damgaard - May 4, 2013 11:29 am Date Climbed: Mar 29, 2013
Buzzing rocks ...
Drove from Quito early in the morning and didn't start until 7:40. Started out in nice weather, but at the refugio clouds had come rolling in. We decided to continue, but weather kept deteriorating and we heard some distant thunder. Next up was a hailstorm. The fastest way down was to continue to the scree, so we pressed on. At the exit it was just 5 min to the top, so we decided to go there anyway. Maybe a bad choice, because the camera was electric, I got an electric shock from my poles and the rocks were buzzing. Not cool! We razed down from the mountain and didn't pause until 200-300 m down the scree. An "interesting" first 5.000 for me.
Climbed from near parking area to refuge (2 hours), then 2 more hours to summit. Cloudy from refuge and up, but no snow on route. Great views of Cotopaxi and Iliniza Sur.
Fun scramble on last 80 feet to summit. Arenal on the way down.
Garon Coriz - Mar 12, 2013 5:41 pm Date Climbed: Mar 10, 2013
Birthday Weekend Trip
Sebastian and I slept in El Chaupi at a hostel Friday night. Started the hike late due to confusion with regulations at the park entrance so we got to the refuge at 11 am where I dropped off my gear for Sur. We made it to the summit by 12:45, had a nap on the summit, and returned to the refuge. There was hardly any snow until later that night long after everyone had left the mountain.
Jake - Jan 25, 2013 4:12 pm Date Climbed: Jan 25, 2013
With Pedro
We started at 9am from the Refugio. There was exceptionally much of snow but we didn't use the crampons. Really great route and amazing views.
flow - Jan 16, 2013 1:36 am Date Climbed: Dec 14, 2012
sunshine - Jan 1, 2013 8:07 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2011
Wow.
A bit more technical than anticipated. Falling rock. Felt very exposed in some areas near the summit! Had a wonderful time though and I'm so glad we did it.
Could not believe the staff person at the hut left the gas going all night - it gave everyone headaches and unnecessarily flustered us as we were already trying to deal with the elevation.
slychels04 - Jan 1, 2013 11:23 am Date Climbed: Jul 20, 2012
I loved this experience
This was an excellent climb for me. I hiked up to the refuge and spent the night. The refuge was very comfortable considering you are over 15,000 ft! I did notice mold on the walls in my photos! Something that is hard to see by candle light! I would use a helmet for the route as there could be falling rock. My husband completed the regular route without a rope, but I was roped to our guide. It was the highlight of my trip to Ecuador as we only made it up to 17,500 ft on Cotopaxi.
Great climb, all rock. The summit is tricky with huge boulders. Our guide almost fell off!
ajaysomani - Nov 29, 2012 3:27 pm Date Climbed: Nov 23, 2012
Normal Route
It was a good couple of hours of scrambling from the hut. Paso de la muerte was a little bit scary with some snow thrown in and the visibility was bad. Descended using the scree slope which was great :)
attimount - Nov 25, 2012 5:56 pm Date Climbed: Jul 12, 2012
Scramble
After Sur we went for scrambling Norte.The route is pretty easy and even the Paso de la Muerte did not seemed dificulte. Grat view of Sur route from the top.
jm141302 - Nov 19, 2012 12:49 pm Date Climbed: Nov 18, 2012
Long day
Started at 3500m about 1-2 km past El Chaupi and followed the river through the trees and went north around the smaller rocky hill at the eastern foot of Norte. From there, we went straight up the sand and met the scree/sand route where it turns uphill. There was some snow, but only in the shadows. We had a beautifully clear morning but got covered in clouds halfway up the sandy slope at around 11:00. No rain or snow. Returned via the scree/sand route and back down the road to where we started. 11 hours total. We had a bit of a run in with the ranger because of the new 5000m rule. We had to convince him that we were just going to the refuge and no farther.
Cold, windy and cloudy. Paso de La Muerte was the only sketchy bit I remember - but there was snow, so it wasn't too bad.
ajberry - Oct 27, 2012 5:56 pm Date Climbed: Feb 10, 2010
Normal route
My second time up. Thank god for early morning clear skies...
Homestarhiker - Sep 4, 2012 8:20 pm Date Climbed: Aug 19, 2012
A day well spent
I climbed via the normal route with a few members of a local mountaineering club. There was some ice in places, but we had pretty good conditions overall and the route was easier than I expected it would be.
schleger - Jun 22, 2012 12:56 am Date Climbed: Jun 18, 2012
Fun in the sun
Spent a night at the refugio with my daughter and Guide Segundo. We had recently summited Pasochoa and Corazon and needed to spend some time at or above 15k in preparation for Cotopaxi. Weather conditions could not have been better. Partly sunny / light wind. There was some snow in shadowy spots, perhaps 1/2 an inch. Scrambling was done on dry exposed rock which offered good nooks and crannies to grab hold of. There were a couple of spots with significant exposure and being roped to an experienced guide eased any concerns I had. The three of us occupied and essentially took up all the space on the tiny summit. That was cool. This was our favorite peak due to the challenging scrambling and nice weather. Also, the altitude was not affecting us, yet.....Next Cotopaxi!
My two buddies planned for the Matterhorn, but after not getting the stand-by flight to europe, we flew down to Ecuador and climbed Iliniza Norte. Wish we could have done Sur, but Norte was fun all the same.
chicagosky - Jan 4, 2012 8:37 am Date Climbed: Dec 28, 2011
A good slog in windy conditions
Very windy at the summit, almost got blown off a few times but was an interesting climb. Had to crampon up and use rope for a few sections of the climb
MMclimbhigh - Dec 19, 2011 4:41 pm Date Climbed: Nov 29, 2011
From Refugio
Stayed in the Refugio for acclimating purposes. Climbed Norte at dawn. Some of the best views of the Northern Andes!
mreiter1 - Dec 11, 2011 2:03 pm Date Climbed: Jul 12, 2009
Success
Standard Route
brota - Dec 9, 2011 5:05 pm Date Climbed: Dec 7, 2011
Easy walk
At night with moonlight hiking from El Chaupi next to the cottage in about 4 hours (they wanted me to pay $5 for camping next to it!). At 5.30 am starting the hike up. Surprisingly easy walk (almost no snow on the way) and in 1:15 hrs with slow pace first one on the top.
damgaard - May 4, 2013 11:29 am Date Climbed: Mar 29, 2013
Buzzing rocks ...Drove from Quito early in the morning and didn't start until 7:40. Started out in nice weather, but at the refugio clouds had come rolling in. We decided to continue, but weather kept deteriorating and we heard some distant thunder. Next up was a hailstorm. The fastest way down was to continue to the scree, so we pressed on. At the exit it was just 5 min to the top, so we decided to go there anyway. Maybe a bad choice, because the camera was electric, I got an electric shock from my poles and the rocks were buzzing. Not cool! We razed down from the mountain and didn't pause until 200-300 m down the scree. An "interesting" first 5.000 for me.
dielotr - Apr 16, 2013 9:55 pm Date Climbed: Apr 7, 2013
Sunday Climb w/USFQClimbed from near parking area to refuge (2 hours), then 2 more hours to summit. Cloudy from refuge and up, but no snow on route. Great views of Cotopaxi and Iliniza Sur.
Fun scramble on last 80 feet to summit. Arenal on the way down.
Garon Coriz - Mar 12, 2013 5:41 pm Date Climbed: Mar 10, 2013
Birthday Weekend TripSebastian and I slept in El Chaupi at a hostel Friday night. Started the hike late due to confusion with regulations at the park entrance so we got to the refuge at 11 am where I dropped off my gear for Sur. We made it to the summit by 12:45, had a nap on the summit, and returned to the refuge. There was hardly any snow until later that night long after everyone had left the mountain.
Jake - Jan 25, 2013 4:12 pm Date Climbed: Jan 25, 2013
With PedroWe started at 9am from the Refugio. There was exceptionally much of snow but we didn't use the crampons. Really great route and amazing views.
flow - Jan 16, 2013 1:36 am Date Climbed: Dec 14, 2012
Illiniza Norte, 5.116m13.12.2012: Parqueadero La Virgen 3.950m - Refugio Nuevos Horizontes 4.750m
14.12.2012: Refugio - Summit
sunshine - Jan 1, 2013 8:07 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2011
Wow.A bit more technical than anticipated. Falling rock. Felt very exposed in some areas near the summit! Had a wonderful time though and I'm so glad we did it.
Could not believe the staff person at the hut left the gas going all night - it gave everyone headaches and unnecessarily flustered us as we were already trying to deal with the elevation.
slychels04 - Jan 1, 2013 11:23 am Date Climbed: Jul 20, 2012
I loved this experienceThis was an excellent climb for me. I hiked up to the refuge and spent the night. The refuge was very comfortable considering you are over 15,000 ft! I did notice mold on the walls in my photos! Something that is hard to see by candle light! I would use a helmet for the route as there could be falling rock. My husband completed the regular route without a rope, but I was roped to our guide. It was the highlight of my trip to Ecuador as we only made it up to 17,500 ft on Cotopaxi.
Sirburtmund - Dec 24, 2012 12:42 pm
Great climbGreat climb, all rock. The summit is tricky with huge boulders. Our guide almost fell off!
ajaysomani - Nov 29, 2012 3:27 pm Date Climbed: Nov 23, 2012
Normal RouteIt was a good couple of hours of scrambling from the hut. Paso de la muerte was a little bit scary with some snow thrown in and the visibility was bad. Descended using the scree slope which was great :)
attimount - Nov 25, 2012 5:56 pm Date Climbed: Jul 12, 2012
ScrambleAfter Sur we went for scrambling Norte.The route is pretty easy and even the Paso de la Muerte did not seemed dificulte. Grat view of Sur route from the top.
jm141302 - Nov 19, 2012 12:49 pm Date Climbed: Nov 18, 2012
Long dayStarted at 3500m about 1-2 km past El Chaupi and followed the river through the trees and went north around the smaller rocky hill at the eastern foot of Norte. From there, we went straight up the sand and met the scree/sand route where it turns uphill. There was some snow, but only in the shadows. We had a beautifully clear morning but got covered in clouds halfway up the sandy slope at around 11:00. No rain or snow. Returned via the scree/sand route and back down the road to where we started. 11 hours total. We had a bit of a run in with the ranger because of the new 5000m rule. We had to convince him that we were just going to the refuge and no farther.
paulparkie - Nov 12, 2012 4:52 pm
Couldn't see a damn thingCold, windy and cloudy. Paso de La Muerte was the only sketchy bit I remember - but there was snow, so it wasn't too bad.
ajberry - Oct 27, 2012 5:56 pm Date Climbed: Feb 10, 2010
Normal routeMy second time up. Thank god for early morning clear skies...
Homestarhiker - Sep 4, 2012 8:20 pm Date Climbed: Aug 19, 2012
A day well spentI climbed via the normal route with a few members of a local mountaineering club. There was some ice in places, but we had pretty good conditions overall and the route was easier than I expected it would be.
schleger - Jun 22, 2012 12:56 am Date Climbed: Jun 18, 2012
Fun in the sunSpent a night at the refugio with my daughter and Guide Segundo. We had recently summited Pasochoa and Corazon and needed to spend some time at or above 15k in preparation for Cotopaxi. Weather conditions could not have been better. Partly sunny / light wind. There was some snow in shadowy spots, perhaps 1/2 an inch. Scrambling was done on dry exposed rock which offered good nooks and crannies to grab hold of. There were a couple of spots with significant exposure and being roped to an experienced guide eased any concerns I had. The three of us occupied and essentially took up all the space on the tiny summit. That was cool. This was our favorite peak due to the challenging scrambling and nice weather. Also, the altitude was not affecting us, yet.....Next Cotopaxi!
DanielWandsneider - Feb 17, 2012 10:43 am Date Climbed: Sep 1, 2011
fun weekend climbMy two buddies planned for the Matterhorn, but after not getting the stand-by flight to europe, we flew down to Ecuador and climbed Iliniza Norte. Wish we could have done Sur, but Norte was fun all the same.
chicagosky - Jan 4, 2012 8:37 am Date Climbed: Dec 28, 2011
A good slog in windy conditionsVery windy at the summit, almost got blown off a few times but was an interesting climb. Had to crampon up and use rope for a few sections of the climb
MMclimbhigh - Dec 19, 2011 4:41 pm Date Climbed: Nov 29, 2011
From RefugioStayed in the Refugio for acclimating purposes. Climbed Norte at dawn. Some of the best views of the Northern Andes!
mreiter1 - Dec 11, 2011 2:03 pm Date Climbed: Jul 12, 2009
SuccessStandard Route
brota - Dec 9, 2011 5:05 pm Date Climbed: Dec 7, 2011
Easy walkAt night with moonlight hiking from El Chaupi next to the cottage in about 4 hours (they wanted me to pay $5 for camping next to it!). At 5.30 am starting the hike up. Surprisingly easy walk (almost no snow on the way) and in 1:15 hrs with slow pace first one on the top.