I remember that after writing a letter to the gentlemen of Deportes Sin Límite, I left with a bad taste in my mouth when claiming and encouraging, but not giving practical examples, about the new routes that can still be done in the country. So, after attending the Mountain Guides graduation, event that summoned many climbers in the middle, I was captivated by the illusion of returning to Cotopaxi to try to get us to close the chapter of the route of the North-East Ridge.

Then the next day, after surviving a tenacious bottleneck at a friend's house, we left in the morning towards the hill. We were: Gaspar Navarrete, Jurg Arnet and who writes this short story; Oswaldo Freire had to accompany us, but unfortunately - he says that despite his opposition - he could not get rid of the aforementioned bottleneck.

With the tachycardia to the maximum degree and the hairs of tip, product of dodging the potholes and exceeding to the gentlemen buseros that only went to 140 km. per hour, our gentle friend Jurg took us in his white exocet to the parking lot of El Coto, at 4600 m. of altitude.

Once in the shelter, after ingesting more than a liter of valerian water to settle the nerves, we checked the equipment for the umpteenth time and at 3:15 p.m. we left with an eastern direction, that is to say towards the glacier where the internships were carried out. the rookies prior to the promotion. From there we had to cross three more edges, which implied a new passage through the sand before entering the glacier. At around 7:30 pm, at an approximate height of 5070 m. we installed the bivouac.

Achachay, how cold! At 03:00 we raised the bivouac and left. Due to the good smell of the three of us we managed to get out to a crack that seemed to destroy the illusion of reaching the summit, but thank God, who takes care of their animals, we found an unstable and precarious step, however, I pass at the end. A couple of more cracks with vertical outlets and a last one that had a wall of more than 20 m. of loose and unstable snow that made it really not easy at all. Overcoming this delicate sector we headed towards the top domes that were lined with a very deep wind plate in which it's the first time - I must confess - that I am literally crawling on the mountain; nevertheless, my quadruped footprints were not the only ones on the snow, two deep channels marked the winding path traced by the profiled and not short noses of my companions who almost like me were literally nailed to the mountain. This section takes us about an hour and a half, but fortunately it ends and with this the route also ends.

We reached the top edge of the crater at 10h00. We are about seventy meters south of the place where the seismograph of the Geophysicist of the National Polytechnic was installed, and as Jurg tells us in 15 minutes we would reach the summit. What he did not know was that the crest crack is open about two meters and is uneven, so neither intentions remain to become the athlete and jump. Well, we return to the edge of the crater and we drop to the inner ring; We make a crossing and go to the normal route to return to the refuge at 3.30 pm and we meet with our common friend the "good genius" Rojas who proceeds to congratulate us effusively.

As a corollary, comment and suggestion, I say that it's a serious but feasible way, in which one of the attractions is that by not seeing the wall of Yanasacha during the ascension it seems that we are in another mountain.

I suggest starting the first day early in the morning for several reasons: ascend as high as possible, choose a safe place for the bivouac and analyze the route of entry and exit with more time and care to avoid sites of possible avalanches that are many.

Very careful with the state of snow and weather!

Cotopaxi History