Summit! The 7 Summits Club "Eg-Masters" group completed an acclimatization ascent of Mount Guagua Pichincha

January 16th. Greetings from Ecuador from the "Eg-Masters" group! Today we completed our first acclimatization ascent of the Guagua Pichincha volcano at 4,800 meters. This volcano is still active, and in 1999 there was a very powerful eruption, covering a significant part of Quito in ash.

 We climbed briskly to the summit in 1.5 hours. On the descent, we encountered the local Cara Cara birds, who weren't at all afraid of us. Along the way, we often encountered the main symbol of the Andinistas—the Chocoquerau flower. On the descent, we stopped at a refuge at 4500 meters, where we were treated to a delicious Ecuadorian soup—locro de papa. It's a soup made from several types of potatoes, avocado, and cheese.

 After lunch, we headed south toward our next mountains. By evening, we arrived at the ancient hacienda La Cienega. Everything here exudes history—fireplaces, candlesticks, antique furniture, exotic plants in the courtyards, fountains, a small church, huge araucaria trees, and century-old eucalyptus trees… We couldn't resist taking photos.

We dined in the fireplace room and tasted local Ecuadorian wines. Tomorrow we're heading to the Quilotoa volcano crater lake.

Ecuadorian eg-guides Alexander Spirin and Lyudmila Korobeshko were on the line.