28-Aug-2004 --
We left Cala Cali Ecuador at 4:20 am heading towards Cayambe. Arrived at the end of the road at Cayambe refuge at 7:20 am. Elevation of 15,040 feet. Gps read 1.1 km to waypoint of S0 00000 W78 00000. Heading of 140 to waypoint.
To reach the point, we headed down a very steep scree slope into a very large canyon where a glacier from Cayambe ends. We reached the bottom at elevation 14,700. Then we trekked across the bottom of the canyon, stopping to explore the ice caves where the streams from the bottom of the glacier start.
Then we headed up a steep scree and rock slope with patches of snow up to elevation of 15,220.
From there we headed down into a flat area mostly covered by snow. At the end of the flat we put on crampons and began ascending glacier underneath a high rock cliff. We worked our way to a saddle and then up a steep rocky point covered with snow and glacier.
We reached S0 00000 W78 00000, elevation 15,511 at 11:00am. Trip distance from the car was actually 2.2 km and took us about 2 ½ hours one way.
The clouds had come in by then, but we could see glacier ridges with rock cliffs around us.
This point is probably the highest point on the equator and is still glaciated.
We returned by staying on glacier almost the whole way back and did not drop into the large canyon.