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Can anyone make a recommendation for a guiding service in Ecuador? Cotopaxi and Chimborazo.

I have quite a bit of experience with Ecuador - just spent two weeks of vacations there this year too.
There are two/three agencies that you can contact in Quito - they'll put you in touch with guides. Apparently, there's a pool of guides, and only a handful of agencies that source them.
1) A few years back, I made friends with Jaime Gallardo of Zona Verde (https://www.facebook.com/zona.verde1). He's an excellent guide - took me to the top of Cotopaxi and to many other places - he can put you in touch with good and trustworthy guides as well if he's not available.

2) You can also contact Ruta Cero (http://www.rutacero.com.ec/). I've been on an excursion to Imbabura with them - I liked their professional style. They run a program of group excursions and organize private climbs too.

3) The last option I'll indicate is Paypahuasi: http://www.paypahuasi.com/ - I never had the pleasure of using their services, but they seemed to be very attentive in their correspondence with me (they didn't have anyone available for the dates/activities I was looking for).

One additional word: not sure how good your Spanish is - being fluent in Spanish helps an awful lot in Ecuador in general (and with the mountain guides too).

Depends on what you want from a guide, and how experienced you are. Jaime Gallardo is known for doing really crazy routes, and unroped, so some people love him and others hate him and his style. I have climbed with him a ton, he's hilarious and it's nice to do new routes I wouldn't necessarily try on my own - but expect to look out for your own security because he doesn't, and there have been incidents over the years.

Ruta cero and paypahuasi both hire from the same pool of guides; fwiw I arrange privately to climb with guides I met from ruta cero, and those include guides who work for the major American companies. You can also try Gulliver travels, Andean Face ( I think it's called )... they seem to also hire the same guides. If someone is quoting you significantly more than someone else, it's not usually because they're better guides. Condor trek is another one, but I have heard several negative comments about them.

The ecuadorian guides association, Aseguim, has a list of their guides on the website whom you can contact directly. I can recommend some names, but in the end, any of the companies listed above (and there are many more companies I don't know by name ) hire many of the same guides - the ecuadorian climbing community is really not that big, and the company may offer rental gear (check to make sure, I think ruta cero, paypahuasi and most certainly zona verde don't) as well as transportation. If you hire the guide directly, you are responsible for logistics and transportation.

thanks guys, very helpfull info.

Hello J4ever, I have been in contact with Ramiro, mountain guide from Ecuador, related to the ascension of Cotopaxi. He is a very good guide. I'm sure he will be able to help you. Don't hesitate to get in touch with him. Here is his web page - http://goo.gl/2k94MH. Good luck and many success with your ascent!

Has anyone climbed with CarpeDM, from Quito? They have very good reviews on tripadvisor, we are considering hiring them to climb Cotopaxi.
Thanks!

Has anyone on here used Andes Climbing or Ecuadoring Alpine Institute? Im looking to go in January 2016 and am looking for a reputable climbing source.

sbrown wrote:Has anyone on here used Andes Climbing or Ecuadoring Alpine Institute? Im looking to go in January 2016 and am looking for a reputable climbing source.

Hi, I was there a couple of years ago and went up Cotopaxi with Ramiro, from EAI, he is really good! Here you can find some info: https://www.explore-share.com/p/74-ramiro