8-day Cayambe guided ascent trip

Join Estalin, an IFMGA certified guide, on this 8-day adventure and reach the summit of Cayambe, Imbabura and Fuya Fuya volcanoes. You will be amazed by the culture, natural beauty and diversity of the Ecuadorian Andes.

Andes

8 Days

All year

High

Intermediate

Description

In 1802 Alexander von Humboldt, one of the most famous explorers in history, saw the Cayambe (5,790 m). He then wrote that this mountain could be considered like one of those monuments in which nature really made a difference on Earth.

This 8-day guided ascent trip is designed so you can reach the summit of the spectacular snow-capped Cayambe, exploring the most beautiful natural and cultural spots around this volcano.

During our expedition, I will take you to majestic places like the Reserva Cotacachi – Cayapas. Then, we will trek around the area so you can admire the crater lake, Cuicocha (3,200m).

Afterwards, we will ascend the extinct volcano, Fuya Fuya (4,263m), a comfortable climb, perfect for acclimatization. Additionally, I will take you to the top of the Imbabura (4,630m) volcano. Imbabura’s summit is the best place for you to see the equally sublime Lake San Pablo.

We will prepare to reach our crown jewel, Cayambe, on the fifth day of the trip. I will make sure we follow all of the safety measures necessary, and have our gear ready for the challenge ahead of us. During our training, we will review crampon and ice axe techniques, snow self-arrest and glacier travel. A delicious dinner and a well deserved rest will be waiting for us at the mountain refuge. The following day we will organize an easy hike or simply relax and prepare our equipment for the summit push.

And on the seventh day, you will be standing on Cayambe’s summit. It will be a thrilling expedition that will take us around 7 hours. We will find a few, but easy to deal with crevasses along the way. However, as small as they might look, I will ensure you are safe the whole time.

If you want to join me on this amazing ascent to the Cayambe volcano, send me a request. I will make sure you live an unforgettable adventure in the Ecuadorian Andes.

Price includes

Accommodation included
Guiding fee
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Transport during the trip
Transportation start and back
Permit and entrance fees

Price details

Program Includes:
Transfer Airport-Quito-Airport;
Private Transportation during the tour;
Officially Certified Bilingual Mountain Guide ASEGUIM / IFMGA For Cayambe Climb Client/Guide ratio 2/1;
All meals while in the mountains. Vegetarian or special diets can easily be arranged in advance;
Meals stated in itinerary (B=Breakfast, BL=Box Lunch, L=Lunch, D=Dinner);
Accomodation for the whole tour (middle class hotels-B&B, in Mountain refuges based in shared occupancy);
Entrance fees and permits to all National Parks and private reserves;
24/7 support and assistance.
Program Excludes:
Not described meals while in the cities or off the mountain;
Additional activities or visits not described in the itinerary;
Mountain equipment (boots, crampons, harness, helmet, ice axe, sleeping bags, etc.);
Extra drinks and alcoholic beverages;
Excess baggage fees;
Airfare;
Insurance of any kind;
Items of personal nature such as laundry, phone calls, etc;
Tips/gratuities to staff members and Guides.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Quito

Transfer from Airport. Overnight in Hotel.

Day 2: Quito- Otavalo Market - Cuicocha Lake hike

Today we will visit the largest and most famous indigenous handicraft market in South America, the Market Otavalo. Otavaleños are known to be wonderful artisans, famous for their weavings and woolen goods, producing gorgeus tapestries, sweaters, blankets and ponchos. After exploring the market we will get to the Reserva Cotacachi-Cayapas for an acclimatization hike (4-5 hours)around the crater Lake Cuicocha (3.200 m) on the flanks of Cotacachi volcano. We will spend the night at La Luna Hosteria

Day 3: Volcano Fuya Fuya climb

We will climb the Fuya Fuya volcano. It is considered a fairly comfortable climb (4-5 hours).
At night we will return to La Luna Hosteria

Day 4: Otavalo – Imbabura volcano

We reach Imbabura’s summit. Imbabura is an extinct volcano, excellent for acclimatization as well. We will leave La Luna at sunrise and begin our 5 hours ascent. This is an easy ascent that requires moderate physical strenght for
approximately 6 to 8 hours.

Day 5: Cayambe-Glacier training

On our fifth day we will drive to the upper hills of the Cayambe volcano. We will organize our equipment and prepare for the training in the glacier. Our training will consist in practicing with ice axe and crampon techniques, glacier travel and snow self-arrest. The training will last approximately five hours, and then we will return to the refuge to rest.

Day 6: Cayambe Refuge

Today we will organize an easy hike or relax. We will also prepare our equipment and get ready for the summit push.

Day 7: Cayambe summit day

Cayambe is the coldest and highest peak on the Equator. One of the wonderful things about Cayambe is that it is the only point on Earth where the latitude is cero as well as its temperature. We will depart at midnight, the best hour to begin our climb. The ascent will take around seven hours. We will encounter small crevasses that will be easy to deal with. Please note that during the whole trip your safety will be one of my priorities.

Day 8: Transfer Out

Fly back home

Details

More info

Please note the following equipment for climbing is required: -60-liter backpack and small day pack -plastic or leather boots -crampons -harness -ice-axe -Gore-Tex jacket, pants and gloves -inside polar gloves -gaiters -sunglasses with 100% UV protection against strong Equatorial sunlight -headlamp and batteries -helmet -warm or thermic clothing -thermos and Nalgene bottle -sleeping bag -wool hat -sun cream and lipstick

Meeting point

Quito Airport

About the guide

Estalin

Mountain Guide

Estalin is a member of ASEGUIM since 2009, he has climbed all the mountains in Ecuador some of them through new harder routes, like the south summit of Antisana. He has led several expeditions to the Southern Andes of Peru where he climbed Huascaran, the highest mountain of Peru, and some other 6.000m peaks like Alpamayo. And he also led and expedition to K2 in the Karakorum, where he reached Camp 3 at 7300 meters.

Estalin’s love and respect for his country are conveyed with great enthusiasm. His knowledge of the local culture and history is very good; combined with his love of the outdoors, it makes him a great leader for this diverse country. In Europe he has done several climbs in the Austrian Alps. He is a internationally certified (IFMGA) guide.

Languages

English

Certificates

ASEGUIM

Request more information

What people are saying about Explore-Share

Man

Climbing with guide Guillaume was absolutely a highlight of my 2-week Europe vacation. Originally, we were planning on climbing in the Calanques, but the park was closed due to wind and fire danger. Guillaume chose another amazing location (Pic de Bretagne) based on my climbing abilities and preferences and kindly offered train station pick-up and hotel drop off, which I appreciated very much. The multi-pitch route we did was not only fun but also the right amount of challenge, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The communication from the team (Gauthier) was prompt and clear—highly recommend!

Maxine

Luis Silva was a great climbing guide and belayer! He taught me how to do moves that were difficult and encouraged me to try routes that were challenging for me! Because of his encouragement, I managed to complete these routes! I really enjoyed the climbs and completed 8 routes in the Sesimbra/Azoia area. The weather was perfect, no direct sun and cool enough to enjoy the climbs. Explore-Share made booking an outdoor climbing experience in Lisbon extremely easy. Luis, our guide, was fantastic, and the platform’s organization was flawless.

Valeriya

You’re simply the best!!! :))) Explore-Share made everything easy and stress-free. Will definitely use again.

Joshua

We had Léo as a guide for our day climb in Fonty. We were blessed with a knowledgeable, warm, and instructive guide. Communication with Léo and Ivan was smooth and swift. Explore-Share was excellent in arranging everything for our day climb. The communication was quick, and the platform was easy to use, making our adventure stress-free.

Cami

Patrick was a great guide. He took us on an intermediate Via Ferrata at Passo Sella. Renato was quick to respond with any outreach on the Explore-Share platform. The booking process was straightforward, and once Patrick was confirmed, all went well. It was a wonderful experience, and I’d highly recommend the platform.

4.8