Day 1 We leave Riobamba at 10:00 a.m. by car and drive for 2 hours north on the Pan-American Highway to the entrance of the Cotopaxi National Park. We continue for another 30 kilometers until the parking place (4600 m. / 15.092 f.). After a 50-minute hike we arrive at the refuge (4800 m. / 15.748 f.) In the afternoon we do some climbing practice in the snow and then rest in order to acclimatize.

Day 2 At about 1:00 a.m., when the snow is still hard, we leave the refuge. The ascent to the summit takes 6 to 7 hours. After climbing a steep, rocky part we reach the glacier where we have to pass some crevasses. Just before reaching the top we pass the big round crater which is 500 m. wide. The last 250 meters to the summit are very steep. It then takes about 3 hours to descend to the refuge. After a rest in the refuge and lunch in a restaurant in Lasso, we return to Riobamba. Arrive at about 4:00 p.m.

NOTE:

If you haven't acclimatized before the ascent of Cotopaxi, the risk of altitude sickness is high. We recommend our 3-day Cotopaxi program. In that case on the first day we make a hike in the surroundings of the Laguna de Limpiopungo (3820 m. / 12.533 f.) and make a camp. On the second day we drive up to the parking place and go to the refuge, in order to climb in the early morning of day 3.

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