This is the hardest thing I have ever done. My legs are so tired, all I want to do is untie myself from the rope that is holding me to the fast-paced guide, and throw myself off the mountain. But still I keep going, one cramponed boot in front of the other, sucking in what oxygen I can, which isn't much at 5000 metres. One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. I don't look for the volcano summit, even if it was actually possible to see it in the pitch dark. I don't dare look much more than the next footstep in front of me. Head down, I focus on my routine. Left foot, right foot, ice-axe. Left foot, right foot, ice-axe.
All the omens for successfully climbing Cotopaxi were ominous. On Thursday, I developed the first cold that I've had in ages. On Friday, my leather belt that I have had for fifteen years, broke. On Saturday, the trek company I was climbing with blew a tyre on the journey to Cotopaxi national park, and then there was a gravestone by the side of the road where we stopped to change the tyre. And then, when we arrived at the foot of the volcano a few hours later, it was snowing heavily, and for a while, we were told we might not even get to do the climb.
In the end, we did get to set off for the summit, but the recent inclement weather quickly got the better of us. At about 03:30 in the morning, about two hours into the climb and with another 4 or 5 hours of high-altitude climbing still lying ahead of us, we heard shouts from other trek guides further up the mountain. The previous night's heavy snow had created 5-6 foot snow drifts, and a dangerous avalanche risk. Everyone was heading back down the mountain.
Perhaps it is a blessing that an avalanche risk turned us back. At 5,300 metres, we had only ascended 500 metres from our starting point at 1AM, and still had another 600 metres to go. I was already exhausted, from a lack of sleep, a lack of oxygen, and a lack of self-belief that I would be able to continue putting my left foot in front of my right foot for another 3 or 4 hours in snow that was almost as deep as me, and often on thin ledges between crevasses that were several times as deep as me.
From now on, I stick to Tinto.
