Such big smiles deserve two photos. )08-Jul-2009 20:20, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 13.0, 38.0mm, 0.0020 sec, ISO 400
Climbing Pichincha Volcano (or, the Highs & Lows of death by altitude) was something we didn’t even know we could do. Quito lies on the east side of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano that last erupted only in 1999 when it covered Quito in ash. It is also 4,698m to the Rucu peak. Conveniently forgetting the trouble we’d had only a week or so ago with a couple of crutches we decided we needed to start warming up for more Andes challenges some time, so why not today? Well, on reflection…
These little beauties are the slowest cable cars I have ever been in.
These little beauties are the slowest cable cars I have ever been in.08-Jul-2009 15:56, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 16.0, 28.0mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 1600
You get to start the climb by cheating quite dramatically. Quito lies at 2,850m and you can get the TelefériQo cable car to 4,100m, albeit slowly. That gives you a bit of a head start, and you might think the last 600m was easy; after all climbing Christ the Redeemer only took 90mins and while it wasn’t a walk in the park it wasn’t exactly life threatening. As with any remotely interesting tourist destination they’ve gone quite overboard in the area, and have a small theme park, several restaurants and a discotheque all in the honour of Pichincha. We weren’t really fussed with any of that, and cracked on to start our ascent.
Although I did say hello briefly, not the first time I wished I had a spare carrot.
Although I did say hello briefly, not the first time I wished I had a spare carrot.08-Jul-2009 16:37, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 9.0, 97.0mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 1600
In short, it is a long walk. You can see that from the far too many photos below. I could describe every blade of grass but it would be as interesting as watching it grow, so suffice to say that its a long walk in the hills for the first half or so. It goes up and down, the clouds come in and it gets a bit chilly, then they go away and you take your fleece off because you suddenly feel like bacon on the grill. At many points the view is so gorgeous and the incline so gentle you are really skipping along having a whale of a time! The vegetation stays sparse until you get above a certain height, and then the intermittent cloud moisture gives the fauna something to feast on and the change is quite dramatic.
When the cloud cleared and the sun came out so did the smiles.
When the cloud cleared and the sun came out so did the smiles.08-Jul-2009 18:02, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 10.0, 28.0mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 400
When the trail suddenly seems to disappear, and you have to start climbing rocks you know that its going to get a bit tougher. When the brow of the hill starts to try the oldest trick in the book that is “You thought that was the peak? Nonce.” you realise you should have bought the post card. When the solid earth gives way to sliding scree you wonder how good your Photochop skills are. And all the time you have to appreciate that you are basically being a great wet lettuce, as Cotopaxi, Choquequirao and many other hikes we may (or may not) do are going to be much harder.
Another group hiking back down – note the walking poles, mountaineering gear and guide. Must be the scouts.
Another group hiking back down – note the walking poles, mountaineering gear and guide. Must be the scouts.08-Jul-2009 19:27, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 7.1, 90.0mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 400
It was strangely motivating and demoralising all in one to see another group of climbers that were several leagues of preparedness ahead of us coming down from the peak. Motivational in that they had oodles of gear that Lynette and I had managed to do without, and demoralising in that we didn’t really want to end up being the idiot climbers that got stranded for not being fully prepared. In our defence, the crampons had to be taken out of our backpacks to make space for the kitchen sink.
The mountains stretched for miles around and proved great motivation.
The mountains stretched for miles around and proved great motivation.08-Jul-2009 18:45, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 9.0, 28.0mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 400
Anyway, we reached the top of the scree, and started to spot ice streaking away from the rock as though it had been attacked by Mr. Freeze. Plus the cloud appeared, receded, and returned with a vengeance all in the space of ten minutes which indicated how much fun the wind was having. All plant life had vanished, and all we had was alien volcanic rock stretching up into the mist.
Yes, that is ICE on that rock. Yes, take gloves with you!
Yes, that is ICE on that rock. Yes, take gloves with you!08-Jul-2009 19:36, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 8.0, 28.0mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 400
To make sure we weren’t (a) still miles away from the peak or (b) lost I did a quick climb up some rocks and found it was only around the proverbial corner! Quick glory snap to prove I’d been there in case we couldn’t find it again. Attempted to scoot down the same route I’d come up, and found that with frozen fingers descending vaguely steep rock face is quite hard… but managed to find Lynette and we mustered up the energy for another crack at the top, taking a slightly different route and keepings hands firmly in pockets.
Helpfully we saw this sign on the way down, again saying that go past this point; you’re screwed. Awesome hike.
Helpfully we saw this sign on the way down, again saying that go past this point; you’re screwed. Awesome hike.08-Jul-2009 22:46, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 11.0, 48.0mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 400
This post might be relatively short, but the hike certainly didn’t feel it, and we reached the Rucu peak of Pichincha after a cracking fun four hours or so. Hindsight is great. Three hours later we were back down and nursing our frozen limbs – the menu del dia that day was definitely deserved. Bring on Choquequirao! I think!
The Teleferico cable car takes you to 4,000m – there is a theme park and discotheque at the bottom.08-Jul-2009 15:53, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 16.0, 60.0mm, 0.0010 sec, ISO 1600
Tourists are charged almost twice as much as locals. At least the Gringo tax is black and white!08-Jul-2009 15:53, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 13.0, 30.0mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 1600
These little beauties are the slowest cable cars I have ever been in.08-Jul-2009 15:56, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 16.0, 28.0mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 1600
We made friends with some Ecuadorians on the way up, who were very helpful in correcting some woeful Spanish grammar.08-Jul-2009 16:22, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 14.0, 28.0mm, 0.0020 sec, ISO 1600
A native indian playing pan pipes. Was he from Reading high street? Who knows… more likely to be authentic here though…08-Jul-2009 16:23, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 16.0, 70.0mm, 0.0010 sec, ISO 1600
The start of our hike – note that the top is conveniently hidden at the start of our naive trek.08-Jul-2009 16:28, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 14.0, 28.0mm, 0.0020 sec, ISO 1600
A sign that basically says ‘Go past this point and you’re screwed’.08-Jul-2009 16:34, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 13.0, 53.0mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 1600
Basically near the beginning, don’t we look full of bundles of energy already?!08-Jul-2009 16:35, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 18.0, 28.0mm, 0.00125 sec, ISO 1600
Although I did say hello briefly, not the first time I wished I had a spare carrot.08-Jul-2009 16:37, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 9.0, 97.0mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 1600
Very depressing when you see somebody jog back down past you… but there is no way on earth that he made it to the top like that!08-Jul-2009 16:45, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 14.0, 28.0mm, 0.0020 sec, ISO 1600
It’s incredible watching the cloud activity, seeing them seperate, flow over the mountains, and the bright blue sky above.08-Jul-2009 17:06, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 4.0, 28.0mm, 0.00025 sec, ISO 400
We think all these marks in the hill are young shrubs that have been planted in an attempt to create a forest.08-Jul-2009 17:21, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 4.0, 53.0mm, 0.000625 sec, ISO 400
The vegetation was sparse here, so we thought we should take some photos of it. However as you get higher it screams back in with a vengeance.08-Jul-2009 17:31, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 4.0, 28.0mm, 0.00125 sec, ISO 400
Here we go… time to get lost in a mountain. This is still not the top. Not even close.08-Jul-2009 17:33, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 4.0, 28.0mm, 0.0005 sec, ISO 400
As I said, what the clouds get up to in their spare time keeps us all amused.08-Jul-2009 17:48, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 11.0, 105.0mm, 0.00125 sec, ISO 400
Here the vegetation changed from the occasional bit of thorn to bushes and shrubs.08-Jul-2009 17:55, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 7.1, 28.0mm, 0.0080 sec, ISO 400
These grass-like mounds were nothing of the kind, and strangely but satisfyingly bouncy to sit on.08-Jul-2009 18:04, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 10.0, 40.0mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 400
And that’d be the volcano rock bitch slap we’ve got coming… still not the top.08-Jul-2009 18:11, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 9.0, 28.0mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 400
You can just see the path stretching out into the distance, you take the peak from the rear. *ahem*08-Jul-2009 18:14, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 8.0, 28.0mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 400
…and roll out again in a few secounds. Reading between the lines, that means it is very windy!08-Jul-2009 19:14, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 10.0, 28.0mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 400
The scree on the right made it hard to climb, but great fun on the way down.08-Jul-2009 19:16, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 11.0, 28.0mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 400
Weirdly we kept hearing birds around us at this altitude, the small ones were too quick but managed to snap this one.08-Jul-2009 19:19, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 7.1, 105.0mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 400
Another group hiking back down – note the walking poles, mountaineering gear and guide. Must be the scouts.08-Jul-2009 19:27, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 7.1, 90.0mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 400
Who now needs a bit of shelter from the freezing cold before attempting the descent!08-Jul-2009 20:22, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 10.0, 105.0mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 400
And then the clouds cleared again, and we could see where we’d come from!08-Jul-2009 20:24, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 11.0, 28.0mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 400
Just to prove there wasn’t another peak on top of the peak before we headed back down!08-Jul-2009 20:24, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 13.0, 28.0mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 400
A swiss family (don’t think they were called Robinson) who arrived just as we were about to head down. The little girl was exceptionally unhappy.08-Jul-2009 20:24, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 13.0, 28.0mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 400
Yes its a Volcano, and an active one. No thats not a streaming crater – apparently it doesn’t have one. Will have to read up on my Stratovolcanos.08-Jul-2009 20:32, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 11.0, 28.0mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 400
There’s Quito in the background, and the lower of the two peaks in front of us.08-Jul-2009 20:35, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 10.0, 50.0mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 400
This is the scree I mentioned, you leap down it like a lunar astronaut (and end up with a lot of volcanic ash in your trainers!).08-Jul-2009 20:55, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 9.0, 28.0mm, 0.0050 sec, ISO 400
Like waterfalls, a rainbow feels left out if it hasn’t been pointed out, photographed, and brought a sense of well being to all who see it.08-Jul-2009 21:11, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 11.0, 105.0mm, 0.00125 sec, ISO 400
Now on the way back down, which oddly I personally found more difficult!08-Jul-2009 22:41, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 10.0, 28.0mm, 0.0040 sec, ISO 400
Helpfully we saw this sign on the way down, again saying that go past this point; you’re screwed. Awesome hike.08-Jul-2009 22:46, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGIT, 11.0, 48.0mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 400
Fabulous pictures, amazing trek, and yes, there was an uncanny similarity to some early Star Trek episodes. Glad to see the knee hasn’t stopped play ) Live long and prosper….
)
These little beauties are the slowest cable cars I have ever been in.
Although I did say hello briefly, not the first time I wished I had a spare carrot.
When the cloud cleared and the sun came out so did the smiles.
Another group hiking back down – note the walking poles, mountaineering gear and guide. Must be the scouts.
The mountains stretched for miles around and proved great motivation.
Yes, that is ICE on that rock. Yes, take gloves with you!
Helpfully we saw this sign on the way down, again saying that go past this point; you’re screwed. Awesome hike.
Three hours later we were back down and nursing our frozen limbs – the menu del dia that day was definitely deserved. Bring on Choquequirao! I think!
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Fabulous pictures, amazing trek, and yes, there was an uncanny similarity to some early Star Trek episodes. Glad to see the knee hasn’t stopped play
) Live long and prosper….