Well, I think we are acclimitized!

Yesterday, we did our acclimatization hike which, due to a strange turn of events turned into a very complicated day. We decided to hike Gua Gua Pichincha instead of El Corzon because people have been getting robbed on Corazon.

What an adventure! First, our driver could not get all the way to the refugio of Gua Gua Pichincha becuase of all the mud (lodo), so we got to walk an extra 2hrs to the refugio in the rain. The refugio was locked, but we found the key and let ourselves in to strip our already soaked layers and plan the rest of our day, since it wasn´t turning out the way we´d planned. We had to make it to the gondola on the other side of the pass so that it could carry us down to a place where we could get a taxi, or walk all the way back to Quito--not happening.

We didn´t have a problem with climbing the three peaks (through the pass), despite our hand-drawn map from a store owner and local climber. We eventually figured out the trail, climbed our first 15,200 ft. peak and got onto the right ridge where we found kilometer markers....the first one said km. 1 of 14. Damn. It continued raining/snowing and we continued through the frozen mud, water and slippery rock for the next 7hrs, not stopping for more than a minute or two because if we did we got too cold.

We were at 14,000 ft.+ for about 85% of our climb and at 15,000 ft.+ various times, so the14 kilometers plus the hike to the refugio took longer than expected, and we were relieved when we finally saw the gondola at about 5pm. What an intro the the Andes! A little more than we bargained for, but still success.

We are taking today to let our gortex and layers dry (I didnt know gortex could get that wet), and tomorrow we plan on heading to the Jose Rivas hut at the base of Cotopaxi! We´ve also decided to adjust our plans and climb Cayembe after Cotopaxi, because Chimborazo has had a lot of rock fall lately. We´re learning to be flexible with our plans as we receive advice from local Ecuadorian climbers.