Climbing Ecuador's 5,000m Volcanoes: Cayambe

Ecuador is a country famous for three things: the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon river and huge, glaciated volcanoes.  If you count Iliniza Sur and Norte as separate peaks, Ecuador has 10 mountains taller than 5,000m (16,400').  Guiding an Ecuador's Volcanoes trip, I was lucky to tackle two 5000+ meter peaks, Cayambe and Cotopaxi.  I'm kicking myself for not allowing a little extra time for tropical weather and water, but the volcanoes were amazing.

The ablation zone of Cayambe's Glacier.

The first mountain we climbed was Cayambe.  This mountain is bisected by the equator and it's summit towers 18,997 feet in elevation.  While the glaciers are shrinking rapidly, the mass of ice covering the summit to 16,000' is impressive. 

The first rays of morning sun peer above the horizon, illuminating the glacier above our team.

The bright white of the alpine environment contrasts with the lush greens and fertile brown hues of volcanic rock and soil below.

Freakish ice features loom in all directions creating a surreal glacial landscape.

At elevations nearing 19,000' it becomes much harder to pull enough oxygen out of the thin air.  In the last few hundred vertical feet, every exertion requires a few extra breathes.

The team traverses under an icicle covered crevasse wall at about 18,600'.

...and ascends the final steep pitch toward the summit.

Standing on top!

Descending back down the glacier it looks and feels like the Sahara.  It's ironic since we're on a massive chunk of ice, but this is some of the most intense solar radiation and heat I've experienced.  No one on our team is spared from at least one random sliver of sunburn.

The team descends the barren ice-scape.

...and we walk down to green earth and thick air.