Pichincha, an acclimatization climb, offers beautiful views of both the Eastern and Western Cordillera ranges in the Andes. Cayambe proffers heavily crevassed glaciated slopes while its notoriously changeable weather provides its own challenges. Cotopaxi, reputed by some to be the world's highest active volcano, is beautifully symmetrical and heavily glaciated. And finally Chimborazo, the highest summit in Ecuador, demands we climb moderate slopes to the base of the glacier and snow covered glaciated terrain to almost 350 in steepness. With this amount of varied climbing and high altitude, Alpine Ascents's Ecuador expedition promises a challenging and rewarding experience.

For those wishing to participate, we require some prior mountaineering experience including knowledge of the ice axe and moving on snow. During the course, we will spend some time on skills review including: glacier travel, route finding, rope technique, safe travel, snow climbing and advanced ice axe techniques. Here is a chance to truly develop your alpine mountaineering skills.

This program of four high altitude ascents is unsurpassed for those interested in a unique climbing experience or those seeking to gain experience for other high altitude climbing objectives.

1997 Recap
Willi Prittie led an outstanding expedition to all four peaks with excellent success. Conditions were favorable and we had summit success on each climb. Overall, it was superb season with all climbers surpassing personal altitude and climbing goals. We encourage you to contact last year's climbers.

Guides
Alpine Ascents International's guiding staff is the finest available. You will be climbing with one the world's most renowned guides thus providing an outstanding combination of safety and experience. Many of our guides have historical achievements synonymous with their names. Our guides are known for not only the climbing skill level but their abilities to guide and instruct other climbers. Your expedition will be led by Willi Prittie. Willi will be assisted by local guides and assistants who are intimately connected to the area and indigenous cultures.

Scheduled Lead guide:
Willi Prittie has been guiding, teaching and leading domestic and international expeditions for over twenty years. Director of the North Cascades Mountaineering School, Willi is considered one of the premier instructors in America, and has worked as an AMGA accreditation examiner. Fluent in Spanish and well versed in South American culture he has developed an outstanding reputation for leading safe and successful trips to Cho-Oyu, Denali and throughout South America, including over ten ascents of Aconcagua. He is considered one of America's foremost experts on South American climbing.

Expedition Itinerary
Day 1: Fly to Quito, Ecuador's capital city. Quito is considered to be one of the most beautiful of all South American capital cities with its well preserved colonial architecture and mild climate.

Day 2: We will spend the day sightseeing in Quito. The lovely colonial architecture, beautiful forested parks, open-air sidewalk cafes, museums and varied cultural events in the capital city make this a varied and enjoyable day. This day constitutes an important foundation for our acclimatization.

Day 3: We will spend the day further acclimating by exploring the lower slopes of Mt. Imbabura. This offers us the opportunity to observe and experience Ecuador's thriving Indian culture and the Otavalo. Our walk takes us through mountainside Indian settlements and magnificent pine forests.

Day 4: Climb Pichincha. This mountain is relatively small in comparison to the other summits on this expedition. We will utilize this day for acclimatization and fitness purposes. Our route takes us through altiplano grasses, alpine tundra, and a small section of easy and enjoyable rock scrambling. From the summit, we will face stunning views of the nearby mountains.

Days 5-6: Travel by bus to Cayambe and drive to 15,100 ft., where we will spend the next two days further acclimating and reviewing skills.

Day 7: Summit Cayambe. The summit climb consists of moderate to heavily crevassed glaciated slopes. Because of Cayambe's easterly position and its being so near the Amazon Basin, it receives heavy precipitation which results in its extraordinarily large glacier ice cap. On a clear day from the summit, we will be able to survey the highest peaks in Ecuador and see where the remainder of the trip will take us.

Following our training and acclimatization on Cayambe, we will be prepared to turn our attention to Ecuador's second highest and, perhaps, most interesting summit.

Day 8: Return to Quito.

Day 9: Travel by bus to Cotopaxi. The region around Cotopaxi has the highest number of clear days per year in the Ecuadorian Andes. This exquisite mountain rises in Cotopaxi National Park, the showpiece national park in all of mainland Ecuador. On our drive, we pass through several vegetative zones and anticipate encountering numerous wildlife species including herds of wild horses, fields of wildflowers, glistening lakes and spectacular paramo vegetation. An hour hike will bring us to the Jose Ribas hut, where we will prepare for our very early departure for the summit.

Day 10: We spend the day in further acclimatization and skills review.

Day 11: We depart long before dawn on our summit attempt. An early start allows us to take advantage of the better snow conditions and thus travel more quickly and safely. The climbing route to the top involves climbing on moderate glaciated slopes (generally 300- 400) and route finding among large crevasses and seracs. The final pull up the summit ridge is dominated by views of the impressive 1,000 foot-deep summit crater, while the distant vistas show the Amazon Basin, the Central Valley and other mountains in Ecuador. After the summit climb, we descend Cotopaxi and enjoy a low elevation (6,000ft) rest day en route to Chimborazo. Surrounded by a high cloud forest and unique fauna, we will look out on spectacular views of the Oriente and the upper reaches of the Amazon Basin while relaxing in the hot mineral waters/springs at Banos.

Day 12: Travel to Chimborazo and spend the afternoon preparing for our final and most demanding ascent.

Day 13: The ascent of Chimborazo begins with a drive to the end of the road, about half an hour hike below the Whymper Hut (16,400ft). We normally ascend via the Castillo Route. This route goes up the steep northwestern glaciated slopes of the mountain. If we are blessed with clear weather, the views from the top of the tallest equatorial mountain in the world are both impressive and expansive. For many years, before the Himalayas were explored, it was thought that Chimborazo was the world's highest mountain. It certainly feels like that from the top. After returning to the hut, we pack camp and return to Quito.

Days 13-14: Depart Quito, return to USA.

Personal safety
Your safety while participating in this expedition is one of our prime concerns, and we therefore provide you with the best equipment available. All guides are well versed in wilderness first-aid techniques. Ultimately your guide makes decisions with your comfort and safety in mind, and yet tries to maximize the experience of the adventure for each individual. For your own safety, it is important that you are comfortable with standard climbing techniques and the use of climbing equipment.

Environment
Alpine Ascents International is proud of its outstanding environmental record. It is our standard practice to remove all trash and traces of our expedition and leave the environment with only our footprints.

— Gordon Janow, Alpine Ascents Program Coordinator

Land Costs Include

Charges incurred as a result of delays beyond Alpine Ascents's control

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