The Crater is the Climax

Just start blogging... it's 7:30 am.... The last few weeks of my life has been a whirlwind of work, people, climates, parties and challenges. It's hard to know where to start. I guess the climax should be the summit of Cotopaxi so I'll start in an airport.

After 6.5 months apart AJ arrived to Quito in the middle of the day last Monday. It was just as exciting and nerve-racking as anticipated. More than anything it was refreshing to see how handsome he is without a crazy leprechaun beard and una-bomber shaved head.
I had spent the previous week, my first back in Tabuga, working from the moment I got here. Joe and Catherine from the Ceiba Foundation were here on the coast and when they are around things happen. I arrived to site on a Friday and went straight to the reserve. 5 University of Wisconsin students were working on their final projects for the semester abroad in Ecuador. I ended up helping out on some really nice projects and exhibits for the Eco-Center – which as you may recall was my little baby since its inauguration in June, 2008. We collected a bunch of plants for our botanical garden and had some really great meetings to plan the work plan for the reserve which included my role for the next 4 months. Time with Joe and Catherine always include fun stuff too! I went to Catherine's birthday party on the beach – her third birthday since I've been in Tabuga. We also went up to their new land and drank some wine before heading to Punta Prieta for an amazing dinner. Akul (now a returned-PCV) and Gina had stopped through Tabuga and were here to hang out. It was great to introduce them to my counterparts and show them Punta Prieta. P. Prieta is a series of guest houses on a point overlooking the beach. The owner is an artist from Quito. Prieta literally means dark and the place sits on the only point in northern Manabi where you can build because normally the cliffs are to soft and crumbly. We had delicious prawns for dinner with wine and before heading home hung out at the bar watching the waves crash into the beach below.

My buddy Jason is living in my old room so I spent the week back in my old room staying with him. It's amazing how my experience here has made sharing a small space, towel and bed with a friend seem normal (we can all reflect back on my brother's extended stay!). My host dad built me a house in Tabuga. It's a traditional bamboo house with palm leaf roof. It's beautiful. I bought nails, some plastic and a kitchen sink... total about $70. He used wood he had laying around from his old house for the frame and the floor. The bamboo was from his land and from his family's land, same with the palm leaves. My dad and his two brothers worked on the house little by little while I was living in the Sierra. To be honest, I didn't believe it would be finished by the time I got back to Tabuga. But here I am... in my perfect, full of good energy 'tree house'. My host mom cried as I slowly moved my things from the old room to the new house. This seemed silly considering I am literally 500 ft from the old house.. but she feels like I am here daughter, growing up and moving out. As silly as it is, it is really touching.

I spent the weekend 'installing' electricity and water and getting the house approved by the Peace Corps. Then with Jason, Akul and Gina I blessed the house in the traditional Bolivian style. I agressively broke a bottle of Caña Manabita... a local pure sugar cane alcohol. Then I headed on an over night bus to Quito. Then AJ was here. I hadn't had time to process the previous week or the fact that AJ was about to be here but, I think this was better. We spent the next two days catching up on 6+ months apart and meet a bunch of my friends in Quito. Then we headed to Latacunga...

My PCV friend John lives in Latacunga and came in right after me as a Youth and Families volunteer. He is a hoot, great person and was our connection to the agency we used for our expedition. We went to the office Wednesday evening to confirm our trip and get fitted to boots and gear. For just $150 the agency provides all necessary gear (including ice ax and crampons), e-snacks, e-sleeping bag, back pack, transportation and a guide. Jason, AJ, John and I made a dank carbo-loaded pasta dinner and went to bed early. The next morning Jason, AJ and I headed to the agency at 10 am to gear up for our trip. An Italian lady, Michaela, joined our group because the agency said it's better to have two tourists per guide. From here we drove up the Panamerican to the entrance of Cotopaxi. The mountain was completely covered by clouds which I found refreshing because the volcano is dominate and intimidating. AJ had posted a picture of the volcano on his blog the day before and upon seeing it both Jason and I came close to fainting.

The access road through Parque Nacional Cotopaxi winds through a horrid example of environmental destruction in Ecuador – a pine tree plantation that has replaced the lush, water retaining paramo of the sierra. Then the road passes through a beautiful shallow lake and turns up towards the volcano or the beast. A sliver of the glacier exposed itself during the drive up and I went crazy taking pictures because I knew Cotopaxi can often be too foggy and cloud covered to get good pictures. I thought a lot about the Geology course I took at Duke my senior year that included a trip to Yellowstone and a day digging up fossils in Wyoming. I bet my professor would be psyched to see the exposed layers of rock during the drive. The volcanic rocks layered between ash falls of the past. Cotopaxi is the second tallest active volcano in the world at a little under 20,000 feet. It is predicted to erupt again sometime in 2017...ish. As we passed all the chunks of rock I wished that I had retained more from that course.

From the parking lot it is another 1.5 hour walk up loose volcanic rock to the base camp that rests under the volcano at 15,000 feet. The guides, Diego and Joaquin, mentioned that this would be like a little test to see how well we could handle the altitude. Diego kept having to tell me to slow down, he threatened me with ideas of massive headaches and vomiting. I slowed the best I could but from the first trek on, I found that one of the hardest things for me is to keep the slow pace. AJ raced up in front of us. His winter in the high mountains of Alma, CO and his crazing running in the freezing cold had totally prepared him for this adventure. I think my time living in Cayambe during training prepared me enough to feel good and Jason, he's just a trooper. He has never lived above sea level except for during our PC training in February, 2007. We were feeling good up at the lodge. I definitely got chills when the summit of Cotopaxi exposed itself in the late afternoon, looming above us, shining in the low light right at dusk.

After practicing how to fall properly with the ice ax so that it holds you to the mountain and not impales you we had a carbo-loaded dinner and headed to bed around 6pm. I seemed to be the only person that got any sleep. Michaela, our Italian companion, had a head ache and I believe AJ claimed he and Jason slept 23 minutes combined*. The plan was for Jason, Michaela and I to head out at midnight with Joaquin. AJ was to head out at 1 am with Diego. This was based on AJ's run up the mountain on the earlier part of the trip and the assumption that they would eventually catch up to us. At 11pm I lay awake listening to the winds whipping around the building. I imagined a clear sky wiped clean by the clouds and I shivered with fear of the wind. But, I was ready to go. Jason, AJ and I were awake, stealing e-snacks and tea and ready to tackle the mountain. Then, the guides informed us that the wind was too strong, change of plans. We'd all be leaving at 1am together. This proved to be problematic for Jason.

The guides put out a nice breakfast but I had no appetite. It was like eating too close to game time. I simply craved a Rice Krispie treat like the good old days of CHS lax. After were all bundled up with multiple layers and equipment I had never used we began the first 30 minutes stretch of the climb. This was in loose volcanic gravel stuff that was like walking in sand uphill. This took us to the edge of the glacier where we put on our crampons and were to get harnessed together. The new plan was that Diego would go with AJ and I and Joaquin with Jason and Michaela. We would all walk together for the first two hours and see if changes needed to be made. Example: I can't keep up with AJ and need to switch with Jason, or Michaela needed to turn around and the three of us can continue. Well, AJ's crampons were f-ed and Jason and Michaela took off with Joaquin ahead of us. It was a good 5 minutes before AJ was ready to head up the glacier. With Diego in the lead, me in the middle and AJ bringing up the rear we quickly started zig-zagging up the mountain. We were the last group to leave and the mountain ahead of us was scattered with polka dots from the head lamps of the groups ahead. Behind us the night lights of Quito created a stream of yellow making Quito seem just a jump off the mountain away.

We passed Jason and Michaela promptly and continued up the mountain. At one point Diego turned to me and confidently stated that he wanted to pass all of the other groups. This seemed way too ambitious but I was in no position to complain because I could barely mutter a word, I was more concerned with basics like breathing and taking my next step. Diego seemed to interpret this as confirmation that we wanted to pass everyone else on the mountain and the zig-zagging ceased. It was all straight uphill after that. Walking on 30-60 degree inclines. Often having to take weird side ways steps up to prevent falling. I have never been so grateful of crampons and an ice ax.

After three hours of walking we finally took a water break. The sky was incredibly clear and the moon and stars seemed to be happily guiding our struggle upward. I asked Diego how much time was left. He said 5 hours. I almost cried and was tempted to give up. Five more hours of this monotonous struggle? Then for what? That would put us at about 9 am I estimated in my head. At 9 am it is the rule of the mountain that the guides turn around. The sun makes the snow too soft and avalanches are highly likely. Just the week before there had been an avalanche. No one was hurt but we passed the site on the way up... it didn't look like anything I wanted to be stuck in. Ice boulders, heavy snow and hanging icicles are not something I want to fight with.

After a two minute break we kept heading up the mountain. Just two minutes seemed unfair when the break started but after two minutes I had to move, I was starting to freeze. I could feel my sweat underneath all my layers crystallizing... scary! At this point we had passed all of the other groups except the one solo climber who left an hour before us and has a ton of mountaineering experience. So, we kept moving, in the dark... little by little.

After another hour and a half I started to feel really light-headed but I didn't have a headache. I realized that I had been hiking for 4+ hours with only a few bites of yogurt in my stomach. I needed an e-snack. I needed energy. AJ recalls seeing me stumbling, looking weak. The rope between us wavered a lot between loose and too taught. Interestingly, I could distinguish this feeling from altitude sickness. I simply needed food. I yelled to Diego. He quickly shot me down. Not here, in another 2 minutes we can stop. If I had energy I probably would have yelled profanities at the man but I just kept truckin along... I really didn't want to stop on top of a crevasse anyway. After some water and a few bites of chocolate that feeling of cold started to wash over me and I had to keep going. AJ's crampons need more adjusting and then we keep going. At this point a crazy adrenaline rush washed over me. I was pumped. The sun started to peak over the mountain. We were climbing up the western side of the volcano. The sun continued to rise slowly. I keep truckin along. Then in a rush of emotion, I made the group stop and look to our right. The sun was casting a perfect triangular shadow of Cotopaxi on the clouds and mountains below us. A crazy rush of head-over-heels emotion rushed over me. My adrenaline pumped and I felt like a million bucks. AJ was struggling behind me. I was eagerly telling him to take a picture. He was refusing. His crampons were slipping, he felt like he was in danger. I pressured him. He took the picture. He even says it was worth it now.

Once the sun was up the majestic surroundings kept us focused on the peak ahead of us. There was one sketchy 30 ft climb where Diego had to belay us and then about 15 more minutes of walking. We went over a small hump and upon descending were struck by the view of the crater. From the top we could see a number of other volcanoes around us. Including Chimborazo, the highest volcano in Ecuador, Cayambe the volcano that I was living near during training and Antisana, the volcano that sits at the entrance to the Amazon. Below us the clouds hung like ocean waves at the base of the numerous volcanoes. It was breath-taking and beautiful. Honestly, I admit, with an embarrassed grin, I cried. The physical test that AJ and I had overcome, the rewarding feeling of success combined with the incredible view and mixed with exhaustion overwhelmed me. I shed a single tear. I was overcome.

We got to stay at the summit for 15 or so minutes which is rare because usually the conditions aren´t permitting. AJ, Diego and I were all feeling quite proud. The climb that takes most tourists 8 hours took us only 6 and we were the last group to start the climb. The only person that beat us up the mountain was that one solo climber with personal guide.

Then, for the descent. My legs were so tired and Diego kept telling us to keep going. At one point AJ, now leading us down the mountain, stopped, put his hands to his knees and yelled with exhaustion Necesito un e-snack! Diego pushed us onward though; it seemed that both AJ and I have a habit of demanding breaks while on top of crevasses. So, we continued, got an e-snack eventually and then stumbled down the mountain. The 6 hour difficult climb upward turned out to be only a 2 hour descent. I fell once almost stabbing AJ with my crampons and forcing Diego to fall and dig in with his ice ax. I was tired. The snow started to get soft and for the last 30 minutes AJ, Diego and I sledded down the remainder of the glacier. At the bottom, star struck, proud and exhausted we met up with poor Jason. Michaela had signs of altitude sickness only two hours in and he was forced to turn around.

WoW! I know this is long. But, it was really the hardest and yet most spectacular thing I have ever done. The physical struggle mixed with the visual and emotional rewards make this experience so unique. Plus, after two years in this beautiful country it´s awesome to still feel impressed and blown away but the natural beauty and diversity. From beach to jungle to glacier capped volcanoes.

To emphasize this point even more, Jason, AJ and I decided to go head on into partying and getting back to the coast. This included riding around Quito in an open air party bus with a band on top to celebrate the end of the semester abroad with the Wisconsin students, taking a bus that left at 4 am to Tabuga, celebrating our friend Pete´s birthday and finally, ending up in Tabuga. To my new bamboo and palm leaf house, built for me by my Ecuadorian family and now happily shared with AJ.

* See www.Ecuawindow.blogspot.com for confirmation