Ascent of Volcán Pichincha - Ruku on 2015-02-16| Others in Party: | Brian Lentz
| | Date: | Monday, February 16, 2015 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | Ski Lift | | Peak: | Volcán Pichincha - Ruku | | Location: | Ecuador | | Elevation: | 15354 ft / 4679 m |
Ascent Trip ReportWe got to the bottom of the TelefériQo by 8:30 am and had reached the 13k ft top a half hour later. The hike was a wide trail that could also be used by horse for most of the way. It continued over open field and then along a gentle ridge. We cut along the right side of the mountain where the trail narrowed, sometimes needing to cling to the rocks for support. We switch backed up the loose scree until we got final climb. The last 300 ft were a relatively easy scramble over solid volcanic rock.
We summited at noon and were welcomed by a few other groups that had gotten there earlier. The summit had a flat area about 10 ft wide with a sign in the middle and a rocky ridge that extended about 100 ft long. The clouds were moving in and had already filled in the caldera side of the volcano. We scrambled down an easier route which led to a more direct descent. There was a long, uninterrupted steep section which allowed us to scree ski a quick 200 ft down. We met back up with our original trail and were at the bottom of the TelefériQo by 2:30 pm. |
| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 2354 ft / 717 m | | Trailhead: | Top of Teleferiqo 13000 ft / 3962 m | | Grade/Class: | Class 3 | | Route Conditions: | Maintained Trail, Scramble | | Weather: | Pleasant, Calm, Partly Cloudy | | Ascent Statistics | | Time: | 3 Hours | | Descent Statistics | | Time: | 2 Hours |
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