Hello Everyone,


I am happy to tell you that we have just returned from our first, completely successful climb. We had perfect weather, all three of us made it to the top, it was the most technically demanding climb we have done, and it all went off without a hitch.
God is Good!

Last week when we hiked into the climbing Refugio, the snow conditions were terrible and the avalanche risk was far too great for us to have a go at the climb. We had scouted the route from the summit of a nearby peak and saw two large avalanche slides across the route we were planning on climbing. That was enough to send us home.
Yesterday afternoon we left Papagayo to attempt Iliniza Sur for the second time. Over the past 3 days we had received six or seven hours of sunshine, which was hopefully enough to harden up the snow and reduce the danger of a slide. We were hoping that if Tuesday continued to be sunny, conditions would remain stable and we would be good to go. As we drove towards the Ilinizas however, it started to rain, hard. By the time we were on the mountain road leading to the trailhead there was a foot of water running down both sides of the road. After a wild and wet ride that lasted an hour and a half we somehow managed to make it to “La Virgin”, or the trailhead parking lot where there is a shine to the Virgin Mary. As we sat in the truck watching it pour outside, we tried to decide if we wanted to make the two hour hike into the Refugio, only to spend the night and walk back out in the rain the next day. We had decided to return to Papagayo when a group of climbers came around the corner on their way down from Iliniza Norte. The guide leading the group talked to us for a few minutes and told us that even though there had been lots of rain, the conditions on Sur were actually quite good and that we stood a very good chance of reaching the summit. We decided to give it a go, shouldered our packs and took off into the rain.
When we reached the Refugio two hours later, we were all soaked to the bone. The weather had not improved any and we had pretty low expectations for the following day. We joined a group of ten Germans in the Refugio and waited our turn to use the kitchen. After waiting for hours, the two Ecuadorian ladies cooking for the guided German group were nice enough to serve the three of us all a very nice dinner, which saved us a lot of cooking and cleaning. We went to bed early with the alarm set for one am.
When we awoke and stepped outside we were greeted with a star-speckled sky, the only clouds visible were far below us in the valley floor. Amazing! We quickly threw our gear in our packs, turned on our headlamps and started off into the rocky glacier moraine. After 30 min. of navigating through heaps of gravel and boulders, we took a break on a high point looking towards the start of the climbing route that leads to the summit of Iliniza Sur. Ahead of us lay 2,000ft of ice climbing, route finding, hidden crevasses, and hopefully a clear, sunny summit. We put on our crampons, tied into our rope and pushed on.
We moved very quickly, navigating well in the dark, and before we knew it we were 500ft below the summit. All that was left was a large crevasse to cross and a 400ft headwall of steep snow and ice to climb. It was only 3:30 am and we still had two hours until the sun would rise. We took a long break and made the last push for the summit. We reached the top at 4:45 am. The sky was still clear and we could see the glow of village lights for miles around. We bundled up in our down jackets and waited for sunrise. We had ended up on enough summits in with no view at all; we were determined see the sun rise on this one. After an hour of shivering and foot stomping, we got to witness an amazing show of colors as the sun started to crest the edge of the earth in the far distance. Cotopaxi, Cayambe, Antisana, and many other mountains stood above the clouds as dark silhouettes against the gathering light.
Finally we had success, all three of us on top of a 17,200ft mountain, with beautiful weather. We snapped as many pictures as we could before leaving the summit at 6:05 am, to avoid putting ourselves on the lower glacier when the sun would start causing the snow to slide. Our descent was fast and uneventful, we were back at the Refugio at 7:15am, very happy and content with what was our most enjoyable, challenging, and exciting climb thus far.
For all of you who made an Iliniza Sur donation of $200, thank you very much. There were lots of you and we appreciate your generosity and desire to help the people o Sudan.

For now we are resting up back at Papagayo. We are hoping the weather continues to be as nice as it was this morning for our attempt of Antisana on Saturday morning. At this point, it looks like Antisana will be our 6th and last climb. We were still playing around with the idea of attempting Chimborazo, but this recent news article will probably be the deciding factor in not trying to climb Chimbo. Tungarahua is very near Chimbo and the ash that is spewing from this volcano is makeing condions on Chimbo somewhat dangerous. Time will tell.

December 28, 2007
Ash and steam spewing from Tungarahua volcano.
Authorities in Ecuador ordered the evacuation of 1,200 people living around Tungurahua volcano after the mountain began producing nearly constant activity.
People from 10 villages were sent to sleep in shelters and were allowed to tend their crops only during daylight hours.
Volcanic tremors rattled windows miles away as the mountain emitted an intense glow from its crater and spewed a plume of fine ash.
Tungurahua, or “throat of fire” in the indigenous Quichua language, has been active since 1999.
An August 2006 eruption severely damaged or destroyed nearly 5,000 homes. Ash spewed from the mountain covered some 475,000 acres (197,000 hectares) of farmland.


Below are some of the Pictures of our amazing climb this morning.
Enjoy.

Trav, at the trailhead. More rain.. you have all seen lots of these kinds of pictures already, nothing new.

Jer, approaching the Refugio, the rain had turned to wet snow at this elevation.

1:30 am, leaving the Refugio with amazing weather.

Jer, on the summit, digging shelter in the snow to wait for sunrise.

The ACC team, on the summit, together.

The ACC flag, hard to make out in the early morning light.
The sun rising over the avenue of Volcanos. Down climbing the route on the descent.
Early morning view of Iliniza Norte, dusted in new snow.
Our route, in red, from the Refugio to the summit. 3 hours total. Fast!

Thanks again for all your support, we have one mountain left to climb and then its a few days of rest before we return home to good ol Montana.

God Bless and Love Always,

Michael