Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 6:47 pmIt has been brought up here before. See the 5th post on http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=27084.
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Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 6:47 pmPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 4:20 pmI did Coto in mid-June and didn´t have a guide. I hooked up with a Danish climber at the hut and reached the summit no problem. On the morning I wanted to leave from Quito, I approached a guide company that was also heading to the Cotopaxi that day and offered to pay him $15 each way to take met to the hut. Extra money for the guide and avoided the inflated prices some places try and charge.
Cotopaxi "Guides"
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:03 pmBased on our experience in January '07, if the "Park Rangers" see that you are a climber (can see your gear on your back or in your vehicle) when you enter the park, the rangers will tell you that you need a "guide". We'd been warned this would happen...
But it just so happens that there will also probably be a park-approved "guide" waiting there at the entrance who will take you into the park for something like $40(?). He'll be a "naturalist guide" and he'll point out the wild horses, flowers and trees as he drives you to the hut (almost). We climbed Cotopaxi without a mountain guide, AND I can tell you all about the local flora and fauna of Cotopaxi National Park.
If you need or want a real guide, make arrangements with Moggely before you go. If you don't need a guide, welcome to South America.
But it just so happens that there will also probably be a park-approved "guide" waiting there at the entrance who will take you into the park for something like $40(?). He'll be a "naturalist guide" and he'll point out the wild horses, flowers and trees as he drives you to the hut (almost). We climbed Cotopaxi without a mountain guide, AND I can tell you all about the local flora and fauna of Cotopaxi National Park.
If you need or want a real guide, make arrangements with Moggely before you go. If you don't need a guide, welcome to South America.
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:13 pmUnless things have changed in the last year, I have never needed a guide nor known anyone who has needed a guide in the park. Could be that you do now, but it sounds like a ploy for money to me..
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:48 pmRoutefinding wasn't a problem -- boot track all the way (with perfect weather).
If you haven't already checked it out, read this http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/266205/the-intoxicating-taste-of-altitude-ecuador-2007.html. We had a great trip!
If you haven't already checked it out, read this http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/266205/the-intoxicating-taste-of-altitude-ecuador-2007.html. We had a great trip!
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:05 pmbird wrote:Thanks Drizz.
How was the route finding on Cotopaxi without a guide?
Was on Coto a few days ago. Crap weather--wind, clouds, sleet and snow. Had whiteout conditions on the way back--GPS was handy. Never even saw the crater. The route was pretty straight forward. I´ll PM more details when I get time. Off to Cayambe now. Cheers!