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roquentin · Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 4

What are the highest mountains that can be climbed without moutaineering equipment? What sort of gear/clothing should one bring?

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:43 pm Post subject:

Without equipment, you're not really going to shoot very high, at least not in Andean terms, but there are several easily hike-able, quite beautiful peaks around. (All information listed is from my memory, so if heights are a little off, don't sue.) Wear warm clothes, but in layers, as the weather in the Ecuadorian Andes can change in seconds. And really good hiking boots, for heaven's sake. Comfortable, with good soles, and ankle support!

Pasachoa- an odd looking mountain, as it's an extinct volcano with a partially colapsed cone. 4600 meters. Takes a good full day, and is a couple of hours from Quito.

Pichincha- a nice volcano, very green, and in a relatively inactive phase. Takes an afternoon to climb, and is accessible from Quito (15 minutes) so a very appealing mountain in many ways. great views. 4800 meters. Check with locals or guides, and choose a "safe" route. By safe, I mean the one that everybody is using at the moment. Pichincha used to be home to a lot of Banditos- no longer the case, but you still don't want to get lost on it, by any means.

Imbabura. Near Otavalo, the famous market town. five thousand something meters, takes a couple of days, but no special equipment. (other than camping equiment if you spend the night) I haven't done this ne, so this is second hand.

Ilinizas del NORTE. This is the northern peak of the famous ilinizas mountain system. (2 major peaks near each other.) It's about 5200 meters, and you can go up to the refuge in the afternoon, stay the night, and have a nice walk up in the morning. It can get awfully cold up there, but tends to be stunningly beautiful. (THough if you get a foggy day, the views are obscured- still neat!) No special equipment but warm clothes. DO NOT confuse this with the southern peak of the ilinizas, which is a highly technical climb, one of the most difficult and dangerous in Ecuador, requiring highly technical climbing skills and equipment, as well as the ability to climb both rock faces and ice. Not for most. (Sure as heck not for me!!!)

Non-technical ice climbing is fairly possible here- you can rent equipment if needed. With rented equipment and a good guide, if you're here long enough to adapt to altitude, you could try Cotopaxi (world's highest active volcano) at 5800 meters.

Best,
Justin

MELEE · Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:47 pm Post subject:

Not exactly on target with your question, but for hiking in Ecuador I'd like to suggest Cajas National Park outside of Cuenca. When I was living in Cuenca I had some friends who were graduate students in Ecology from the University of Swansea. They were, as far as they could tell in their research, the first people to every study the area. We'd go up and camp with them on the weekends. It's a truely magical place with a variety of hiking oportunities--though not tall tall mountains (the whole thing is over 8,000 ft).

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:23 pm Post subject:

I suspect they may have been the first to study it in English. But a lot has been written about the region- papers on the flora, fauna, geography and geology of the region go back for decades, though mostly in Spanish. (Alexander von Humbolt was there in quite a while ago; though he wrote in German, I imagine he's available in translation.)

And it IS beautiful, isn't it?

Happy hiking everybody,
Justin