Great, fun climb higher up on the glacier. I loved the way the trail undulates up and down and around the ice features. We had a beautiful day for a climb, really lucked out. Summited at 0815. Trip report
Boriss Andean - Sep 20, 2007 10:00 pm Date Climbed: Mar 6, 1996
Route climbed: Normal Route.
Snow/ice conditions were perfect, but cloudy during the entire climb.
We couldn't even see the crater, but it was one of the best moments in my life, being up there with Andres (my brother) and a bunch of climbers and guides like Gaspar Navarrete and Gabriel Llano (+) who let us follow them up with generosity.
Gabriel Llano died years later while guiding a pitch in Cordillera Real Bolivia. It was great to share moments with him and the rest of climbers.
This was the beginning of countless trips to Cotopaxi. (My first time on Cotopaxi's top)
Incredible climb. My first roped-up, high elevation, glacier climb (>5000m). I hitchhiked into the park, walked to Laguna Limpiopungo, attempted Cerro Ruminahui the next day, spent two days climbing up the road to the refugio, and rested a whole day at the refugio before attempting the summit. Perfect weather, a full moon, and a wonderful night. Reached the summit too early, waited at the ice cave/wall and the crater's edge to catch sunrise. And what a view. Floating on a bed of clouds, with only the other 5000m volcanoes shining in the distance.
pkrebs - Aug 20, 2007 6:53 pm Date Climbed: Sep 19, 2006
Unsuccessful Attempt - Normal Route
Came down with a case of HAPE somewhere around 17.500' and had to head back. Make sure to acclimatize well for this climb.
jweidman - Aug 12, 2007 12:56 am Date Climbed: Jan 5, 2006
Ruta Normal
Much nicer day this time--perfect views. Long day (14hrs) as we waited at several times for hrs to help our slower teams. Way down was crazy as some people were dead--one guy was so screwed up we had to give him dex.
Ecuador is a beautiful country with beautiful people. Our group was unsuccessful on Cotopaxi - moving too slow/I got an upset stomach from our guides 'idea' of dinner. Note to self: always cook a dinner you know your stomach can handle before a summit climb - I always bring a dinner from the States for that purpose.
Climbed with Haliku and Axe. The weather was beautiful as we left at midnight, but worsened as we climbed, deteriorating to a whiteout by daylight. We pushed on though and summitted at around 7 am. I don´t remember when the snow started coming down, but it was with us all the way back to the hut. Glad to have done this one.
Jessica L - Apr 15, 2007 1:01 am Date Climbed: Dec 1, 2006
Cotopaxi
Great snow conditions, but bitterly cold and windy. My partner and I maintained a good pace to the summit, mostly because it was too cold to stop.
bennovak - Feb 24, 2007 8:32 pm Date Climbed: Feb 14, 2007
Normal Route
Made it to ~18000 ft. Snow, and poor acclimitazation led to my demise. You need more then 2 days in Ecuador to get ready for this one. I will be ready next time.
Daniel Klassen - Feb 9, 2007 8:16 pm Date Climbed: May 7, 2006
Summit 3
Guided a group of students up. Snow was deep and borderline avalanche conditions.
Daniel Klassen - Feb 9, 2007 8:01 pm Date Climbed: Jan 8, 2006
Summit 2
Best weather I have had on the mountain. Was up by 7:10 am
marauders - Jan 23, 2007 6:22 pm Date Climbed: Jan 15, 2007
Climbed Normal Route: Jan. 15, 2007
My favorite mountain in Ecuador. By far the most beautiful and interesting terrain. It was also the fastest to climb. Summited a little under 5 hours. Perfect weather, almost no wind, with a perfect boot track. If it hasn't snowed in a while, I don't think you need a guide here. There are so many people climbing the mountain. On our summit day we summited with 3 other groups of 5 each. No one had a guide.
The initial slopes have steep switchbacks which opens into crevasse fields, seracs and 50 degree slopes. Without the boot track this would be a much harder mountain to navigate and climb, but with the boot track it's pretty easy with climbing experience.
Scott - Jan 22, 2007 4:36 am Date Climbed: Jan 10, 2007
Perfect weather
Climbed Cotopaxi with perfect weather. It was our easiest of the big peaks we climbed in Ecuador, but I thought it was the most beautiful as well. It took me five hours to the top, a pretty average time.
moneal - Jan 21, 2007 3:06 pm Date Climbed: Jan 9, 2007
Normal route
Caught some damn Ecuadorian virus the day of the climb. Couldn't even make a serious attempt. Two folks in my group summitted at sunrise in absolutely perfect conditions.
LC - Jan 11, 2007 5:16 am Date Climbed: Dec 24, 2006
Normal Route
Beautiful conditions all around. Started climbing at 1am and reached the summit at about 7am. Skies were clear and could see all the major cones in the avenue of the volcanoes.
tjbst47 - Dec 31, 2006 7:33 pm Date Climbed: Dec 31, 2006
normal route
Great weather and snow conditions. Trail in the snow very well defined. Technically easy in terms of crevasse hazards. We walked down from the summit without the rope. Guides would not be useful if you have a couple years climbing experience.
thenewpassion - Dec 10, 2006 6:55 am Date Climbed: Dec 3, 2004
Normal Route in Wonderful Weather
Terrible snow conditions but lovely weather. We had fantastic views from the summit.
mnichols - Sep 22, 2007 11:39 pm Date Climbed: Jul 26, 2007
Route climbed: Normal RouteGreat, fun climb higher up on the glacier. I loved the way the trail undulates up and down and around the ice features. We had a beautiful day for a climb, really lucked out. Summited at 0815. Trip report
Boriss Andean - Sep 20, 2007 10:00 pm Date Climbed: Mar 6, 1996
Route climbed: Normal Route.Snow/ice conditions were perfect, but cloudy during the entire climb.
We couldn't even see the crater, but it was one of the best moments in my life, being up there with Andres (my brother) and a bunch of climbers and guides like Gaspar Navarrete and Gabriel Llano (+) who let us follow them up with generosity.
Gabriel Llano died years later while guiding a pitch in Cordillera Real Bolivia. It was great to share moments with him and the rest of climbers.
This was the beginning of countless trips to Cotopaxi. (My first time on Cotopaxi's top)
paisajeroamericano - Sep 13, 2007 5:54 am Date Climbed: Jan 31, 2007
Best View Yet?Incredible climb. My first roped-up, high elevation, glacier climb (>5000m). I hitchhiked into the park, walked to Laguna Limpiopungo, attempted Cerro Ruminahui the next day, spent two days climbing up the road to the refugio, and rested a whole day at the refugio before attempting the summit. Perfect weather, a full moon, and a wonderful night. Reached the summit too early, waited at the ice cave/wall and the crater's edge to catch sunrise. And what a view. Floating on a bed of clouds, with only the other 5000m volcanoes shining in the distance.
pkrebs - Aug 20, 2007 6:53 pm Date Climbed: Sep 19, 2006
Unsuccessful Attempt - Normal RouteCame down with a case of HAPE somewhere around 17.500' and had to head back. Make sure to acclimatize well for this climb.
jweidman - Aug 12, 2007 12:56 am Date Climbed: Jan 5, 2006
Ruta NormalMuch nicer day this time--perfect views. Long day (14hrs) as we waited at several times for hrs to help our slower teams. Way down was crazy as some people were dead--one guy was so screwed up we had to give him dex.
Sara_Matisse - Aug 11, 2007 12:11 pm
Standard RouteEcuador is a beautiful country with beautiful people. Our group was unsuccessful on Cotopaxi - moving too slow/I got an upset stomach from our guides 'idea' of dinner. Note to self: always cook a dinner you know your stomach can handle before a summit climb - I always bring a dinner from the States for that purpose.
bds670 - Jul 11, 2007 11:56 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2007
Normal RouteGreat weather, good climb. Summited with no wind or clouds!
Haliku - Jul 10, 2007 9:11 pm Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2007
Normal RouteWhat Bill562 said. A tough climb due to the weather. While we made it to the top we didn´t see anything but white....a GPS was useful on this climb.
Bill562 - Jul 10, 2007 8:17 pm Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2007
Coto standard routeClimbed with Haliku and Axe. The weather was beautiful as we left at midnight, but worsened as we climbed, deteriorating to a whiteout by daylight. We pushed on though and summitted at around 7 am. I don´t remember when the snow started coming down, but it was with us all the way back to the hut. Glad to have done this one.
Jessica L - Apr 15, 2007 1:01 am Date Climbed: Dec 1, 2006
CotopaxiGreat snow conditions, but bitterly cold and windy. My partner and I maintained a good pace to the summit, mostly because it was too cold to stop.
bennovak - Feb 24, 2007 8:32 pm Date Climbed: Feb 14, 2007
Normal RouteMade it to ~18000 ft. Snow, and poor acclimitazation led to my demise. You need more then 2 days in Ecuador to get ready for this one. I will be ready next time.
Daniel Klassen - Feb 9, 2007 8:16 pm Date Climbed: May 7, 2006
Summit 3Guided a group of students up. Snow was deep and borderline avalanche conditions.
Daniel Klassen - Feb 9, 2007 8:01 pm Date Climbed: Jan 8, 2006
Summit 2Best weather I have had on the mountain. Was up by 7:10 am
marauders - Jan 23, 2007 6:22 pm Date Climbed: Jan 15, 2007
Climbed Normal Route: Jan. 15, 2007My favorite mountain in Ecuador. By far the most beautiful and interesting terrain. It was also the fastest to climb. Summited a little under 5 hours. Perfect weather, almost no wind, with a perfect boot track. If it hasn't snowed in a while, I don't think you need a guide here. There are so many people climbing the mountain. On our summit day we summited with 3 other groups of 5 each. No one had a guide.
The initial slopes have steep switchbacks which opens into crevasse fields, seracs and 50 degree slopes. Without the boot track this would be a much harder mountain to navigate and climb, but with the boot track it's pretty easy with climbing experience.
Scott - Jan 22, 2007 4:36 am Date Climbed: Jan 10, 2007
Perfect weatherClimbed Cotopaxi with perfect weather. It was our easiest of the big peaks we climbed in Ecuador, but I thought it was the most beautiful as well. It took me five hours to the top, a pretty average time.
moneal - Jan 21, 2007 3:06 pm Date Climbed: Jan 9, 2007
Normal routeCaught some damn Ecuadorian virus the day of the climb. Couldn't even make a serious attempt. Two folks in my group summitted at sunrise in absolutely perfect conditions.
LC - Jan 11, 2007 5:16 am Date Climbed: Dec 24, 2006
Normal RouteBeautiful conditions all around. Started climbing at 1am and reached the summit at about 7am. Skies were clear and could see all the major cones in the avenue of the volcanoes.
tjbst47 - Dec 31, 2006 7:33 pm Date Climbed: Dec 31, 2006
normal routeGreat weather and snow conditions. Trail in the snow very well defined. Technically easy in terms of crevasse hazards. We walked down from the summit without the rope. Guides would not be useful if you have a couple years climbing experience.
thenewpassion - Dec 10, 2006 6:55 am Date Climbed: Dec 3, 2004
Normal Route in Wonderful WeatherTerrible snow conditions but lovely weather. We had fantastic views from the summit.
Fabrice.Rimlinger - Nov 11, 2006 4:49 pm Date Climbed: Nov 2, 2006
Normal route6h to summit. Really bad weather. Couldn't see the crater. Good fun .