Chimborazo

The New Year has started off for Alpenglow in the only way we know. We are in Ecuador guiding the big glaciated volcanoes. This is the eighth year our guides have spent January in Ecuador, and, as always, we are enjoying it. It remains a perfect place for building mountaineering skills and experiencing a different culture. Our first expedition of the year is a little different though. Traditionally we run introductory trips on the volcanoes of Ecuador.

After a week of acclimatizing and exploring Ecuador, our team had a perfect summit day on 18,711 foot Antisana. Regarded as one of the most difficult of Ecuador’s glaciated peaks, Antisana sits immediately above Quito. It is a complicated mountain of 4 summits, huge crevassed glaciers, and countless seracs and ice walls. What makes route finding even more difficult is the fact that few teams attempt the mountain each year. Officially it is on private land owned by a single family, and they make it very difficult to attain permits.