Desert Solitaire - Aug 27, 2008 11:44 am Date Climbed: Aug 19, 2008
Rucu and Padre Encantado in a storm
Started from the TeleferiQo much later than expected (be warned, sometimes they don´t open up until 11am!). Cloudy and misty the whole way up. Followed the ridge 100% all the way to the top for some fun scrambling (one small 5.4 move, the rest 3rd and 4th class). Freshly falling snow made things spicy and wet my tennis shoes. 2 hrs to the summit. Traversed to Padre Encantado, still bad conditions.
Then decided to bail off and retraced my way back the ridge to the summit of Rucu and back down to the Paramo. Carried overnight gear the whole way, so decided to sleep high up on the Paramo at 4300 meters. Great night with a storm outside, but peaceful and warm inside the tent. Good acclimitization climb.
Boriss Andean - Aug 10, 2008 5:31 pm Date Climbed: Aug 2, 2008
Route Climbed: Rucu Pichincha - Normal Route.
After a failed attempt in going up to Pasochoa Trailhead (our truck got stucked in the mud), I decided to take Romy (Austria) and my French Canadian friends Alan, Marie Michéle and Marie Héléne to Rucu Pichincha.
We took the express teleférico up to 4,100 m. from where we started hiking up. Weather conditions were just perfect, nice views of surroundings and of the capital city. Got to the top (4,698 m/15,413 ft) after 2 hours and 45 minutes of hiking and scrambling. Took a few pictures at the top, met with Jacobo (ecuadorian mountain guide) and his german client and got back to Quito by late afternoon. Nice weekend trip!
Beautiful hike, hiked up the road rather than driving to promote acclimitization. Pretty windy and cloudy near the top, made for some killer pictures.
simonzster - Apr 14, 2008 8:55 am Date Climbed: Apr 14, 2008
Turned Back
Three other students and I tried Rucu, but we were turned back by snow and bad weather. We only had 2 pairs of gloves between the four of us, and our hands and feet were freezing. We made it to about 4650 meters on the top of the sandy (more like icey) slope of the easy route.
Hotfeet - Jan 21, 2008 10:23 pm Date Climbed: Jan 10, 2008
Acclimatization hike
A very beautiful acclimatization hike. Unfortunately it was very cloudly.
lefty - Jan 16, 2008 1:04 am Date Climbed: Dec 28, 2007
Rucu from Teleferico
This was my first acclimatization hike. Riding the Teleferico made it much easier. As would be the case for most of this trip, clouds obscured views from the summit.
Good warm-up hike to get accustomed to higher altitudes. We felt surprisingly good up on the summit. Probably because starting around 13000ft is always a big help.
Boriss Andean - Sep 20, 2007 1:35 am Date Climbed: Jun 16, 1996
Guagua Pichincha, Crater descent.
As an acclimatization program, my brother, my cousin and I followed by a german (Nina Zimpel) hiked up from the town of Lloa (7 hours) to the Refuge of "Defensa Civil" where we spent the night.
Three of us went down to the crater early next morning while Nina waited for us up in the refuge. Volcano activity wasn't high then, but fumaroles and sulphur odor were intense.
Via Teleforiqo with Haliku and Tim (Axe) for acclimatization.
bennovak - Feb 13, 2007 9:59 pm Date Climbed: Feb 12, 2007
from Teleferiqo
A little acclimitization walk/scramble. You need to pretty much walk around the mountain until you reach the easy class 2 scramble up. It takes a bit longer then it looks, but is a worthwile trip with nice vews.
marauders - Jan 23, 2007 7:00 pm Date Climbed: Jan 19, 2007
Climbed Normal Route: Jan. 19, 2007
Climbed Rucu Pichincha via the normal trail from the Teleferiqo. Class 1 trail with a small bit of Class 3 scrambling at the top. This trail is very very popular with locals and trekkers. So head out early (Teleferiqo opened at 10am) and you'll have the trail to yourself. On the return hike we must have passed 30 people who ended up getting soaked in an afternoon rain. Good thing we went early! We had partly cloudly weather with beautiful views of Quito. We got shut down the prior day on Chimborazo due to weather so this was a nice consolation summit just before our plane took us home.
LC - Jan 12, 2007 4:16 pm Date Climbed: Dec 23, 2006
Guagua climb- Standard Route
I read somewhere that the neighborhood on the drive to this hike as being dangerous. Needless to say when 4 guys, one of whom had a shotgun, showed up at the hut, I was a bit apprehensive. Apparently they were just hunting rabbits. We tagged the little concrete marker on top because of a rapidly developing lightning storm. Ran down to our van while lightning strikes occuring all around us.
BalletBoy - Nov 5, 2006 5:22 pm Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2006
Rucu Pichincha from Teleferico & Guagua Pichincha/Padre Encantado Traverse
First Ecuador acclimation hike with Woodie Hopper in preparation for the bigger mountains. Hiked Rucu via the standard route from the Teleferico. The following day hiked Guagua Pichincha and Padre Encantado on the 23rd. The views of Quito from Rucu were stunning!
Woodie Hopper - Oct 22, 2006 11:50 pm Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2006
Rucu from TeleferiQo and Guagua to Encantado traverse
Climbed Rucu with Nord Sandstrom for acclimitization. 2 hours up and 1 down. Cloudy but comfortable weather. Saw Cayambe hovering over the cloudtops! Also climbed Guagua and traversed to Encantado to complete the trifecta 10/23/06. Great views of Cayambe, Antisana and Cotopaxi on the way up.
Thomas Gurviez - Oct 10, 2006 4:57 pm Date Climbed: Sep 20, 2006
rucu pichincha
clear weather, amazing views on cotopaxi, illinizas and cayambe
some snow higher than 4400 m
osatrik - Aug 14, 2006 7:36 pm Date Climbed: Feb 8, 2002
Guagua - warm up to altitude
A great way to get used to the altitude before tackling the mountains further south. We hiked the last 2 miles of the road to get a full day's workout rather than driving all the way to the refugio. Stopped along the road a bit below the refugio to take pictures of our altimeter watches as we passed through 14410 (elevation of Mt. Rainier)! Climbed in February 2002.
rgmackie - Jul 26, 2006 7:16 pm Date Climbed: Jun 25, 2006
Route: various
Hiked and ran Rucu/Guagua at least 10 times on various trips to Quito in May-June 2006. Mostly starting from the teleferico, summit traverse, descending to Lloa, then roads/trails directly back to the teleferico (~6 hrs).
I have climbed Ruco 3 times- 7/23/o5, 8/6/05, 2/19/06 and Padre Encantado once- 8/6/05. All of them great experiences. The first time we camped on the summit and rock climbed on some cliffs below in the morning. Ruco offers pretty descent rock- a rare thing in Ecuador. Did the ridge twice and the sandslide once. Have not done Guagua.
Desert Solitaire - Aug 27, 2008 11:44 am Date Climbed: Aug 19, 2008
Rucu and Padre Encantado in a stormStarted from the TeleferiQo much later than expected (be warned, sometimes they don´t open up until 11am!). Cloudy and misty the whole way up. Followed the ridge 100% all the way to the top for some fun scrambling (one small 5.4 move, the rest 3rd and 4th class). Freshly falling snow made things spicy and wet my tennis shoes. 2 hrs to the summit. Traversed to Padre Encantado, still bad conditions.
Then decided to bail off and retraced my way back the ridge to the summit of Rucu and back down to the Paramo. Carried overnight gear the whole way, so decided to sleep high up on the Paramo at 4300 meters. Great night with a storm outside, but peaceful and warm inside the tent. Good acclimitization climb.
Boriss Andean - Aug 10, 2008 5:31 pm Date Climbed: Aug 2, 2008
Route Climbed: Rucu Pichincha - Normal Route.After a failed attempt in going up to Pasochoa Trailhead (our truck got stucked in the mud), I decided to take Romy (Austria) and my French Canadian friends Alan, Marie Michéle and Marie Héléne to Rucu Pichincha.
We took the express teleférico up to 4,100 m. from where we started hiking up. Weather conditions were just perfect, nice views of surroundings and of the capital city. Got to the top (4,698 m/15,413 ft) after 2 hours and 45 minutes of hiking and scrambling. Took a few pictures at the top, met with Jacobo (ecuadorian mountain guide) and his german client and got back to Quito by late afternoon. Nice weekend trip!
HeyItsBen - Jul 31, 2008 5:46 pm Date Climbed: Jul 22, 2008
GuaguaBeautiful hike, hiked up the road rather than driving to promote acclimitization. Pretty windy and cloudy near the top, made for some killer pictures.
simonzster - Apr 14, 2008 8:55 am Date Climbed: Apr 14, 2008
Turned BackThree other students and I tried Rucu, but we were turned back by snow and bad weather. We only had 2 pairs of gloves between the four of us, and our hands and feet were freezing. We made it to about 4650 meters on the top of the sandy (more like icey) slope of the easy route.
Hotfeet - Jan 21, 2008 10:23 pm Date Climbed: Jan 10, 2008
Acclimatization hikeA very beautiful acclimatization hike. Unfortunately it was very cloudly.
lefty - Jan 16, 2008 1:04 am Date Climbed: Dec 28, 2007
Rucu from TelefericoThis was my first acclimatization hike. Riding the Teleferico made it much easier. As would be the case for most of this trip, clouds obscured views from the summit.
Fabrice.Rimlinger - Nov 17, 2007 5:32 pm Date Climbed: Nov 10, 2005
Standard RouteEasy hike for acclimatation !
mnichols - Sep 23, 2007 4:09 pm Date Climbed: Jul 23, 2007
Route Climbed: Normal w/ TeleferiQoGood warm-up hike to get accustomed to higher altitudes. We felt surprisingly good up on the summit. Probably because starting around 13000ft is always a big help.
Boriss Andean - Sep 20, 2007 1:35 am Date Climbed: Jun 16, 1996
Guagua Pichincha, Crater descent.As an acclimatization program, my brother, my cousin and I followed by a german (Nina Zimpel) hiked up from the town of Lloa (7 hours) to the Refuge of "Defensa Civil" where we spent the night.
Three of us went down to the crater early next morning while Nina waited for us up in the refuge. Volcano activity wasn't high then, but fumaroles and sulphur odor were intense.
Haliku - Jul 10, 2007 9:06 pm Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2007
Rucu Via TeleforiqoWhat Bill562 said...
Bill562 - Jul 10, 2007 8:04 pm Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2007
RucaVia Teleforiqo with Haliku and Tim (Axe) for acclimatization.
bennovak - Feb 13, 2007 9:59 pm Date Climbed: Feb 12, 2007
from TeleferiqoA little acclimitization walk/scramble. You need to pretty much walk around the mountain until you reach the easy class 2 scramble up. It takes a bit longer then it looks, but is a worthwile trip with nice vews.
marauders - Jan 23, 2007 7:00 pm Date Climbed: Jan 19, 2007
Climbed Normal Route: Jan. 19, 2007Climbed Rucu Pichincha via the normal trail from the Teleferiqo. Class 1 trail with a small bit of Class 3 scrambling at the top. This trail is very very popular with locals and trekkers. So head out early (Teleferiqo opened at 10am) and you'll have the trail to yourself. On the return hike we must have passed 30 people who ended up getting soaked in an afternoon rain. Good thing we went early! We had partly cloudly weather with beautiful views of Quito. We got shut down the prior day on Chimborazo due to weather so this was a nice consolation summit just before our plane took us home.
LC - Jan 12, 2007 4:16 pm Date Climbed: Dec 23, 2006
Guagua climb- Standard RouteI read somewhere that the neighborhood on the drive to this hike as being dangerous. Needless to say when 4 guys, one of whom had a shotgun, showed up at the hut, I was a bit apprehensive. Apparently they were just hunting rabbits. We tagged the little concrete marker on top because of a rapidly developing lightning storm. Ran down to our van while lightning strikes occuring all around us.
BalletBoy - Nov 5, 2006 5:22 pm Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2006
Rucu Pichincha from Teleferico & Guagua Pichincha/Padre Encantado TraverseFirst Ecuador acclimation hike with Woodie Hopper in preparation for the bigger mountains. Hiked Rucu via the standard route from the Teleferico. The following day hiked Guagua Pichincha and Padre Encantado on the 23rd. The views of Quito from Rucu were stunning!
Woodie Hopper - Oct 22, 2006 11:50 pm Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2006
Rucu from TeleferiQo and Guagua to Encantado traverseClimbed Rucu with Nord Sandstrom for acclimitization. 2 hours up and 1 down. Cloudy but comfortable weather. Saw Cayambe hovering over the cloudtops! Also climbed Guagua and traversed to Encantado to complete the trifecta 10/23/06. Great views of Cayambe, Antisana and Cotopaxi on the way up.
Thomas Gurviez - Oct 10, 2006 4:57 pm Date Climbed: Sep 20, 2006
rucu pichinchaclear weather, amazing views on cotopaxi, illinizas and cayambe
some snow higher than 4400 m
osatrik - Aug 14, 2006 7:36 pm Date Climbed: Feb 8, 2002
Guagua - warm up to altitudeA great way to get used to the altitude before tackling the mountains further south. We hiked the last 2 miles of the road to get a full day's workout rather than driving all the way to the refugio. Stopped along the road a bit below the refugio to take pictures of our altimeter watches as we passed through 14410 (elevation of Mt. Rainier)! Climbed in February 2002.
rgmackie - Jul 26, 2006 7:16 pm Date Climbed: Jun 25, 2006
Route: variousHiked and ran Rucu/Guagua at least 10 times on various trips to Quito in May-June 2006. Mostly starting from the teleferico, summit traverse, descending to Lloa, then roads/trails directly back to the teleferico (~6 hrs).
summiter - Mar 30, 2006 2:03 am
Ruco/PadreI have climbed Ruco 3 times- 7/23/o5, 8/6/05, 2/19/06 and Padre Encantado once- 8/6/05. All of them great experiences. The first time we camped on the summit and rock climbed on some cliffs below in the morning. Ruco offers pretty descent rock- a rare thing in Ecuador. Did the ridge twice and the sandslide once. Have not done Guagua.