Charity Expedition

Andeanface decided to launch this Charity Expedition in order to raise funds for the children’s home project run by Daniëlle Children's Fund (DCF).
It all began in the year 2001 when Helma van der Hoeven and Javier Herrera started to fulfil a dream: creating opportunities for street kids and other children in need.
Now, 11 years later, DCF is running a Child ‘N Family centre in Ambato, Ecuador. This project has two programs, focusing on these children in need and their families:

Temporary Institutional Custody - The centre offers a temporary home to children in risk situations: they receive a roof above their head, education, healthcare, psychological support and an opportunity to grow.

Systemic Family Services - At the same time the centre works closely together with the biological families: DCF guides them in assuming their responsibilities in the upbringing of their children. In this way, the centre prevents that children live in the streets, but assures that they can live with their families.

Andeanface is one of the main sponsors of this project, contributing to the monthly budgets which include social and psychological family support; food, education and healthcare for the children living in the home; and salaries for the local personal. Our contacts – both clients and mountaineering organizations - have been a huge support in finding financial funds for the project.
Andeanface would like to raise additional funds for the operational costs of the project. That is why we organize this Antisana Charity Expedition and we hope to receive a lot of enthusiastic reactions from our clients who visited Ecuador before. We look forward to sharing this special itinerary based on social involvement. Andeanface will donate the profit of this trip to the Child ‘N Family center of DCF. We will also encourage the charity expedition members to raise extra money to support these children in need of Ecuador.

Itinerary - Antisana

Antisana is Ecuador's fourth highest mountain. It is pretty remote and offers some of the most interesting climbing in Ecuador. Unlike the other big mountains in Ecuador, Antisana has no refuge: base camp is needed.
Despite its spectacular appearance and the quality of the climbing, Antisana is only rarely climbed. This is due to a combination of two factors. First, its moderate technical difficulty which means that those who attempt Antisana must have some glacier climbing skills. Second, the fact that access to the area around the mountain is restricted in order to protect the wildlife.
The glaciers on Antisana are very active. Their configuration is complex and the glacier is always in process of evolution.

Our choice of route will depend on the conditions at the time of our climb. Most likely it will include a combination of moderately angled glacier travel and short, steep sections that require the use of the full range of snow techniques for intermediate terrain. During the last part of the climb we will have to route find. Special care has to be given to the bergschrund below the summit and to potential hidden crevasses. From the summit there is a wonderful view at the north face of Cotopaxi and a remarkable vista across parts of the Amazon Basin. Summarizing, the ascent of Antisana offers great adventure and high quality alpine climbing in a spectacular and seldom visited equatorial environment.
The ascent normally takes seven hours and the descent three hours.

Day 1
City Tour - 2.800 m / 9,184 ft
Night in Quito
Few cities in the world can match the setting of Quito, the second highest capital in Latin America after La Paz. Quito lies in a narrow valley running north to south. It is wedged between the slopes of the volcano Pichincha to the West and a steep canyon formed by the Machangara River to the East. Quito is very much a city of two halves: The Old City is the colonial centre, where pastel-coloured houses and ornate churches line a warren of steep and narrow streets, and the New Town where you will find Quito’s main tourist and business area.
In 1990 Quito was declared World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. In the whole city there are more than 80 churches, some of them are worth seeing. During the morning, we will visit some of the main colonial churches in the old part of Quito such as Santo Domingo, the Basílica, San Francisco; the fist religious building constructed in South America in1553 by the Spanish, and drive up to the hill of El Panecillo where there is an impressive statue of the Virgin of Quito. From there we will have a good view of the whole city. Later during the day, we will drive down to see the Church of Guapulo, it is well worth seeing it for its many paintings. It was also one of the first churches established by the Catholic Church in Ecuador.

Exploring the city is a good way to begin you acclimatization process! In the evening, all participants are invited to attend a presentation about the expedition and the project of Daniëlle Children’s Fund.

Day 2
Guagua Pichincha Hike - 4.785 m / 15,694 ft
Night at the village of Chaupi
Guagua (Quichua for baby) is one of the three major peaks that make up the Pichincha massif. It is located 20 km west of Quito. It is normally snow free but an occasional high-altitude storm will cover the mountain with a layer of snow.
In the past it was possible to descend into the crater of the volcano. You could watch the fumaroles and superheated water rising from its vents. However just a couple of years ago Pichincha suddenly became active again and covered Quito temporarily with a layer of ash. At present the Pichincha crater continues spewing and venting. Guagua Pichincha is a good second acclimatization hike. We drive up to 4.000 m / 13,120 ft from where we start the hike to the summit. It is quite an arduous walk and normally takes three hours up and one hour down.
On a clear day you have a beautiful view of the so-called Avenue of the Volcanoes including Chimborazo, Cotopaxi and Cayambe.

Day 3 Corazon Hike - 4.788 m / 15,704 ft
Night at the Village of Chaupi
This is another eroded and extinct volcano located about 40 km south west of Quito. The name Corazon means “heart” in Spanish and is said to refer to two gullies on the north west slopes which, when seen from the distance, appear to join together in the shape of a heart. The first recorded ascent was in 1738 by La Condamine and Boiguer. It is a good second acclimatization hike after Pichincha and before the Ilinizas. We drive up to 4.000 m / 13,120 ft to a small valley from where we start the hike to the summit. It is quite an arduous walk and normally takes five hours up and one and a half hour down. On a clear day you have a beautiful view of the so-called "Avenue of the Volcanoes", including Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Cayambe, Iliniza and Antisana.

Day 4
Day 4 Ilinizas - Hike to the hut - 4,700 m / 15,400 ft
Night at the Nuevos Horizontes Refuge
From the village of El Chaupi, located in the foothills of Iliniza, we do a short drive to 4.000 m / 13,120 ft from where we start hiking towards the climbers hut, hiking through several fields of the Hacienda el Refugio. We spend tonight at a significantly higher altitude (4.700 m / 15,400 ft).

Day 5
North Iliniza Summit Day - 5.125 m /16,810 ft
Night at Hotel Cuello de Luna (www.cuellodeluna.com)
Iliniza North and South are located about 55 km south west of Quito. Originally, Iliniza would have been just one volcano, which exploded and split in half a very long time ago. The two peaks are separated by a saddle and are about 2 km away from one another. The south peak is covered in hard ice and has become very difficult in recent years, whilst the north peak is rocky and a lot easier. 50 years ago Iliniza North did have a glacier, but it has completely melted in the last few decades. It is a big altitude gain today, so you should expect to feel it. The route ascends from the west side of the mountain, with some easy scrambling below the summit. From the summit, there are spectacular views of Iliniza South (5.263 m), Cotopaxi (5.897 m), and Chimborazo (6.310 m), the highest volcano in Ecuador. After the climb, we drive down to Hotel Cuello de Luna.

Day 6 Visit Children's Home Project in Ambato 2.600 m / 8,525 ft
Night at Hacienda la Carriona (www.lacarriona.com)
This is a driving day and a rest day from climbing. We will visit the Child ‘N Family centre in the city of Ambato.

Day 7 / 8 / 9 Antisana - 5.758 m / 18,886 ft
Two Nights Camping
Antisana is a spectacular looking mountain of very large and active glaciers, making it the greatest equatorial snow and ice mass in the world. The broad summit has four distinct peaks, which make up the crater rim. Despite its impressive appearance, Antisana is rarely attempted, as there is no straightforward route up the mountain. Andeanface has considerable experience of the mountain, having either climbed or attempted it every year since 1995. We make the short but difficult drive to Antisana in 4X4 Jeeps and make base camp at the western side of the mountain. From base camp, we decide on our specific route, taking into consideration various factors such as snow quality, crevasse patterns and weather conditions currently affecting the complex glaciated terrain, which flank all aspects of the peak. Our climbing route will necessitate a full range of snow and ice climbing techniques as the terrain will involve moderately angled snow slopes and short steeper sections of ice.

The views from the summit are spectacular, in particular the north face of Cotopaxi, which is rarely seen and part of the Amazon basin. With a big feel and covered in crevasses, Antisana is pretty wild and has some of the most interesting climbing in Ecuador. If you are looking for a real climbing adventure, this is it! After the climb, it is a 1 hour drive back to Quito.

Day 10
Fly out or continue with other (climbing) extensions.

Important Note: Please note that this itinerary is a guide line only. We will do every effort to follow it, but in case of unforeseen circumstances we may have to make changes.

Map

Also see our Interactive Map.