Summiting Cotopaxi: Ecuador's Most Iconic Peak

Channel: Alex Kantrowitz

Published at: 2026-01-09

YouTube video id: OemhMXOyY10

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OemhMXOyY10

Summit of Kodak.
Amazing.
At the end of 2025, I arrived in Keto,
Ecuador with the goal of climbing a real
deal mountain with krampons and iceaxs
in serious elevation. The plan would be
to hit five volcanoes, Paso Choa,
Pincha, and Ilan Norte, then a glaciated
peak, Cotto Paxin, and if everything
went perfectly there, Chimberazzo. This
is a brief video diary of the
experience.
The mountains at the back half of this
plan are very big with Cotto Paxi
checking in at 5,900 m or 19,350
ft. So to acclimatize, you have to work
your way up with smaller peaks. We
started at Paso Choa, an extinct volcano
standing at around 4,200 m or about
13,780
ft. Luckily for us, it was a beautiful
day.
Summit number one, Pasa Ooa. We're at
4,173
m.
Next up, Wawa Pacha, a 4,780
m or 15,600 ft volcano that last erupted
in 2002.
To summit, we've slogged through a long
day with serious altitude gain over
many, many hours. Good prep for the
bigger mountains. My guide, Raphael
Martinez, is the most accomplished
athlete I've ever been around, and I
couldn't do this without him. Let me
introduce you. Summit number two,
Pinicha,
4,784
m. We got here thanks to the great
Raphael Martinez.
Yes.
>> How we do Raphael?
>> Yes. Very well.
>> You okay?
>> I'm I'm still alive.
>> Nice summit.
>> Thank you. So, Raphael,
two Everest expeditions, one Minaslu,
one Shisha Pangma,
>> Chroyu,
>> Choyu, 1,000 Kodopi,
and
>> 300 Chimarazzo. We're aiming for 1,01
and 301, but let's take it day by day.
That's where things started to get more
intense as an ascent of the 5,100 meter
or 16,800 ft Ian Norte lay ahead.
We made it to the Ilaniza refuge. The
plan is to go up tomorrow. Ilan Norte
summit optional, but at least to 5,000
m. And until then, spend the night here.
At 3:00 a.m., we woke up for an alpine
start, putting on headlamps, and
beginning to make our way up the ridge
in total darkness.
Then, about an hour in, a terrifying
sound, rockfall, a massive slide coming
down the mountain, the kind I had only
heard in horrifying videos like this one
on YouTube.
If we were under those rocks at that
time, the result probably would have
been fatal. But we were safe on the
ridge. After some deep breaths, we
pressed on, but stopped below the
summit. Scrambling with serious
exposure, especially after hearing that
was not my game. With light snow
falling, we stopped to watch sunrise
with Cottoaxi poking its peak into the
clouds in the distance.
Anorte, not a joke. Now it was time to
face Kodapaxi, my first glaciated
summit, checking in above 5,900 m or
19,000 ft.
We'd stay at a refuge midway up and
start working our way to the top at
11:30 p.m. Adding a new guide, Diego
Hakami. We got blasted with 45 km winds
as soon as we hit the glacier.
I couldn't feel my hands and my
eyebrows, eyelashes, and beard iced over
with frost. As we traversed the glacier,
my water bottle came loose and started
rolling down the steep slope, picking up
speed before disappearing into the
darkness. With a reminder of how costly
a slip could be, we pushed through the
wind and cold and ascended for 6 hours,
taking shelter at times underneath
massive hanging seraks.
As the slopes steepened before the
summit, my energy was close to giving
out. I thought about giving up, but
moving slowly as the oxygen got thinner,
we finally reached the top.
At 6:00 a.m. on December 26th, I watched
a breathtaking sunrise, looking out at
the Andes ring of fire with snow cap
volcanoes in every direction.
My god,
we did it.
then descent.
With the wind still kicking, Raphael
told me to take long strides and sink my
krampon spikes fully into the snow with
each step.
As we made our way down, we saw what
we'd come up. the hulking Yanasacha
ramp, the steep climb where I was so
depleted I almost turned back.
There was also a sloping ridge with
massive drop offs on each side that
looked absolutely menacing but equally
beautiful as the landscape emerged
before us.
And finally, what I'd hoped to see most,
the triangle shadow of Cotto Paxi cast
down on the ground below us.
Something so beautiful it made the climb
and the pain absolutely worth it.
Chimberazzo, higher and tougher, was out
of reach. The 6,300 meter mountain is
dangerous with a memorial underneath.
And I was so depleted after Cotto Paxi,
I felt chancing it would be selfish and
unwise.
After years of thinking about the
mountains and a summit,
I'd finally made it to the top of one.
Most likely, I'm retired now.
Still, the mountain calls.