Our 2018 Ecuador climbing team has arrived in Quito and it’s time to climb! It’s great to be back in this amazing country. This is truly one of my favorite climbing trips and not just because most of the nights are spent in luxurious hotels and haciendas as we traverse the lush countryside. The infrastructure is great and the food is fresh and local. Oh, and the climbing is world class.

It doesn’t hurt that the past President was a climber and decided to revamp the mountain hospitality to more closely mirror that of the European Alps by reconditioning the mountain huts and providing comfortable sleeping mats and excellent food. There are few places in the world that offer a better climbing experience.

In almost every way Ecuador seems to be made for climbing. Perhaps my favorite stop on our journey is to celebrate our climbs with a beer in the natural hot spring pools of Thermas Papallacta.

We enjoyed a fun cultural city tour today to the Equator Line just north of the city and of historical Quito before grabbing a traditional Ecuadorian Welcome Dinner in La Mariscal.

Tomorrow we head to Pasachoa to acclimatize to 14,00ft/4,200m before, you guessed it, a few more nights in a beautiful hacienda at the foot of Cotopaxi. The suffering continues…

Cheers,

Mike Hamill

CTSS Owner