Last night they predicted less than 0.25 inches of rain. I woke up to 9″ of snow. Joel is out of town this weekend and I am unsuccessful in getting the snowblower working. We haven’t used it this year as we have only previously got sputterings of snow. I need to wait until I hear one of the neighbors out and about to see if they can help me troubleshoot the issue.

In the meantime, I decided I better get working on the blog. As the trip was quite long (17 days) I will divide the trip photos into groups of interest, instead of doing a day by day chronicle of events. The first most logical seemed to be an introduction of the team. What a great team it was! Everyone was well trained, well equipped, in the right mental state and a joy to be around. This is probably one of the best groups I have ever climbed with! So much fun!

Our guides came from near and far – David was the senior guide and hails from Twisp, WA, where he and his wife live off the grid. His climbing resume is huge – numerous first ascents in the Himalaya, guide for Denali and Aconcagua for many years, climbing ranger on Mt. Rainier for 10+ years, climbing ranger on Denali, teaches Avalanche courses, too many climbing and rescue awards to name, etc.

Camilo, our Ecuadorian guide was a great complement – his knowledge of the local mountains, cuisine, history, climbing conditions, etc. made him an invaluable “second” in command.

Brandi and Ethan are a married couple that hail out of Georgia. They have a lot of great climbs and courses under their belt and also enjoy rock climbing.

Aaron was a fellow “southerner” and lives in North Carolina. Also a lot of mountain and rock climbing in his background, he has Denali in his sights.

Alex is a fellow PNW native – born and raised in Bothell. A strong climber, she also has Denali on her bucket list.

I ended up with a “personal guide” on the actual climbs. He basically lives on the flanks of Chimborazo and was a vital piece of our decision to climb or not climb on the mountains as he knew the routes and weather inside and out. His name is Manuel. Once we were on Chimborazo, we pulled in two more guides so that everyone had their own guide. Their names were Mauricio and Jacob.

The last member of our little group was Victor, our driver. Again, invaluable in his knowledge of the local restaurants, hotels, sights, etc.

We all had a great time climbing, laughing and eating and eating and eating! More on that later!