Climbing The Equator

by Neville Shulman

  CARIHUAIRAZO has two main glacier peaks, Maxim at 5,020 metres (16,470 feet) and Mocha at 5,000 metres (16,400 feet). There is a third, Loma Piedra Negra, but this is not considered the same challenge as the other two. Again this mountain was climbed first by Edward Whymper but with two Ecuadorian companions, Beltran and Campana. It is considered the sister mountain to Chimborazo and is about 10 kilometres away to the north-east. Neither of the summits is difficult to attain but you need to focus and put in the leg work. To reach Maxim you should start out from the Ambato-Guaranda road to travel across to the Laguna Negra (Black Lagoon). It’s a long but pleasant trek to the north-west to reach an area below the glacier where you can camp at around 4,700 metres or push on. It’s then a moraine climb up a fairly steep slope to arrive at the base of the glacier itself, and there’s a clear route towards the right leading to the summit ridge. Always watch out for crevasses which have the nasty habit of suddenly appearing or not being seen at the most inconvenient of times – like when you are about to fall into one. Remember to rope up to someone. The last section is again a mix of rock and snow and ice, depending upon weather conditions. The rocks are unstable and you need to rely on prodding with a ski pole or your ice axe if you have one.

  The climb up the lower Mocha is steeper and you follow a route leading from the ridge of the nearby Cerro Piedra Negra, which is relatively easily ascended.

  The Mocha glacier is an interesting challenge as there’s no obvious route to follow and you have to make or follow leadership decisions to accomplish this Summit. To climb both main summits is definitely worth considering but to do so you would need to allot at least three days to camp out. It has been given a name which contains the words for man, wind and snow. Although that seems to me a good name for a rock band (pun intended), you are entitled to put them into any order you think appropriate. Don’t, though, come up with snowman has wind.

  ANTISANA is also a volcano, the fourth highest at 5,758 metres (18,891 feet), and has four peaks, easily named and remembered as the North Peak, East Peak, South Peak and, the highest, the Main or Central Peak. Anti is the word from which Andes is derived. There are discussions, even arguments, as to whether Antisana is extinct or merely resting. The last known eruptions were in the eighteenth century but in the life of a volcano that is millions of years old, what’s a couple of hundred years or so? The last eruptions resulted in two extensive lava outpourings, one of which created the lake at Papallacta after blocking the valley. This mountain along with Iliniza was one of the favourite mountains of the Incas and was used for burials and sacrificial offerings. There are a number of Inca fortresses to be discovered but they take some finding as they are built with local rock and over time have blended into and become one with the mountain.

  Edward Whymper climbed the Central Peak in 1880 and claimed he could still detect the smell of sulphur from the crater. He may have been mistaken. however, as the socks of climbers are rarely changed during expeditions and tend to give off similar smells, and, unlike the volcano, Whymper himself seems to have been particularly active in 1880. As has happened with a number of the mountains with multiple peaks, the lower ones were not climbed initially and in this case the three lower ones were only achieved in the 1970s. The Central Peak is the highest in Ecuador with no refuge and therefore on an expedition provisions for a number of days are required. In all cases a camp should be established at South Crespo as the glacier is then only a short distance away. You can see the summit to the left and even in difficult weather conditions there’s still some visibility to guide you. From there on it’s not going to be easy at any time and you need to be on full alert constantly. The climb up the glacier will eventually take you to the central ridge but again crevasses are a danger and you should be roped with at least one other climber. Wand your route to follow back in the more dangerous places as it’s likely that crevasses will appear. As you approach the lowest part of the ridge you will see a glacier to the left which leads to the summit. Climb the glacier to the east, then edge your way more to the north-west which will take you directly to the summit. You’ll be particularly pleased to have set the guiding wands for the return. The routes to the other peaks are also difficult and this is not a mountain to be taken lightly. Its name is rightly inspiring, ‘The Mountain towards the Rising Sun’.

  SANGAY, although only ranking seventh in Ecuador’s high mountains, is the most active volcano in South America, possibly the world, and that can make it at times the most dangerous. It is 5,230 metres (17.159 feet) and was only first climbed in 1929 by an American team comprising Robert Moore, Terris Moore, Paul Austin and Lewis Thorne. It is in a protected National Park, in a rather inaccessible region about 200 kilometres from Quito, so climbing it involves a lengthy expedition. It’s almost essential to engage one or two local guides. Usually, however, they will not take you to the summit itself, but will leave you well below it, allowing you to make your own way there and of course back, where hopefully they will be waiting for you. You must be prepared to rely only on yourself, as people here can be as unpredictable as the elements. The fact that guides will not generally accompany you to the summit really goes to show how volatile and dangerous the volcano is, and how even the most experienced climbers will not want to take risks here unnecessarily. The best book to read before you attempt this mountain is Richard Snailham’s Sangay Survived. His expedition will either put you off totally or inspire with the spirit he and his colleagues showed in the face of unbelievable conditions as the volcano erupted around them. Bonington’s The Next Horizon is also a must.

  To make your attempt you should first make your way to the camp site at La Playa, which will probably involve hiring pack animals, and you will need provisions for a week or more. You also usually need to ford rivers to reach La Playa and it’s a tiring and cumbersome business, so you need from the outset to have your heart set on Sangay. If it’s been raining very heavily, as it often does, the rivers can turn into torrents and can be obstacles to proceeding until they subside (it can take many days) but worse of all on the way back can also prevent your returning for as long. Always take sufficient provisions for an emergency or two and be happy if you have to give some food away. Overnight at La Playa, in your tent or wherever, you can and probably will hear the temper of Sangay, its volcanic explosions, which can be stimulating or off-putting depending on your own temperament. Remember you made the choice. The local guides should be able to tell you where the current activity is, so you can plan hopefully to avoid those sections. Rocks can and will fall at any time, so extreme caution is essential and a very strong helmet is required as well as fully padded clothing. It’s important to take an early climbing start to avoid the later, more aggressive rock activity, as well as to be able to rely on the overnight hardened snow sections for a faster access and an even faster exit, should it become necessary. Initially, with or without your guide, you need to climb up from the páramos or grasslands to the ridges above. You will then need to clamber over thick slabs of solidified lava rock. Unfortunately there is usually fog or mist so it’s advisable to carry a compass, particularly for the return. You can in fact end up climbing Sangay without seeing the whole mountain during the entire climb, only the lava rocks immediately in front of you. They can be very jagged and harsh, so solid gloves are also essential and don’t wear your best climbing clothes (is there such a thing?), as you will likely end up with tears in several places.

  It’s not a technical climb, but you need to be agile to avoid any falling rocks or debris, and as it’s quite steep it becomes a tiring process so you need your full mental commitment to reach the summit. Despite all the problems, once at the Sangay summit it’s still a special place and is to be savoured, though not for too long. If you are lucky you might be able to peer into the crater, but invariably there will be rising steam and mist, which will prevent you having any worthwhile view, but use your imagination. Be very careful of the sulphurous gases coming from the crater as they can make you naus
eous or worse, and it’s a tough descent anyway, without feeling ill from inhaling sulphur fumes. Coming back down is particularly tricky as you need to keep an eye open (both eyes preferably) for anything coming after you and that’s when it’s easy to fall, if you don’t watch your step. Hopefully your guides will be waiting for you and can then shout out advice and any necessary warnings as you descend from Volcan Sangay. There are many Spanish words used to shout ‘look out’ but the panic sounds in their voices will be sufficient enough to alert you to imitate the mountain goat.

  CHAPTER 13

  THERE’S A JUNGLE OUT THERE

  Ifeel the need to contrast my mountain exploits with the other elements to be found in this vibrant country, so it’s now time to explore the jungle. I am very lucky to find a marvellous and very knowledgeable jungle guide called Pablo, who is very willing to pass on his knowledge, and I’m a keen student. My time in the jungle and the rainforest prove to be absolutely fascinating and I learn so much even when standing absolutely still, just listening and observing. The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu stated, ‘Stillness is the greatest revelation.’ Initially the creatures of the rainforest resent a human intruder, but if they see you mean no harm they will gradually be more trustful and you should see some amazing things. Whatever you do, do it slowly, without any sudden movements and always be prepared to stop and let any creature passing have the right of way. There are wonderful things to experience and each tree, each plant, each bush, is different and full of knowledge. I touch a tree, stroke a branch or a few leaves and discover a world of beauty and mystery. Pablo patiently shows me how to ‘feel’ the rainforest and to take the time in order to benefit from its secrets. I learn to spend hours within just a few square metres of rainforest, finding all kinds of things that I could so easily have missed.

  The Amazonas Region seems to be a vast and intense wilderness of unstoppable growth and vitality, but although in some ways it is, the actual soil of the tropical rainforest is not fertile. The growth is caused by the fact that there is constant movement and change as trees decay and vegetation rots, with everything being absorbed back into the earth in order to help revitalise and recreate a new life cycle. The jungle and the tropical rainforest, in most ways actually the same and interchangeable, are intense areas, where there is constant death and re-birth and the struggle for existence continues without abating. Zen philosophers and Buddhists in particular will understand only too well what this constant struggle of life and death entails. It is possible to regard the whole of the Amazonas Region as being jungle but at the same time accepting that within it and yet part of it there are also vast tracts of tropical rainforest. Jungle and tropical rainforest co-exist, together and intertwined. You can always step from one to another, never certain or indeed needing to know which one you are in. The jungle is usually considered to be more dominant at the outer reaches of the forest, often closer to the edges of rivers and lakes, or as part of the swamp areas, therefore receiving more direct sunlight and having the freedom to expand more rapidly sideways, often creating almost impenetrable growth. The tropical rainforest, by contrast, is deep inside the jungle where it is difficult for the sun to penetrate. Everything has to therefore fight and force its way upwards, straining towards the sky, in the battle for sunlight.

  The tropical rainforest has more varieties of trees and plant life than any other area in the world. The trees within the interior are also thinner and taller, often growing to some 30 metres (100 feet), although there are huge trees like the kapok and the ceiba, which can reach up to heights as much as 60 metres (200 feet). The tops of the trees are called crowns and invariably form an upper canopy with their leaves, so blocking the sunlight from reaching through to the smaller trees and particularly the plants and vegetation on the rainforest floor. The lower vegetation may receive as little as one per cent of the sunlight received by the highest canopies. There can also be one or more low canopies formed underneath by the crowns of the smaller trees meshing together. This means that the soil in the rainforest receives little rainwater, most of which is intercepted by the various stages of tree canopy, and cannot easily sustain the needs of the trees. The trees therefore must often spread and stretch their roots ever wider across the topsoil (which is rich in nutrients due to the layer of fallen leaves and rotting vegetation) rather than deep down into the ground, in an attempt to find more sustenance. At the ground level around those taller trees, the ferns and vines and other plants growing there have learned to expect little sunlight and will have adapted to that lack of energy.

  Trees and plants do not live as long in the interior rainforest but, by rapidly decomposing, actually then provide more nutrients for the others to feed on and so their death enables the forest life to continue. Occasionally this balance will be disturbed by an unusual act of Nature such as lightning toppling one or more trees or causing a forest fire. As trees are interconnected with vines and creepers, one tree falling can topple several others in a domino effect. The sunlight will quickly pour through and will be hungrily absorbed by the grateful smaller trees and vegetation below, allowing them to flourish exuberantly as never before. Gradually the gaps are filled, the rainforest returns to its previous state and the cycle continues. The closed forest with its interlocked overhead canopies is referred to as primary forest, and where it has occasionally opened up to allow smaller trees and plants to flourish, it is called secondary forest. Even the winds cannot penetrate to any great degree, so it’s more down to birds as well as insects to spread seeds throughout the rainforest floor and extend the growth patterns. Much of the animal wildlife of the rainforest is concentrated in the overhead canopies, and if you stop, be very quiet and wait, you can hear it and occasionally at times see it.

  The rainforest is a wonderful, magical place and works daily miracles in replenishing and storing the resources it needs to continue. Leaves will catch the rain, absorbing what they need, and then it trickles downwards through other plants and mosses that also need moisture to reach eventually the rainforest floor where it will be soaked into the topsoil. The roots of the trees will then absorb what they need and the trees will pump the moisture up though their trunks back to the rainforest canopies above. There the moisture will evaporate to form clouds so the process can be repeated over and over again. The rainforest is the wettest part of Ecuador, indeed one of the wettest in the world, and many times I’ve been travelling in the rainforest and been so unbelievably drenched through, that I had obviously forgotten that’s exactly why it has that name. The climate is more humid and rainy in the months from January to September and reckoned to be dryer in the other months, but don’t bet on it. It’s not called the rainforest for nothing.

  As Pablo and I travel through the rainforest there are all kinds of secret sounds and strange movements that I almost understand, though there is always some tiny part of the intelligence missing. That’s one of its many mysteries. Sometimes a large leaf suddenly falling can almost sound like an animal crashing through, and I quickly react with fear and apprehension, immediately feeling foolish as I realise there was no need. Another time there is a different kind of sound in the undergrowth and I look down without concern only to see the end of something slithering away, and guess that it must have been a snake. The question is whether it was a poisonous one or a harmless one, how close I came to being attacked and bitten, or whether it was a missed opportunity to see another of the amazing creatures whose territory this is. As Clint Eastwood often says in his Dirty Harry movies, ‘Do you feel lucky?’ There are signs of invisible life everywhere. Most leaves have either a piece taken from them or contain a spore or other deposit, perhaps to make a claim on it or to identify it to another insect. The jungle here can instil fear very easily, and it’s the fear of the unknown. The pagan god Pan lived in the forest and has a lot to answer for, as it is from his name the word panic is derived, and if you panic in the jungle you will possibly die.

  There is good and bad in the jungle and I need to lear
n the difference if I am to survive. Pablo teaches me what to touch, what to eat and drink, and what not to. If I were completely alone then it would be a case of trial and error, although an error could be fatal. Smell is also an important tool and Pablo tells me that something which doesn’t smell right is probably dangerous and should be avoided; his knowledge and advice is immense. ‘An animal can also be your guide, watch what it eats or drinks and particularly what it avoids. Lick something before taking the tiniest bite of it.’ I again remember the Russian proverb I use on the mountains, ‘Doveryai no proveryai’ – ‘Trust but verify’.

  Pablo explains that we are trekking along the bank of what is known as a black-water river which has arisen within the rainforest only, not from the high mountains, and is therefore moving more slowly and does not carry any sediment. It transports seeds and berries, and the tannin from the leaves and plants creates the appearance of blackness. We stop to examine an ants’ nest built underneath the nest of wasps hanging from a tree, in order to provide further protection from predators. The termites also have some of their nests nestled into a tree for the same reason, as well as to avoid the direct sunlight drying out the nest. They even create furrows in the side of the tree so they can reach their nests without suffering from the blistering strength of the tropical sun when it penetrates the canopy. Many trees and plants act in a symbiotic manner to each other. Trees allow different plant varieties (called epiphytes) to grow in and from them. There are some 30,000 kinds of epiphytes, which include ferns, mosses, cacti and bromeliads. Some trees are so overloaded with ‘visitors’ of these various kinds, also intertwined with vines and creepers tying them to other trees, that it’s not easy to tell which is what and where one tree begins and another ends.