• SKIING THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA PART 1
• GETTING INTO WINTER CLIMBING SHAPE WITH FA GUIDE CHAD PEELE
• CARSTENSZ PYRAMID THE HEROES PROJECT EXPEDITION IN THREE ACTS
• KYLE MILLER ON FIRST FILM PREMIERE AND TRANSITIONING FROM SKI BUM TO PRO ATHLETE
• BE FIRST RECIPIENT JON TURK RECAPS HIS EPIC, FIRST CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF ELLESMERE ISLAND
• TAHOE GUIDE MEETING DAY 2 THE GUIDE BUILT PROCESS

By Melissa Arnot

A few hours of driving land us directly at the base of Cotopaxi, in a beautiful and traditional hacienda. Today we will spend the morning packing and hydrating (and of course adjusting to the new altitude). There are two incredibly friendly dogs running around and a funny little horse, which apparently was recently adopted by the hacienda owner. We decide to explore some of the hillsides surrounding the mountain on horseback. I love horses, but quite honestly, I am not sure they feel the same way about me. Jeff jumped right on, obviously a natural in that department, while I climbed up the side of my horse and flung myself onto his back. My horse wasn’t so independent, which might have been a good thing, but he also wouldn’t do anything that Jeff didn’t do. So the tables turned and Jeff guided me through the forest and towards a lookout where we could see the mountains (except it was now cloudy, and the mountains were hiding!).

After lunch, we packed our final items and headed up to Cotopaxi, the climb awaiting us. An hour-long drive up to 15,000 feet and a 45-minute walk brought us to the Jose Ribas Refugio, our home for the next few days, while we acclimatize for the massive mountain in front of us. Tonight we will have a lot of soup and let our heads try to deal with sleeping at 16,000 feet. Tomorrow, we hope for nice weather so we can take a walk over to the glacier and practice ice ax arrest and rope travel in anticipation of the climb.

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