Overview
- Duration: 6 Days / 5 Nights
- Difficulty: Desafiante [icono_lvl4]
- tourSeason
Description
This six-day private expedition is built around one objective: reach Cotopaxi’s summit with more physiologic reserve, without turning a short itinerary into a gamble. The program combines progressive altitude exposure, dedicated guiding, continuous field monitoring, and a compact supplemental-oxygen system designed specifically for movement at altitude.
Itinerary
Day 01: Arrival in Quito
You are met at Mariscal Sucre International Airport and driven privately into Quito. The afternoon is deliberately quiet. At 2,850 m / 9,350 ft, useful acclimatization begins immediately; a gentle walk around the hotel neighborhood is enough. That evening, the expedition leader reviews the route, oxygen system, safety protocol and turnaround discipline. A physician-designed screening records resting SpO2, heart rate, temperature and blood pressure to establish your baseline for the mountain.
- Altitude: 2,850 m / 9,350 ft
- Accommodation: Hotel in Quito
- Meals: -/-/-
- Distance:---
- Duration:---
Day 02: Acclimatization — Cueva del Oso
The TelefériQo lifts you to Cruz Loma at 4,050 m / 13,287 ft. From there you walk the ridgeline toward Cueva del Oso, a rock shelter on Rucu Pichincha with Quito spread out below.
Three to four hours above 4,000 m provides a useful ventilatory and physiologic acclimatization stimulus and, equally important, lets the guide observe pace, movement under load, SpO₂, heart rate and temperature. It is not presented as an instant red-cell-mass adaptation; those hematologic changes take longer.
- Altitude: 4,300 m / 14,100 ft
- Accommodation: Hotel in Quito
- Meals: Breakfast/Box Lunch/-
- Distance: ~7 km
- Duration: 4–5 hrs
Day 03: Mountain gear
Drive south along the Avenue of the Volcanoes to El Chaupi. At the Ilinizas Mountain Lodge, your technical equipment and Rapid O2 system are collected, fitted and checked. Cylinder pressure, regulator function, cannula, batteries and spares are logged; boots, crampons, ice axe, harness, helmet and outer layers are fitted individually. You continue to Hacienda Los Mortiños in El Pedregal. Sleeping at 3,600 m is a deliberate acclimatization step before the summit sequence.
- Altitude: 3,600 m / 11,811 ft
- Accommodation: Hotel los Mortiños
- Meals: Breakfast, -, Dinner
- Distance: ---
- Duration: ---
Day 04:Cotopaxi National Park — Tambopaxi
A short drive enters Cotopaxi National Park and reaches Tambopaxi. You walk the high páramo with your assigned two-person mountain team — Lead Guide and Mountain Assistant — at an unhurried pace, with repeat SpO2, heart-rate and temperature checkpoints. The complete Rapid O2 sequence is then rehearsed with gloves on: cannula placement, system start-up, pressure check, battery status and contingency procedures. Your individual oxygen plan is confirmed against the SpO2, heart-rate, temperature and pace response observed across the previous days. Dinner is at 6:00 p.m.; final briefing and medical check follow, with lights out by 8:00 p.m.
- Altitude: 3,750 m / 12,303 ft
- Acomodation: Tambopaxi Lodge
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Distance: ---
- Duration: 4–5 hrs
Day 05:Summit Cotopaxi
A private transfer from Tambopaxi reaches the 4,600 m trailhead, followed by the walk to José Ribas Refuge. Rope teams depart on a staggered schedule, each climber with a dedicated ASEGUIM-certified Lead Guide and one Mountain Assistant. Rapid O2 support is used according to the individual plan, via nasal cannula and on-demand delivery with automatic altitude compensation. SpO2, heart rate and temperature are checked at defined physiologic checkpoints throughout the climb.
- Altitude: 5,897 m / 19,347 ft
- Accomodation: Termas de Papallacta
- Meals: Breakfast, Box Lunch, Dinner
- Distance: 12–14 km
- Duration: 9–11 hrs
Day 6: Return home
After an unhurried breakfast and, if time allows, a final hour in the thermal pools, you transfer privately to the airport. You leave with a summit certificate and the complete record of your ascent: altitude profile, SpO2, heart rate and temperature checkpoints, Rapid O2 system settings/status and elapsed times.
- Altitude---
- Accomodation:---
- Meals: Breakfast
- Distance:---
- Duration: 9–11 hrs
After an unhurried breakfast and, if time allows, a final hour in the thermal pools, you transfer privately to the airport. You leave with a summit certificate and the complete record of your ascent: altitude profile, SpO2, heart rate and temperature checkpoints, Rapid O2 system settings/status and elapsed times.
What's included
- ASEGUIM-certified Lead Guide dedicated to each climber on Days 4 and 5.
- One Mountain Assistant per climber for equipment, water, insulation and oxygen support.
- Expedition Leader supervising the operation as a whole.
- One dedicated 425 L Rapid O₂ primary cylinder per climber; shared reserve oxygen and spare delivery components.
- On-demand nasal-cannula delivery with automatic altitude compensation.
- Rapid O₂ field log with SpO₂, heart rate and temperature checkpoints throughout the ascent.
- Two nights in Quito; one night each at Hacienda Los Mortiños, Tambopaxi Lodge and Termas de Papallacta, with meals as listed.
- Private ground transportation throughout, including both airport transfers.
- TelefériQo access and guided acclimatization on Rucu Pichincha.
- Individually fitted technical gear: double boots, crampons, ice axe, harness, helmet and outer shell layers.
- National park entry fees and climbing permits.
- SpO₂, heart rate and temperature monitoring at defined checkpoints.
- Summit Re-attempt Guarantee (conditions below).
Not included
- International flights and departure taxes.
- Travel and medical insurance (mandatory).
- Single-occupancy supplement: USD $650.
- Personal base layers, gloves, glacier glasses and socks.
- Formal glacier school (available separately).
- Extra meals and drinks in cities.
- Alcohol.
- Tips and personal expenses.
Map
Need help or have a question about this tour?
Our travel expert, who specializes in Ecuador and South America, will personally tailor a high-end itinerary for you.
This will include guided tours designed to provide a fulfilling and enriching experience.
Languages: Espanish | English | Italian | German | François
