Trip Reports

Antisana 2004

Written by Leader, February 2005

This was Jagged Globe’s second expedition to Antisana, one of the least frequently climbed mountains in Ecuador. The first expedition to the mountain in 2003 found it impossible to cross a large crevasse barring the summit. The route on Antisana is not clearly defined because of the low number of climbers attempting it very year. So this year, a group of local guides, led by Jagged Globe’s Head of Operations, Adele Pennington, made an exploratory trip in early November to find a way around the crevasse and to mark out the route. They succeeded, and a few days later the main team arrived from the UK. By then the team of local guides knew exactly which way to go and the expedition was one of our most successful in Ecuador, with most members climbing the two highest summits in the itinerary. Good weather, a strong team of climbers and good guides all contributed to the high success rate.

Acclimatisation hikes on Pasochoa (4,200m) on 9 November, Rumiñahui(4,600m) on 10 November, and Iliniza (5,125m) on 14 November were completed by all members of the expedition. Several Condors were sighted on Pasochoa. After glacier training and further acclimatisation on the slopes of Cotopaxi, seven members of the team reached the summit of Ecuador's fourth highest peak, Antisana (5,748m) in perfect conditions on the morning of 18 November.

Everyone agreed that it was a very enjoyable expedition, which combined high quality climbing with a chance to see some of the many faces of Ecuador, the smallest of the Andean countries. All team members expressed their thanks to the expedition leader and to team of local guides for providing an excellent service.

Javier Herrera« Previous report | Next report »

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