Mountain Climbing in Pichincha

Our guide was Robinson (not jamie). The trip was amazing! Easy communication with the Company before the trip. We got sick right before and there were No problem to postpone the trip one day. We got picked up by robinson at our hostel, driven to rental shop for gear, then had lunch in Cayambe before heading to the refuge. Robinson was a Great guide, knowledagble and very helpful and nice! The hike to the summit was beautiful!!

My guide Marcello was/is an outstanding teacher. He showed great patience and attention to me as I struggled to gain understanding of safety procedures, knots, rescue techniques etc. During the climb he was always alert to the surrounding conditions and to my physical stamina. Marcello motivated me to climb much higher than I would have been able to do without his support. The single drawback to the training ,in my opinion, would be the use of a mountain cabin for the early days of training. The cabin was unfinished, covered with cement dust from top to bottom and without basic sanitary supports (no bathroom, no toilet paper provided, no running water). The location offered good space for a mountaineering training course but was not as comfortable as the original option of the “Refugio” at the base of the mountain. Marcello did give us the information on the change in advance but without seeing either facility the choice was a blind one. I would recommend Marcelo as a guide in the future and would gladly climb with him again. As with all adventures in Ecuador the language and cultural barriers can be a large part of any misunderstandings. I felt Marcelo worked very hard at making things clear and at the same time I know there were times that information passed back and forth came out inaccurate (that just happens).

Rafael was an amazing host! He provided all our accommodations and guides. Every detail was well planned out. He was very accommodating and flexible. He put a lot of thought into the acclimation hikes and logistics. I can not say enough good things about Rafael and ClimbBikeHike!!!

Rafael was an amazing guide — extremely knowledgeable and accommodating. Would highly recommend to anyone looking to climb in Ecuador!

Great experience. We did Rumiñawi, corázon, and Illiniza Norte as acclimatization hikes. All of them were beautiful. We attempted Cotopaxi but had a snow storm and heavy winds during the night of the summit and we were forced to turn around. The 3 initial climbs prepared us well for Cotopaxi and the altitude. There were some technical scrambling portions on corazon and Illiniza which were very cool. Overall would highly recommend!

What a trip and what an adventure. Our guide, Rafael M, did an amazing job on our climbs. They were perfect logistically and his guiding skills are excellent. The original plan was an attempt at Cayambe, but due to the civil unrest occurring in Ecuador at the time, he totally re-adjusted our plan and itinerary and gave us the opportunity to stay in Cotopaxi National Park and climb Cotopaxi. The trip went off without a hitch, even with the last minute changes he had to make. The climb itself was excellent and Rafael showed many skills including pacing, navigating, and an overall focus on safety. We had rough conditions on Cotopaxi, but I felt safe and at ease with Rafael as our guide. I would highly recommend him to others looking at an attempt at an Ecuadorian volcano or other peaks in South America.

The trip was simply great in all aspects! I will return for more

Great trip. Summiting Cotopaxi was intense but gave us the most stunning sunrise I've ever seen in my life. The acclimation program was well thought out and the hikes were beautiful. Our guide was very knowledgeable and organized. I had a wonderful time. Bring heavy sunscreen (at least SPF 50 or better yet, 70). Also, train. I'm relatively fit--I run and climb regularly--but I wish I had done more specific training for this trip.

Highly recommend!

This was a fantastic trip from beginning to end. Javier, I especially appreciate how well Javier took care of my daughter's (gluten free) dietary restriction, and that he arranged to take my daughter and I for the covid tests required for our return to the U.S. at the end of our trip. The entire team of guides were all knowledgeable, professional, personable and highly attentive to the group's needs. I appreciate how well thought out the itinerary was planned. The daily hikes along the Avenue of the Volcanoes increased in elevation every day in order to acclimate to the higher altitude, giving the best chance of success in reaching the summit of Cotopaxi-the main event-at the end of the week. Cotopaxi is a VERY tough hike, unlike anything that I've ever done before and certainly outside my comfort zone Again, simply a fantastic trip from beginning to end.

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Absolutely Incredible trip!! Couldn't recommend enough. Amazing terrains, hikes, food, people and guides! Such good value for money also. Cotopaxi summit day was the most challenging but worth it!

Even though Fernando is a fun and an experienced guide, I can't give him more than two stars. I was quite sick for the first three days so I could not keep up my normal pace. On my first hike I even had really bad balance disorders. This did not bother Fernando at all. Most of the time he was walking very far ahead. While descending he suddenly started walking so fast that I even lost him out of sight. I found him 2km later lying in the grass on his phone. I passed him and he just kept on being on his phone without even bothering about my medical situation. Beside his impatience the second thing is, that Fernando is always on his phone. I felt a lot better on my last day so we went on climbing Cotopaxi. He promised us a glacier school (since I've never used these tools before) but then at the refugee he just said that it's learning by doing. So when I tried to put on the crampons in the middle of the freezing night it of course took me a while. He didn't even bother to help, so my friend had to put on my crampons for me. Instead he just kept on walking. This repeated itself at our descent. I found him 20 minutes later sitting in the hut already. The only reason I decided not to give one star is his lovely wife. She is an excellent cook and kept the house clean and tidy.

This was an excellent climb and Rafael is a very professional and experienced guide.

Javier delivered an outstanding expedition from end to end. Everything was seamlessly organised - from transfers between haciendas/campsites to equipment hiring. Pace of the acclimatisation programme was just right, with rest days in between the summit attempts on Pasochoa, Ruminahui and Cotopaxi spent in beautiful accommodation with great food throughout. The other guides Pablo and Marco were exceptional: personable and professional - we felt very safe in their hands.

Outstanding job done by Edgar and Ivan who were professional and patient Recommend to all without a doubt

Fantastic trip. Rafael is knowledgeable, extremely experienced and safety-focused. Great climb!

Edgar Parra's guiding service was excellent. His guide understood the mountain, made sure I understood the approach, and did a good job of communicating. While Edgar can't control the weather, his guide did a great job of controlling the situations he could control. Highly recommended and would climb with him again.

Great experience climbing with Fernando: Well organised and we made the summit with him on Chimborazo. I'd recommend him for guiding in Ecuador.

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Had an amazing time with my guide Ramiro. He selected the perfect mix of mountains in order to properly acclimatize so I could achieve the summit of Cayambe. With his vast experience of more than three decades he was able to teach me a lot of skills and know-how along the way so I’d always feel safe on the mountains. I can only recommend a trip with Ramiro. You’re definitely in good hands and going to make wonderful experiences.

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Edgar was an excellent guide. I have little climbing experience and Edgar was very knowledgeable and instructive. He is a life long climber and he has tons of experience and passion climbing through out the world. He was pleasant and a very nice guy. Unfortunately, the weather was very bad while I was in Ecuador so Edgar came up with a great alternative climb to Cayambe, which was not in good condition due to storms. He knows the mountains like the back of his hand and can relay tons of information, which makes the trip that much more enjoyable. His 4x4 transport and climbing equipment were all top notch. He understood safety and made sure to avoid unnecessary risks. I will climb with Edgar again.

we had a great time with the guide,  knows his buissnis , he took wonderfull shots from us at tungurahua during the climb. im sure he would have made great pics aswell during the cotopaxi climb,  very experienced guide indeed, and a friendly man with nice girlfriend elisabeth who went with us to tungurahua refugio,   and he can cook

Fernando is an excellent and knowledgeable guide, and the itinerary is a nice balance of climbs and recovery time, including time to explore a couple of cities. He also made sure we were well-equipped for the climbs. The guides are geared more toward getting you up and down than toward building any technique. It's not billed as an instructional course, so that's not a complaint -- just pointing it out for those who like to use one experience to build to another rather than just reach the summit.

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A fantastic trip! Segundo was a wonderful guide and made the trip a lot of fun. Even during difficult weather and when things didn't go as expected, he kept a positive attitude and continued to motivate me when I was beginning to lose momentum. I would absolutely recommend this trip and Lonely Summits to anyone looking to visit the beautiful country of Ecuador - whether you're an experienced climber or not, the services provided by Lonely Summits are fantastic for any skill level or price point.

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This was a fantastic mountaineering trip to Ecuador. The altitude was a bit of a challenge, but Ramiro did a great job with the acclimatization schedule leading up to the taller mountains. Overall, this was a challenging experience given the altitude of the climbs as well as the back-to-back climbing of four mountains. I would highly recommend this excursion for anyone who wants to experience a fantastic country/culture as well as someone who wants to gain some nice experience mountaineering!

Fredy Tipan is like a superhero of the outdoor world. He knows absolutely everyone, has climbed and guided in the most epic of locations all around the world, knows the mountains like old friends, and really loves what he does and who he does it for. Our trip was completely messed up after an issue with our airline tickets. We weren't going to be able to leave until a week after our planned departure which jeopardized our entire trek with Fredy. We didn't expect him to take any sort of responsibility in replanning as it was our mistake that caused the airline issue but he absolutely did. Within days he rearranged the entire trek so that we would be able to summit all our desired peaks without cutting the days down and without changing the cost. He is a class act and an incredible guide and I'd say my husband and I both consider him a friend as well. We will definitely be booking another trip with Fredy Tipan and recommend him to anyone looking for the real deal in outdoor Guides. Thank you, Fredy!

It was a great experience. Everything was very well arranged and taken care of. The guide (Fernando Iza) was extremely professional, safe, and friendly. I was very happy about everything, and would recommend booking with Fernando Iza for any hiking trip on Ecuador.

I have travelled for several years to climb and hike mountains all over the world. I've had numerous guides, many of which were wonderful. However, I have to say, Edgar Parra has been the best climbing guide I've ever had. He was extremely professional, on time, motivated, encouraging, explained everything and translated for me (due to my lack of Spanish), adjusted our schedule when we had bad weather to ensure we were safe and yet still has a good experience climbing, and has a passion for mountains and climbing like nobody I've ever met before. I will most certainly come back to Ecudor specifically because of Edgar and his positive outlook on life and passion for mountain climbing. I would recommend him to anyone wanting to climb the mountains in Ecuador many of the other other countries he climbs in (Peru, Bolivia, and Russion to name a few more).

Edgar Parra is an excellent mountain guide. He cares about clients very well. Everything went super smoothly. I enjoyed the trip a lot!