Chimborazo (05 Days)

05 Days/04 Nigths
Max. Altitude: 6268 m / 20,564 ft
Route: Rumiñahui 4700 m / 15419 ft, Illiniza 5116 m / 16,784 ft, Chimborazo 6268 m / 20,564 ft
Availability: All year
Difficulty: Moderate
People per Guide: 3

This program is for climbers who want to get well acclimatized before the big Chimborazo ascent. In 5 days we will climb to the top of 3 mountains. We recommend good fitness health and mountain climbing experience.

Itinerary

Day 01: Rumiñahui 4600 m / 15,091 ft
We pick you up at your hotel in Quito. We continue to Cotopaxi National Park. We start our tour at the edge of the stunning Limpiopungo lagoon at 3900m. Rumiñahui is a beautiful rocky mountain which its name means: face of rock: Rumi (piedra) Ñahui (cara). We hike to the summit and back in approx. 4-5h. We traverse beautiful moorlands and the last part to the summit is a fun rocky easy climb to Rumiñahui Central. The view is amazing to active Cotopaxi volcano, Sincholagua, Pasochoa and surrounding valleys.

Day 02: Climbing Illiniza Norte 5116 m / 16,784 ft
We will early and drive into the Illinizas National Park. We will reach 3900mts. Our trekking tour starts passing by 3 different vegetation zones up to the refuge (hut) after 2-3 hrs trekking at 4750mts. In the refuge we will take a cup of tea, recover and continue to the summit of Illiniza Norte if the weather conditions and mountain conditions allow us. The summit of Illiniza Norte is at 5116mts. Our trekking tour up and down 1216mts will take us around 7-8hrs, a long journey but probably the most important one for our climb to Chimborazo later on. We leave the Cotopaxi area to the city of Ambato. From this point we will take a gorgeous road around Chimborazo until we reach our Lodge located at 4000 mts on the foothill of the mountain.

Day 03: Trekking Chimborazo – Whymper needles 5400 m / 17,716 ft
Today we walk about 4-5 hours to the Whymper needles at 5400m. Here we will be very near to the Glacier. After a short break we will return to Chimborazo Lodge. Its owner is the legendary Marco Cruz who has climbed Chimborazo 600 times.

Day 04: Chimborazo Mountain Refuge
After breakfast we will drive to Carrel Mountain Refuge at an altitude of 4800mts where we will have a direct view of the massive glaciers of the mountain. Here we will have lunch. In the afternoon, we walk about an hour to Whymper Mountain Refuge at 5000 m and then back to Carrel to rest. Early dinner and we wake up arount 9pm to start the ascent.

Day 05: Summit Chimborazo – Quito
The big day of the trip begins shortly after midnight at 4800 m / 15,748 ft. 5 -6 hours we will need to get to the main summit Our alpine start begins at midnight with breakfast before heading out for the closest point to the sun. Chimborazo’s summit will be waiting for us with dawn, to observe one of nature’s beauty, the Andean sunrise. Finally we will descend to Carrel to find our vehicle, and the journey back to Quito or extension.

What’s included

• Private transportation
• Certified bilingual guide English/Spanish,
• All meals as described in the program
• Accommodation as described in the program

• Soft and alcoholic beverages
• Personal summit snacks food (gels, power bars, snacks etc)
• Mountain equipment rental
• Insurance, tips and personal expenses
• Taxes 12% if invoiced to Ecuadorian company or guest.

WHAT TO TAKE:

• Small backpack
• Long-sleeved shirts
• Cotton short-sleeved shirts or t-shirts
• Fleece or Wool sweater and/or trousers
• Lightweight pants
• Regular and long underwear (at over 13,000 ft./4,000 masl)
• Medium weight parka with fibber fill or down
• Light cap and wool hat
• Rain poncho (or rain gear)
• Water bottle
• Light gloves
• Medium weight socks
• Hiking boots
• Sleeping bag (-10º to 0ºC)
• Small daypack
• Strong waterproof duffel bag
• Sunglasses, Sun block, lip balm
• Flashlight with spare batteries and bulb
• Towel.

technical equipment

• Gloves (Good gloves)
• 1 technical axes (per person)
• 2 carabiners lock (per person)
• 1 Deysichay (Life Line)
• 1 ATC descender (Rappel)
• 2 Cord for prusik
• Cap for cold