Climbing Rucu Pichincha

At the beginning of the hike

One of my favorite things to do around Quito is to take a day to climb Rucu Pichincha.  The fact that a 4,696 m/15,406 ft mountain lies so close to my home is often too good to pass up.  Within about 20 minutes, I am no longer in a city of over 2 million people, but in the Andes mountains, trying to pretend that I am much further away from civilization than I really am.  To reach the beginning of the trail, just follow these simple steps.  Feel free to modify and/or personalize:

1) Leave your apartment and get into a taxi.  State that you wish to go to the Teleferico, and allow the driver a few moments to declare a price that is at least twice as much as it should be.

2) Depart this taxi, amicably if possible, and repeat this process until one uses the taxi meter, one names a price you know to be reasonable, or you become too fed up with the inane process and say screw the whole thing.

3) Provided you reach the Teleferico (the cable car that takes you to the trail head at about 4,000 m/13,000 ft), you will buy a round trip ticket for $8 and change.  If you are lucky enough to have been in the country for at least 3 years, you can present your expired Censo card that can still get you half price.  If you are really lucky, the photo for your Censo card will have been taken at the beginning of a misguided "Movember" experiment, and you will carry around something that looks like this for several years:

Congratulations!  You have reached the trail head.  Many people come up here for the views, while others march on.  To approach the summit, you follow a ridge line for about 1 - 1.5 hours to reach the rocky outcrop that marks the highest point.  This part of the hike is when you tend to work up a sweat, so I wear a light-weight shirt that I change out of at the end.  The temperature will often drop dramatically as you reach the rock, so be prepared.  From this point until the summit is about 1.5 - 2 hours for most climbers.  The most difficult and disheartening part is crossing the scree field just before the rock scramble to the top.  Trying to climb directly up this loose sand and rock will result in sliding back 1 step for every 2 you take forward.  Side effects of this at high altitude include holistic self-doubt, uncontrolled sobbing, and the total loss of hope.  So don't.  I recommend cutting diagonally and to your right across this part and finding a sturdier route further up to cut back to the left.

This part of the trail is easy to follow when you can see the peak in good weather, but it is not very well marked and the mountain is a bit of a cloud magnet.  If you've never been before, it's a good idea to find someone who knows the way.  On weekends, there are a lot of people on the mountain and you can usually follow the lead of other climbers, provided that they know what they're doing.  All in all, just remember that although this is one of the easier climbs in the country, it is still a massive, towering, extinct volcano and can be dangerous if the weather turns or if you're not paying attention to where you're going.  There is a rock scramble situation at the top that does not require ropes, just caution, but this can be difficult for people with a fear of heights.

A view of Quito from the top of the Teleferico as the sky tries to make up its mind

The ridge line to to the summit 

One of my favorite things about climbing Rucu Pichincha is that although I have done it many times now, I always see it in a new light.  At its most stunning, the hike affords views of the surrounding glacier volcanoes: Cotopaxi, Cayambe, and Antisana.  More commonly, however, it is somewhere in between scary fog and beautiful mist.  Today, I was able to climb during the weather pattern that most closely resembles a multiple personality disorder.

The clouds can roll in quickly and disorient climbers...do not underestimate this mountain!

At the halfway point with Mike, with the grey void in the beyond

When I started out this morning, the mountain was so engulfed with storm clouds that my taxi driver laughed at me, very hard, for a good 45 seconds.  This may not sound like a long time, but really any strong laugh unassisted by others becomes disturbing after less than 15 seconds.  That's science.  But I am glad I persevered, because despite being rained on at the end, it was a very rewarding hike, and the first in a series that I am planning this spring in order to train for the two highest peaks in Ecuador: Chimborazo and Cotopaxi.  Besides, a little rain never hurt any one (says the guy who sat down in a piping hot shower immediately upon returning home).