On a recent trip to the mountains of Ecuador, Upstate Hiking’s Lead Guide & Founder, successfully reached the 19,347 ft. summit of Cotopaxi. The volcano towers over the surrounding landscape, and features a glacier covering just about all of the mountain above 16,000 ft.
Roped together with his guide, Fausto, and climbing partner, Courtney, the team departed basecamp at approximately 12:45 am. The trio left with crampons already attached, and roped up together a few hundred vertical feet above the refuge as they began climbing on glaciated terrain.
Climbing over 3,600 vertical feet on steep, snow covered slopes, the team reached the summit a few moments before sunrise at 6 am without incident. Beautiful colors and the smell of the volcano’s sulfur surrounded them along with clear views in nearly all directions. Temperatures were in the low single digits with some gusty winds, and so the team was able to spend about 10 minutes on the summit before descending as the sun rose.
We applaud Brian and his climbing team for their successful summit of one of the tallest mountains in Ecuador!
Upstate Hiking 