refuge) about 100m above the parking lot. By parking lot I mean flat patch of rocks overlooking amazing view of plains, little lake and surrounding rising mountains Ruminahui and Ilinizas, among others. In short, totally sweet, though somewhat chilly. We arrived at the Refugio in time to eat late lunch and then scamper about on the lava rocks, entranced by the sunset. We sawa a lobo de paramo (kind of like a big fox) too which was fun. We struggled to sleep as much as possible before we all awakened at 11:30pm to don woolly pants, wind pants, various undershirts and overshirts, fleece, wind breaker, beanie, gloves, other gloves, big mittens and clunky hiking boots, all provided by the company (except the various shirts.) After some hot tea, we started the climb. Dylan, Zack and I were attached to one guide, Sarah and Susan to another. When I say "attached" I mean we were all connected by a rope as soon as we hit the icy snow... or was it snowy ice? Whatever it was, I found myself struggling to control my heavy, booted and now crampon-attached feet as we climbed steadily upwards. It was steep. I was in pain. That is generally all I remember, but for the rhythm of "ice pick, step 1, step 2" keeping me focused repetitively onwards. I was exhausted, and from Dylan pulling the rope behind me I could tell the guys werent doing much better, it was all I could do keep up with the guide, Fausto. We climbed and climbed but the breaks were getting longer and closer between. When we stopped I wanted to keep going because I got extremely cold, extremely fast, but when we kept moving I wanted to stop because I got extremely tired, extremely fast. At some point we paused and momentarily Dylan started vomiting. Things weren´t looking too good. Susan and Sarah caught up with us around then and after the intra-hiker-guide conversation, I found myself linked to the girls´rope stumbling forward yet again as Fausto tried to reach a decision about whether the boys can keep going or not.
As we leave them behind, the new slower pace helps me out along with the fact that my headlamp slips down over my eyes so I can barely see, meaning I don´t have to look at how ridiculously steep the mountainface actually is. "Cinco minutos, cinco minutos" our guide keeps saying. I concentrate on putting one foot in front of another guided by the rope I can barely see in front of me. It´s more like 30 minutes, not 5, before we make a break, but at that point we have broken clear to a slightly more flattened part - and is it not absolutely beautiful, nestled amongst ice boulders, the sun rising at our side, far above the plains, the lava rock, Quito in the distance. Zack appears after a few minutes, trailing an unfamiliar guide and we all cheer. Fausto had to take Dylan down, but luckily Zack was able to make it this far. Slowly we start again. Susan and Sarah are pretty tired, but we beast onwards. The going soon gets tougher again and Sarah occasionally makes comments about feeling lightheaded. I am feeling fine, but the combination of altitude and exhaustion is catching up to my companions. Whenever we stop Sarah falls asleep and Susan claims that she feels not only dizzy but as if the wind might blow her off the side of the iceface we are climbing. Then at some point she collapses as we are trekking along. We wait, she recuperates, we go on, we get tired, we recuperate, my crampons keep coming undone, the summit is in sight but still high above us. Around the time that our guide realises that we can´t make it all the way up, Zack returns from in front of us saying that he can´t keep going up the steep final ascent and still expect to have energy left for the return. I´m the only one who isn´t feeling thoroughly beaten (though kind of roughed up), but with only one guide the only thing we can do is give up. For safety´s sake, he argues to me, he can´t let me go the rest of the 300m up even though I can tell exactly where I would have to go. It´s getting late and we need to start heading back soon anyway. We are glad we made it this far for sure, and to me, the vistas make up for the disappointment. We stumble the whole way down, drifting into sleep the moment we stop and sit for a moment. I keep tripping over my boots and sliding partway down on my back. When we reach the refugio, everyone else joins Dylan on the beds and passes out. I pack my stuff since the exhaustion apparently hasn´t hit yet, then go in search of food.

Quotes from the ride down:
Susan: That was the most exhausting thing I have ever had to do, mentally, physically, emotionally; I have so much more respect for mountain climbers now. The whole time I was wishing I was on a kayak.
Zach: I hate that F-ing Mountain!
Dylan: Climbing Cotopaxi was like getting drunk - I spent a lot of money, I threw up, I don´t remember what happened, and now I feel hungover.
Elsita: ..... (passed out on Fausto´s shoulder)

But no worries, that night, Susan, Zack and I take an overnight bus to Guayaquil and from there to Montañita, a little tourist town on the coast. We meet up with Katie and Katie and spend the next day sleeping on the sandy beach, getting sunburnt, swimming in the ocean and burying a dog in the sand. Though the town is a blatant tourist trap and probably half of the people staying there do drugs, I enjoy the chance to relax in the sun and get free surf lessons from the owner of our hostel (read, we had to pay to rent the boards), as well as eat huge breakfasts. As Zack put it, "that´s really how amazing Ecuador is, one day your on top of Cotopaxi, 5000m up and barely breathing, and the next day you´re sunning at the beach".