...Cayambe and Hot Springs...
The Ecuador team has made it back to Quito after a great few days in the mountains. Early Sunday morning they set off for the Summit of Cayambe, but unfortunately weather moved in and the summit wasn't in the cards that day. Still, the team put in a super effort, pushed as high on the mountain as possible, and made a great call to come down when the conditions began to deteriorate.
After their attempt on Cayambe it was off to the hot springs at Papallacta! A fantastic reward after over a week of acclimatizing and pushing hard in the mountains.
Tomorrow our team members on the normal itinerary will fly home, while those going for the Chimborazo extension will head south out of Quito and climb to high camp on Chimbo tomorrow afternoon.
Nice work all around!
-CTSS Team
...Aconcagua Team at Camp 2...
CTSS Lead Guide Sasha Sak called in via Sat phone with an update. The team moved into Camp 2 at 18,100 feet this afternoon and are feeling great! The guides are staying on top of the weather and have a game plan put together for their summit strategy.
Tomorrow the team will carry to Camp 3 in the morning and descend back to Camp 2 by early afternoon to rest the remainder of the day. On the 9th the current plan is to move to Camp 3, with February 10th as the target summit day. Guides Sasha and Nanika will keep an eye on the weather and adjust if needed, but for now the 10th is the target!
Good luck to the team as they wrap up the hard work of moving into position and switch focus to the summit climb.
-CTSS Team
... Ecuador: 100% Success on Cotopaxi...
The CTSS Ecuador team is celebrating a very successful climb of Cotopaxi, 100% of the team reached the summit early this morning.
Congratulations!!!
Cotopaxi is a tough climb, especially considering you're climbing to above 19,000 feet after being in at altitude for less than a week.
Tonight they're taking a well earned rest in the historical La Cienega hotel - one of the oldest buildings in the region. Tomorrow they'll drive to Cayambe for a rest day and begin focusing on their next objective.
-CTSS Team
...Aconcagua Team Ready to Climb...
The CTSS team on Aconcagua is ready to start climbing! The last few days have been filled with preparation and acclimatization. With a day of rest in basecamp finished, tomorrow the team loads the first heavy packs and makes the trek out of basecamp to camp 1.
They'll drop 8 days worth of group food and all their extra personal gear in a Cache at Camp 1 before dropping back to basecamp for the night.
Tomorrow, tents, sleeping gear, and any remaining gear they'll need for the climb will be carried up to camp 1, where the team will spend the next 2 nights.
-CTSS Team
...Aconcagua Team to Basecamp...
Our team on Aconcagua has been making steady progress.
After entering the park and hiking to Confluencia the team has spent 2 nights acclimatizing in Camp. Yesterday the team hiked to Plaza Francia at 14,000 feet to help their bodies adjust and prepare for the move to basecamp. From Plaza Francia they were treated to one of the most spectacular sights in the entire park - Aconcagua's dramatic South Face.
Today the team is on its way to basecamp at Plaza de Mulas. It's a long day and tonight they'll be sleeping at over 14,000 feet. The acclimatization days at Confluencia will show their benefit as they hike higher today and spend tomorrow preparing for the true climbing to begin.
-CTSS Team
... Ecuador Team Heads to Cotopaxi
CTSS Lead Guide Edgar Parra and our Ecuador team have had a truly productive start to their trip!
Over the last few days they've visited the Equator, hiked Ruminahui - an extinct volcano extending above 15,000 feet - and completed their snow school on the lower slopes of Cotopaxi.
Today they are moving to the a hut on Cotopaxi at 15,200 feet in preparation for tonights summit climb. We wish them the best of luck as they go for the first big summit of the trip!
-CTSS Team
...And They're Off!..
After a great dinner last night our CTSS Aconcagua team rolled out of Mendoza this morning heading out to their hotel near the Park entrance.
Tomorrow the team will enter the park and hike to Confluencia Camp about 5 miles up the Horcones Valley. They'll stay at Confluencia for two nights and take a short hike to Plaza Francia to acclimatize. The climb has begun!
- CTSS Team
...Aconcagua Team Ready in Mendoza...
Preparations are well under way for the last CTSS Aconcagua team of 2021/2022 in Argentina!
All team members made it into town without major troubles and have spent today getting their park required Antigen tests, completing gear checks and finalizing packing.
Guides Sasha Sak and Nanika Stahringer have food and gear prepped, packed, and ready to be loaded into the transport early tomorrow morning. As always they made their rounds through Mendoza over the last few days shopping for fantastic meals including as many fresh fruits and vegetables as we can carry into basecamp.
Tonight the team wrapped up a big day with a fantastic team dinner.
Tomorrow they'll leave Mendoza and drive to Las Cuevas for one last night under a solid roof before starting the trek into Basecamp through the Horcones Valley.
We wish them the best of luck as they start an amazing climb!
CTSS Team
...Aconcagua Team Wraps up...
Congratulations Climbers!!!!
Lead Guide Robert jantzen reports our CTSS Aconcagua Team have all made it back to Mendoza safe and sound, many are already on their way home after an epic adventure.
The team worked hard to summit (6 out of 9 climbers on top!) in tough and snowy conditions before returning to Camp 3 at 19,700 feet for a well-earned rest. Of course the climb isn't over at Camp 3. Rising early the day after the summit the team downhauled their gear 5000 feet back to Basecamp, Plaza De Mulas, at 14,300 feet, arriving mid-afternoon in between rain showers moving through the Horcones valley. Deep dish pizza greeted the team as they dropped their heavy packs for the last time.
One final day of trekking out brought them back to the road where they were whisked back to Mendoza and rewarded with the great hotel accommodations to wash off the dust and sweat from the last few weeks of strong climbing.
This crew worked well together and grew into a strong team as they forged their way upwards on the highest peak outside of the Himalayas.
Massive congratulations to everyone!
Summits on Aconcagua
A huge congratulations to:
Stephanie McGarvey
Dermot Folan
Jad Ben
Frédéric Desmarais
Schuyler Evans
Ashley Austin
for topping out on Aconcagua today - the highest peak in the world outside the Himalaya! They did a stellar job in tough snowy conditions and are heading back to High Camp where they will rest before dropping all the way back to Base Camp tomorrow!
Everyone safe and well.
Cheers
CTSS Team
