The Next Great Adventure

4 Volcanoes in Ecuador –5 Nurses in the UK

Simon St Clair Carter and Martin J Wikstrom
Climbing Guagua Pichincha, Illiniza Norte, Cotopaxi, & Chimborazo

What do 2 mates accompanying their successful wives to a meeting of powerful women do to keep out of trouble (read: out of the way)? Get lost, obviously! When Simon posed the question, "Do we really want to go to a conference full of women when we could be doing something much more fun like climbing a volcano?" I didn't have to ponder very long. "Of course, we climb!"

Simon pointed out that we were traveling quite a distance for just 1 volcano and asked if perhaps we should climb 4?

Overly influenced by testosterone (as opposed to common sense), I quickly agreed. Only later did I investigate what exactly my friend was proposing. These are some seriously high peaks! However, it was too late to change my mind and engage the gray matter betwixt the ears. I had agreed and the trip was on!

Then Simon (being the more clever of the two) suggested that we should do this for some worthy cause. We couldn't think of a better bunch than the folks at Marie Curie. These wonderful souls provide essential end-of-life care for terminally-ill patients and their families. Most all of us are of an age where we, or ones close to us, have lost a loved one and hospice care was an invaluable support when most needed.

Research commissioned by Marie Curie Cancer Care shows that 64 per cent of people would choose to die at home. In reality only 25 per cent achieve this.

Every year, Marie Curie Nurses make that wish possible for thousands of cancer patients in cities, towns and villages across the UK.

Marie Curie Nurses now care for around 50 per cent of all cancer patients who die at home. They work through the night or during the day to provide care for patients in the comfortable and familiar surroundings of their own home.

Their nurses are also there for families and carers - providing practical and emotional support at what can be an exhausting time. Whilst Marie Curie nursing is always free of charge to patients and carers, it is not free.

Simon and I hope to raise the necessary money to fund 5 nurses for a year. For every £19,000 we raise, the N.H.S. will match it with an additional £19,100 which places a nurse in the field for 1 year. We hope you will help us reach our goal. You can give as much or as little as you like but please help! You can find our fund raising site on the web at:

http://www.justgiving.com/Martin-Wikstrom-and-Simon-St-Clair-Carter-4-Volcanoes-5-Nurses



There you can track our progress and leave messages of encouragement. Feel free to leave messages here as well.


In a following post, I will provide a description of the mountains we hope to climb.

Thank you,

Martin Wikstrom and Simon St Clair Carter

Planning The Climb - 4 Seriously High Mountains

Guagua Pichincha

4,784 m (15,695 ft)

0°10′16″S 78°35′53″W

Guagua Pichincha and the older Pleistocene Rucu Pichincha stratovolcanoes form a broad volcanic massif that rises immediately to the west of Ecuador's capital city, Quito in the Andes Mountains. Rising to an elevation of 4,784 m (15,695 ft), Guagua Pichincha will be our first ascent - a warm-up!

Many minor eruptions have occurred since the beginning of the Spanish era at Guagua Pichincha, which is one of Ecuador's most active volcanoes. The largest historical eruption took place in 1660, when ash fell over a 1,000 km radius, accumulating to 30 cm depth in Quito. The last known eruption was in 2009.

Illiniza Norte

5,126 m (16,818 ft)

0°39′34″S 78°42′49″W

Illiniza is a stratovolcano located about 55 km southwest of Quito. Illiniza, a potentially active volcano, consists of two snow covered peaks: Illiniza Sur 5,248 m (17,218 ft) and Illiniza Norte 5,126 m (16,818 ft). This will be our second ascent. Its name is derived from  the Kunza words for "masculine hill" but it looks like a "mother of a hill" to me!

The Illinizas are generally thought to be the best acclimatization mountains in Ecuador, and are frequently used as a preparatory climb to higher peaks such as Cotopaxi and Chimbarazo.
 

Cotopaxi

5,897 m (19,347 ft)
0°40′50″S 78°26′16″W

Our third ascent will be Cotopaxi - a statovolcano located abouot 45 km south of Quito. It is the second highest summit in the country, reaching a height of 5,897 m (19,347 ft).

Cotopaxi has an almost symmetrical cone that rises from a highland plane of about 3,800 meters (12,500 ft), with a width at its base of about 23 km (14 mi). It has one of the few equatorial glaciers in the world, which starts at teh height of 5,000 meters (16,400 ft). the mountain is clearly visible on the skyline from Quito. It is part of the chain of volcanoes around the Pacific plate known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Chimborazo

6,268 m (20,565 ft)

01°28′09″S 78°49′03″W

Chimborazo is located in the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes of central Ecuador, 150 km (93 mi) south-southwest of Qutio. At a height of 6,268 m (20,565 ft), the inactive stratovolcano is Ecuador's highest summit. Its last eruption is thought to have occurred some time in the first millenium.

Its summit is generally regarded as the spot on the erath's surface farthest from the center of the Earth, at a distance of 6,384.4 km (3,967.1 mi). Chimborazo is just one degree south of the equator and the earth's diameter at the equator is greater than at Everest's lattitude (nearly 28° north), with the sea level also being elevated. So, despite being 2,581 m (8,568 ft) lower in elevation above sea level, it is 6,384.4 km (3,968 mi) from the Earth's center, 2.1 km farther than the summit of Everest.

First climbed in 1880 by Briton Edward Whymper and the brothers Louis and Jean-Antione Carrel, this will be our final ascent. Wish us luck!

We are climbing on behalf of Marie Curie to fund 5 nurses for a year. You can help us raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care at this address:
http://www.justgiving.com/Martin-Wikstrom-and-Simon-St-Clair-Carter-4-Volcanoes-5-Nurses