El Altar Trek

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As I mentioned in the previous blog, I met up with some Aussie friends, Kate and Ryan, who were also interested in climbing Chimborazo. Chimbo is a big mountain (controversely elevated at 20,702 feet, though it may actually be 20,501 feet), and acclimatization was an important factor to consider for a succesful summit. Though we had been trekking around Huaraz, it took a few days to arrive in Riobamba, which is only at 9,000 feet (hardly comparable to 20,702 feet), so we felt it would be prudent to try and get a little higher. We decided to take a couple days and head up to a lake formed in the crater of a blown out volcano and that was reported to be pretty, ultimately reaching an elevation of 13,800 feet. Still not very high, but not many options existed for us to acclimatize.


























Above: Entering the clouds (L); Climbing (R)

Middle 3: Good views on the trail...and not such a great view

Bottom: Mud (L); There's still room...(R)


It ended up just being a wet, muddy, arduous two day trek. Island hopping our way up a muddy cattle track, we arrived in a pretty valley, though most of the peaks surrounding it were clouded over. We then climbed up to "see" a hardly visible lake hidden in the clouds, before heading back down to the valley floor, where we cozily camped for the night, three of us squeezed into a two-man tent. Overnight it rained, and the already muddy and wet trail became muddier and wetter. I gave up island hopping, and just sacrificed the shoes and clothes, eventually trudging straight through the mud and muck. It was still a slippery undertaking, and although we didn't always remain on our feet, we did pull off some pretty miraculous saves. Luckily the ranger station at the bottom had a hose where we could was off the knee high mud clinging to our clothes, skin, and the insides of our shoes. Arriving back in Riobamba, we booked our Chimborazo trip. The trek resulted in some good photos and memories of our ridiculous walk, and I think we all reached the same verdict on the trip. Mud sucks.