This would gradually fade away over the next couple days with lots of water, good food, and acclimatization hikes. Alpine Ascents and our amazing lead guide Jose Salazar did a fantastic job organizing and planning our adventure to give the team the best chance for solid acclimatization and successful summits.
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Over the next couple days we enjoyed some beautiful hikes up to Pasachoa (13,776 ft), Lake Parcacocha (13,350 ft), and Antenas Peak (14,406 ft). In between all the climbs we had some pretty amazing stays at Termas Papallacta and San Jose de Puembo where we enjoyed lots of quinoa soup, Locro soup (potatoes), ceviche, some incredible fruits (Chirrimoya and Grenadlia were the favorites), and the local Pilsener beer. We made stops at Cienga hacienda and Wachala hacienda for a couple of team lunches as well. Over a fun dinner our team name, Cravasses and Crevices was born. We had an amazing group of people.

The first mountain on the list was the beautiful and heavily crevassed Antisana. Initially we were going to climb Cotopaxi, arguably the most famous Volcano in Ecuador, but due to high volcanic activity it was closed for climbing so we opted for Antisana.
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Logistically Antisana is a bit tougher to climb because you need to acquire permits from both the Ecuadorian Tourist Minister and a national department that oversees the park's water (it is the primary water source for Quito). It is a beautiful protected area and one of the most special places I have ever camped. From the Crespos Norte Campsite (15,282 ft) below the Antisana summit we could see the sulphuric clouds spewing from the top of Cotopaxi. It would remain highly active like this for the entirety of our trip in Ecuador. We spent two nights at this campsite and would make two acclimatization hikes up to the base of the glacier (16,070 ft) before our summit bid.

February 4th - We went to bed around 6pm after a large dinner to get some rest before our midnight ascent. After assembling our gear we made the 1.25 mile trek back up over the rocks to the base of the glacier. The moon was so bright I didn’t bother with the headlamp. We began our ascent up the glacier in four separate rope teams (one guide to two clients). After several hours of step, step, breath, we reached the crevasse field. We were roughly 2,800 ft and 2 long miles away from the summit. 
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3am would be the coldest hour of the climb. On average the temperature hovered around 19 degrees (4 degrees with wind chill) with 20 - 25 mph wind and some significantly stronger gusts. I wore merino base layers (top and bottom), my fleece, gore tex shell, and I added the heavy puffer halfway through the night. On the bottom I had my soft trekking pants and rain shell over the base layer. I was plenty warm. 
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This would be by far the most beautiful (and dangerous) crevassed section of our trip. We made our way around the beautiful ice formations and climbed around the back of the summit for a very long walk to the very top. We reached the top around 9am with little to no view. We were sitting at 18,870 ft, our first successful summit of the trip.
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The hike down was long and uneventful but after arriving at camp we found out that during the night an Andean fox had ripped through camp and tore into some tents and bags. It ripped up the side of my bag but luckily only destroyed a single (empty) wag bag. Minolo, our chef, had chased it off before it did too much damage to camp.

This would be by far the most beautiful (and dangerous) crevassed section of our trip. We made our way around the beautiful ice formations and climbed around the back of the summit for a very long walk to the very top. We reached the top around 9am with little to no view. We were sitting at 18,870 ft, our first successful summit of the trip.
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The hike down was long and uneventful but after arriving at camp we found out that during the night an Andean fox had ripped through camp and tore into some tents and bags. It ripped up the side of my bag but luckily only destroyed a single (empty) wag bag. Minolo, our chef, had chased it off before it did too much damage to camp.

We spent a fun night at a refuge near Cayambe town. The following day we hauled our heavy gear by truck and foot up to the Ruales Oleas Berge Refuge (15,100 ft) where we would spend the night. The road that leads up to this lodge is under construction so there are several transfer points you need to haul gear in between trucks. The refuge was fairly busy and we had a beautiful view of the summit upon our arrival. It looked deceiving close. 

February 7th - After some pretty horrible sleep in the group bunk room, we were once again up in the middle of the night for our alpine start. I woke up feeling nauseous, tired, and had a headache. I failed to eat anything substantial before we started the day and I would pay the price.
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Our guides delayed our start due to rain and high winds. We drank our tea in the comfort of the refuge and listened to the wind pummeling the windows. We started our climb around 2am and our guides wisely took us up a rocky pass that kept us out of the wind for the first mile or so. After about 1,000 ft of climbing we reached the base of the glacier and we lost our rocky cover from the intense gusts of wind. We endured sustained 30 mph winds for the remainder of the climb. The temperature hovered around 25 degrees (8 degrees with wind chill).

I think this was a mix of a week at altitude, not sleeping well, and not eating enough food/drinking enough water before the hike. I have typically lost my appetite for solid foods around 17,000 ft, so it’s even more important to eat enough beforehand. It’s all part of the experience, lesson learned!

I was a pretty slow teammate on the Cayambe climb. I was so grateful to finally reach the summit (18,996 ft) around 9:15am. No view from the summit once again, we had climbed all day in some pretty cold/windy/fun weather. We made our way all the way back down past the refuge to the park entrance where we would hitch a ride back into town for lunch.

I was a little nervous heading into Chimborazo after my poor performance on Cayambe. The summit of Chimborazo (20,564 ft) is the highest point in Ecuador, the furthest point from the center of the Earth (since it lies so close to the equator), and would be a new personal record for highest elevation reached.

We made our crosscountry drive from Cayambe to Abraspungo Hostelry in Riobamba to recoup for our Chimborazo attempt. After a day of rest, several three course meals, Pilseners, and multiple pool tournaments we trekked up to Castle Camp (17,390 ft) at the base of the Chimborazo glacier. On the drive through the park we could see the mountain towering above us and dozens of Vicuna, a small alpaca/deer looking animal that lives in the Andean highlands. We enjoyed another fantastic meal prepared at camp before the entire team tried to get a few hours of sleep in the group tent. (Dinner at camp photos by Brian Buttray)

I wasn’t terribly hungry before the climb but I wasn’t going to make the same mistake as Cayambe…  I forced down a PB&J, two cups of tea, and a bag of trail mix before we departed. Throughout the climb I made sure to hydrate and eat some chocolate and peanuts every hour or so. Austin gave me a Gu packet, this was a huge help. Gu/gels/soft chocolate are much better for high elevation climbing than a crunchy hard trail mix. Reminded me of running a marathon.

On Chimborazo we operated in rope teams of two (one guide to one client). Due to some dangerous rock fall on a portion of the traditional route the guides decided to take the team up a vertical ~40 foot via ferrata (iron path). We were roped in but it was still a thrill, especially in the dark.

I felt super strong on Chimborazo and we made great time as we climbed to the summit. We reached Veintimilla Summit (the first summit 20,453 ft) by 5:30am and took a quick break there. It was the coldest I had been the entire trip, I had on all my layers and finally got to wear my big Alti mittens. Around 5:50am we reached the Whymper Summit (20,564 ft) and enjoyed a stunning sunrise and an active Cotopaxi off in the distance. It was an emotional celebration for the team and a fantastic ending to the trip. We went 3/3 on summits. 

It was a steep, hot climb back down but we did have a fantastic view of the shadow cast on the surrounding landscape by the summit.  

While the whole trip was only two weeks long it felt like a month (in a good way). You spend so much time with your teammates and guides while working towards a physically and emotionally demanding shared goal. You really get to know each other fast. The team and guides were fantastic, both from a strength perspective on the mountains and all the hang/down time in between. I was super grateful to be a part of the group. Alpine Ascents and all our guides did an amazing job with the trip. 

Just a few fun sayings and lessons learned/reaffirmed during the trip…