First Attempt

We woke up to lightly falling snow - and more cornbread. By the time we finished breakfast, the weather had improved, so we packed our things, locked them to a bunk, and set off with waterbottles and cameras.

The trail rose quickly, and before long I was stopping to rest every 10-20 steps, my body struggling to adapt to the diminished oxygen. Loose rock skree turned to jagged boulders, and we slowed even more to pick our trail across the volcanic debris.

After crossing two small snowfields and losing - then finding - the trail, we looked up at the steep scramble ahead of us and decided we'd be better off with limbs intact for Cotopaxi. With just 200-300 vertical meters between us and the summit, we turned around and headed "home" to reheat the forgotten pasta and play a game of chess.