Ecuador first day – Pichincha acclimitization hike

I made it to Ecuador! We arrived at our hotel, the charming Cafe Cultura, around 1 am yesterday. We promptly went to sleep and woke up to do an acclimitization hike on Rucu Pichincha, an old volcano near Quito. We were able to take a cable car to around 13,000′ and then we hiked to around 15,500′. It was strenuous and it was my first time at that elevation(by a long shot). I felt ok and I was stoked! The high elevation of the peaks in Ecuador was making me nervous because I wasn’t sure how’d I feel. Hopefully I’ll continue to feel good as we climb higher!

Today we are heading to Cayambe to do some skills work on the glacier and we plan to summit a day or two after. Stay tuned.. And enjoy these pics from our first day!

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