Pre-Expedition Acclimatization & Skills Training Add-On
Share Expedition
Pre-Expedition Acclimatization & Skills Training Add-On$1,750 USD Dates:November 3 -7, 2024January 24 - 28, 2025
If you need a little longer to acclimatize, prefer a more gradual approach, or are a beginner who would like to brush up on your technical mountaineer skills before the expedition officially begins, then we highly recommend our Pre-Expedition Acclimatization & Skills Training Add-On that dovetails perfectly into our Ecuador Volcanoes Team Climb. Skills covered include cramponing, mountain efficiency, self-arrest, glacier travel, and more over the course of two high-altitude acclimatization hikes, along with a full day of snow school and mountaineering training.
For beginners looking to make use of this add-on, it is desirable that you have some past expedition, trekking, high altitude, or climbing experience.
Please Note: This add-on’s arrival is two days before the start date of the Ecuador Volcanoes Team Climb.
This itinerary is only a rough estimate and will be determined by weather and acclimatization. This is adventure travel, meaning things rarely go as planned, and this schedule will likely change. Climbers need to be adaptable and positive. We always recommend climbers arrive in Quito, Ecuador, on Day 1, which is your arrival day, meaning you can book your flights to arrive at any time on Day 1. Please let us know if you want us to arrange logistics for early arrivals or for a single-rooming option.
- Day 1: Pre-expedition climbers arrive in Quito, Ecuador
- Day 2: Gear checks, equator visit, Teleférico de Quito (cable car)
- Day 3: Acclimatization hike to 14,272 feet near Antisana National Park
- Day 4: Snow school and mountaineering training at Antisana Base Camp
- Day 5: Unite with the rest of your Ecuador Volcanoes team for an acclimatization hike on Rumiñahui Central (15,203 feet). Continue onto the normal itinerary
Our expeditions are designed to be fully inclusive, except for some services/items of a personal nature like flights, gear, insurance. Here’s a detailed list so you know what to expect
Included in the Pre-Expedition Acclimatization & Skills Training Add-On
- Professional mountain guides
- Hotels and mountain huts at double occupancy (excluding early arrivals or late departures)
- Breakfast is provided daily, and expedition food is available in the huts. While on the mountain, dinners and breakfasts will be provided. Lunch is mountaineering style, which means you will eat a steady graze throughout the day to keep your energy levels high.
- Guidance and expedition management
- All group transportation is provided while on the expedition. If you depart early, you are responsible for the added expenses for transport, lodging, rescue, and evacuation.
- Group gear, including fuel, ropes, and safety gear.
- Satellite phone to update the CTSS blog. Also available to clientele at $3/min
Excluded from the Pre-Expedition Acclimatization & Skills Training Add-On
- Flights to and from Quito, Ecuador, and associated travel expenses (e.g., hotels, excess baggage fees, visas, departure taxes, food) getting to and from Ecuador
- All costs incurred prior to the start date of the trip and after the end date.
- Ecuadorean visa fees
- In-town and off-mountain meals in Ecuador (we will just split the bill at the end of each meal)
- Personal climbing gear and snacks
- Any additional meals and transportation outside the expedition
- Bar tabs, minibars, hotel internet bills, laundry, etc.
- Expenses while on the expedition that are above and beyond the normal scope of the trip, such as medical treatment, evacuation, trip interruption, rescues, snacks, flight changes, alcohol, gifts for friends and family, specialty coffees, and bottled water, among others.
- Expenses incurred due to events outside CTSS's control, such as delays or interruptions, political events, natural events, or disasters. These may include additional expenses, such as extra hotel nights, resulting from delays.
- Trip insurance policy that includes personal climbing, medical, rescue, evacuation, trip interruption, and trip cancellation insurance
- Single-room accommodations, if desired and pre-booked
- Guide tips (customary but optional)
All prices are in US Dollars.
CTSS requires clients to buy trip insurance for all expeditions. Please see our page on trip insurance and cancellation policy for more information.
All payments once submitted are non-refundable and non-transferable. If balances are not received by specified dates, the client forfeits their place on the program and any prior fees paid.
