November 24, 2014

Luke and team arrived at Papallacta with plenty of time for the hot springs, beer and dinner.  Big day – from the summit of 19000 ft Cayambe to hot springs at the edge of the high jungle.  Pretty cool.

Summit of Cayambe

Back to Quito today and saying good-bye, after dinner, to part of the team and rallying the others who want to take a shot at a third mountain.

Phil Ershler

November 23, 2014

Snows of Cayambe

Great news to start a Sunday morning.  Luke called and simply said – “All’s good.  8 of 8 on the summit”.  He went on to tell me that it was raining last night.  They got up at 10 pm and, at 9:45 pm, it stopped raining.  A clear, good morning for the climb.  Some snow on the way down but who cares at that point…

Team’s down, packing and heading for lunch at the Hacienda Guachala and then driving east, over the Eastern Cordillera, to get to the hot springs of Papallacta.  Dinner there with beers and good stories in the hot springs in front of their cabanas.

Phil Ershler

November 21, 2014

Time for the Ecuador team to get back on the road and head north to Cayambe.  They’ll stop at the home of famed Ecuadorean photographer, guide and my old friend, Jorge Anhalzer.  He’ll show the team some of his spectacular photographs of landscapes and peoples of Ecuador.  Then it’s lunch, with ‘cuy’ as the main course, at the home of guide Romulo Cardenas.  Cuy is an Ecuadorean delicacy (guinea pig).  Romulo’s wife, Patricia, is a super cook.  Then, it’s north to Cayambe.  Tomorrow will be another training day with some time on steeper ice with a summit attempt the day after.

As always, we’ll keep you posted.  And, as promised, here’s the photo of the team in the dining room last evening at Hacienda San Augustin.

The team inside the dining room of the Hacienda San Augustin

It’s a pretty special evening.

Phil Ershler

November 20, 2014

Sweet summit yesterday.  Check out the weather in this photo from the summit!

IMG team on the summit of Cotopaxi

The gang spent today visiting the markets in Saquisili, with lunch at the Hacienda La Cienega.

Hacienda La Cienega

Tonight, they’re dining and sleeping at the Hacienda San Augustin.  I’ll try to get a photo of the dining room tomorrow.  Imagine having just summited Cotopaxi and tonight eating dinner in a room totally of original Inca construction.  And then, of course, staying at one of the most beautiful haciendas in Ecuador.  Not terrible.

Phil Ershler

November 17, 2014

Jose Ribas hut on Cotopaxi

A good weekend in Ecuador.  Great time was had in Otavalo.  Back to Quito on Saturday afternoon with dinner at a restaurant in Old Town, on a street called La Rhonda.  The crew left Quito early Sunday morning and had breakfast at the home of our Ecuadorian partner, Romulo Cardenas.  His wife, Patricia, presented a beautiful ‘spread’ for the team at their home which overlooks the day’s objective – Pasochoa.  They hiked Pasochoa after breakfast and then headed to the Hacienda Porvenir at the foot of Cotopaxi.

The team is up on the lower slopes of Cotopaxi now, getting more acclimatization and doing some refresher training.  Makes for a fun day.  They’ll be back tonight at the Hacienda Porvenir and will have a super dinner.  The folks at the hacienda do meals right.

So far, so good.

Phil Ershler