The Mench Strikes Again

Menchie's been MIA lately.  For about a year, I'd say.  Maybe more.  He first appeared in Ecuador two years ago come November, and from there he started popping up in place after exotic place.  He's quite the little traveler.

His latest trip was one step more adventuresome: he braved the cold and windy slopes of Mount Chimborazo.  Chimborazo is an inactive volcano whose peak (approximately 20,500 feet) is the furthest possible point from the center of the earth.  This is due to the way the earth bulges and to the mountain's position on the globe (very close to the equator).

Summiting requires guides, climbing skills, and crampons, seeing as the top of the mountain is completely covered by glaciers.  We set our sights a little lower: making it to the bottom of the glacier. 

Day 1: We hiked from the base of the mountain, which is surrounded by fields and livestock, and made it past the first hut and up to the second by mid-afternoon.  The change in altitude was dramatic.  Immediately upon reaching the hut, we put on more layers, unrolled our sleeping bags, and climbed in to wait until dinnertime.

Upon which we woke up, cooked, ate, and promptly hunkered back down in our sleeping bags for the cold night ahead.

Every time I find myself in this type of sleeping situation, I say a special prayer that I will not have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night: it is pretty darn cold.

Usually though, I have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.  Which was the case on Chimborazo.

Despite the discomfort of forcing yourself out into the dark, windy night, the blessings of the situation always include a breathtaking view: dark shadows of the Andes rising up all around, perhaps with a pocket of light in the distance denoting a bigger city, and the sky above that looks so deep you can see layer upon layer of stars.  And then turning away from all the vastness and wriggling back into your own warm sleeping bag.

Day 2: In the morning, we woke to blue skies and a clear view of Chimborazo behind us:

Despite the strong winds (see photo above), we made it to the glacier and back in one piece.  Incidentally, did you know that if a piece of volcanic ash blows into your eye, it solidifies and cements itself to your eyeball?  ...But that's another story for another time.