27/05/2026
Dana summited Cotopaxi (elevation 19,350’) at sunrise on May 7th. The climb was cold, windy, and strenuous- but he felt strong and never struggled with the altitude. Camping between 9k and 14k feet for over a month leading up to the ascent helped significantly with acclimatization.
While he started his climb around midnight, I was enjoying my first solo night of camping since we started living on the road nearly 3 years ago. At this point we are used to being together 24/7, but it felt good to do things independently (even if just for a night).
In the morning I got an inreach message from Dana that he had a successful summit and was on his way down. I drove to the trailhead and hiked up to meet him at the refugio for a hot chocolate before descending the rest of the mountain together.
Cotopaxi is special for many reasons, and we will always remember our time spent on and around her beautiful slopes.