Ecuador, Switzerland, Africa, and Colorado 2018

 

As indicated earlier, at the end of my 5 months of work in Ecuador I injured my shoulder in a body surfing accident on the coast, which required surgery upon my return to the U.S. I had to curtail my outdoor adventures as I spent almost a year rehabbing it back to normal (or as normal as one can be at 64 years of age).  Three years later, in January 2018, while working in Ecuador again, I fell in some nasty weather on Rucu Pichincha and severely damaged my other shoulder.  Having had a similar injury to the opposite shoulder, I knew what I had experienced--torn labrum, biceps tendon, and rotator cuff.  After coming off the mountain and enduring a painful, sleepless night I decided to see a physician at the University where I was working and he recommended an MRI.  I thought I should wait until I returned to the U.S. the following week, but he suggested that the imaging could be performed that afternoon and rapidly interpreted by a orthopedic radiologist.  I agreed and quickly had the visual confirmation of what I already knew--yet the MRI cost only $240 in Ecuador compared to over $2000 here in the U.S.  Good decision!  I returned to the U.S., gave my orthopedic surgeon the MRI and he suggested I should have had the surgery yesterday--in other words immediately.  So, back under the knife and painful, protracted, and punishing rehab for the next 12 months.  My grandchildren took turns distracting me while I endured the passive motion torture machine 6 hours a day for the first 3 weeks following surgery.  My shoulder will likely never be the same, but I am happy that surgical repair is possible.  Twenty years ago, I would have had to live with a nonfunctional shoulder and chronic pain for my remaining years.

 



 

 

So, no ice climbing the winter of 2018, but that summer I did manage to do some hiking in Switzerland at the base of the Monch and Jungfrau, at the base of Mount Kenya in Africa, and Fua Fua in Ecuador.  I also enjoyed hikes up Grays and Torreys, Longs Peak and Quandary with some of my favorite people! 

 



From the Eiger in Switzerland



The Monch

The Jungfrau from the valley floor



 

Preparing to hike to the base of Mount Kenya.  The weather turned nasty with sleet and rain and it turned out to be
a less-than-fun experience. 

Mount Kenya



We did have great weather on Longs Peak in September 2018

The Narrows on Longs Peak



The final steep ascent of Fua Fua near Otavalo, Ecuador

Torreys Peak with Rachel and Hannah



More from Ecuador in 2015

It's been awhile since I posted anything on this blog so I'll take a few moments to post a few pictures I've taken on various treks and climbs since climbing Illiniza Sur and falling just short of the summit of Cotopaxi in January 2015.

While working in Ecuador from January through May 2015, I had the opportunity to trek to the top of Rucu Pichincha several times.  Having hiked the mountain numerous times previously, I enjoyed serving as companion/guide for several different groups of Americans who were interested in seeing if they could make it to the top, having never experienced this type of adventure.  I have found it to be very enjoyable helping others succeed when they are a bit unsure about the outing.

 

In April, 2015, I decided on a solo climb of Imbabura while Barb and I were visiting Otavalo and Ibarra on a weekend trip.  I was well acclimatized to make the trek to the top of this 15,000 mountain and the climb started well but after reaching a 100 vertical feet from the summit, I decided to go down when the weather turned bad and I was engulfed in a cloud with almost no visibility. I got lost on the return and hiked down the wrong drainage for about an hour before I realized I was on an animal path and totally lost.  I had to hike back up about 1500 vertical feet and as I neared the summit for the second time, the clouds parted enough for me to see where I had gone wrong.  I ran down as much as I safely could to try to catch my ride back to Ibarra, and fortunately, even though I was 2 hours late, my ride was still at the trailhead.  His patience saved me from an even longer day hiking many miles back into town. 

Imbabura as seen from the city of Ibarra, Ecuador

The clouds moved in near the summit and I got lost on my way down.  I should have been more prepared with a compass.

I had a number of other adventures while working in Ecuador with family (Sara and Kelly McCabe) and friends (Rich and Caroline Yonker).  We traveled to Mindo in the cloud forest as well as Riobamba and the coast. While working in Riobamba on our research project in the village of San Juan, I finally caught of glimpse of Chimborazo (20,700), which my daughter Hannah and I summited in 2004.  Owing to the equatorial bulge, it is the highest mountain on earth if measured from the core of the earth and was first climbed by Edward Whymper in 1880, who was also the first person to reach the summit of the Matterhorn in Switzerland. It is one of the most magnificent mountains to view from its base.

Unfortunately, while body surfing on the coast of Ecuador, I caught a wave that threw me violently into the floor of the ocean and tore up my shoulder, which required surgery and a 12-month rehabilitation, which put a damper on any adventures for time.