Update 9

“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and our most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.”

                      -Wendell Berry

UPDATE 9

It has been exactly a week now since we left on our second expedition, with our packs and rhythm of our feet to hold us in place. We walked out through the back of Palugo farm, through open fields and small forest passageways. We explored in dug out caves and walked up dirt roads lined with eucalyptus trees. On that first night we arrived at the beautiful campsite called Encañada, near an almost jungle like river. There, expedition truly began, we set up our tents and had a wonderful afternoon of reading ‘The Alchemist", and some pretty intense riddle telling, that overflowed into the next day as well. Our hike to our next campsite Muerte Pungo (the door of death) was about 12.5kms. 

We left la Encañada, precariously crossing over the little river with our heavy packs and walking until 6pm that night. We walked on cobblestone roads and up over ridges, we hid from a herd of wild cattle as they charged down the mountain and we trudged through rain and hail. The next morning we awoke and had some heavy oatmeal with dried fruit that we had prepared. Marcela, Michael, Tupak and Raina left about a half hour before us and we began what was intended to be a day of solo group hiking and navigation. However, as night drew near and as we descended the last ridge after Chuzalonga hill, we felt that a longer group solo was calling us. Through the radio, our teachers instructed us to stop walking and set up camp if we reached 6pm and had not arrived to camp yet. So, we set up our tents in a circle and we draped our tarp over it to create a kind of little house. We were in a valley that stretched out to the base of Antisana and out to where, Tupak, Raina, Marcela and Michael were camping almost humorously close. There we all sat, late into the night, waiting for our dinner to boil and looked our onto the mountain that we would soon be climbing. Two days later we began glacier school on Antisana. We learned how to use our crampons, ice axes and how to work in rope teams. We camped for two nights at Campo alto (4,700mts) in the harsh rocky moraine and every night as the sun went down, you looked out onto the clouds that spread out at the same level that you were standing on.

Early Wednesday morning at 1.45 am we arose to climb Antisana. We sleepily stumbled from our tents and with our headlamps we began to climb up the rocks to the glacier. Seeing the group weave ahead though the freshly falling snow was like watching a train of silent lights floating in the darkness. As we climbed higher and higher finally reaching the glacier we put on our crampons, secured our ropes and took our ice axes. As we were walking warmth began to permeate our body, pushing away the chill that stillness would bring. 

As we began our climb on the ice at about 4:30am, everything had a new kind of light. We were up above the first layer of clouds and the stars that shone so brightly above us blended in with the lights of our train. The stars and the lights guided our way up through the glacier over crevasses. As the first rays of light began to saturate the clouds with a golden glow the coldest part of the morning set upon us. We were not able to summit Antisana because of a huge crevasse that we could not cross and blocked our route. However, I think we are all very happy with what we accomplished at this amazing place for it gave us some knowledge about mountaineering and a little bit of its wisdom.

Now we are preparing for our 3-day group solos, which will bring us close to the base of Cotopaxi where we will use the skills, we have learned here. Looking out at these mountains, as the clouds that change so rapidly about them, at the wind and rain that erodes their peaks, and see this change as our only constant. I see that change is the only thing that will always be there and in that I see that boredom is merely a figment of everyone’s imaginations.

Lots of love, I hope you are all doing well,

Siena Powers.

Permission Por Favor

By Nicole

Antisana, may I climb your peak?

Even though I may seem weak,

I have the will power in my brain,

To fearlessly climb your vast terrain.

I may be a novice that is true,

But I can surprise you out of the blue,

Scaling slippery glaciers,

With crampons sharp as razors.

Please grant me this experience,

So I shall not feel pertinence,

Climbing high has made me see,

The capability of what I can be.

The higher I go,

As my ears begin to pop,

I proceed to grow,

Until I reach the top.