Carihuairazo “Chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains.”
-Jeffery Rasely
In this case, I was chasing an angel. While there's much to report these days, I thought I’d start with a fine little tale about a well-traveled ring and how it finally made it to the place it belonged.
-Jeffery Rasely
In this case, I was chasing an angel. While there's much to report these days, I thought I’d start with a fine little tale about a well-traveled ring and how it finally made it to the place it belonged.
It began sometime last November while I was walking down the street, as I do most days, and BAM, it hit me - it was time to ask Lynsey to marry me. “How did you know it was the right time?” I only knew that the time was right because the time was right, if that makes sense. A ring? Where to begin? After a great visit from Emily and Courtney (two of Lynsey’s closest friends from Chicago, both ring savvy and with excellent taste), I had a solid idea of what was right for Lynsey. We came across a gorgeous vintage band and setting online from a studio that happened to be in Harvard Square near Boston (Rebekah Brooks Studio). The emails commenced, and thanks the flexibility of the folks in MA we figured out the fine necessities to make this great scheme work - I wanted to propose in Ecuador. Through an army of help from "the fellowship of the ring" led by my brother, Brad, and great friend, Zack, the ring was ready in Chicago the day before Zack was scheduled to visit us down here. The band turned out perfect for her; vintage, classy, and subtle (nice with unpolished white gold in its original color), and even complete with a family diamond from my grandmother, Gladys Parker, who passed away many years before I was born. From my grandmother, the ring then went on to my mother's finger years ago and was now waiting for me. I like to imagine what Grandma Parker's reaction would be knowing her diamond was on its way to Ecuador for the hair-brained grandson she never met. I’m sure it would be kind and sweet, just the way my Dad describes her.
Grandma Parker and my mom's beautiful gift to us.
The ring made it! Zack is a meticulously detail-oriented guy and I knew I could trust him. Arriving in Quito, Zack and I still had a week to spend together in the north of Ecuador before we would return to Cuenca where the ring could safely be stored before the big day. On top of that, our plan was to climb three mountains in the span of the week. Leave the ring in the hostel? Creo que no. The ring, just a toddler really, got it’s first taste of altitude as it accompanied us up Ruccu Pichincha, Cerro Imbabura, and nearly to the top of Nevado Cayambe. I had to, of course, make sure it was acclimatized for the big day when we’d hit the nevado to find its intended destination, Lynsey’s left hand.
Next came a week of waiting in Cuenca before Lynsey and I had our weekend expedition. A couple of months earlier I had proposed the idea, let’s climb Carihuairazo together. As the most accessible “beginner's” peak to get a taste of mountaineering in Ecuador, I crossed my fingers that Lynsey would realize her own abilities and agree to it. There isn’t a mountain I think Lynsey couldn’t climb with the right preparation, honestly, but the trick is getting her to realize that. She did agree, and I knew then that there were some forces aligning. I would propose on the top, we'd just have to get there first…
Though Carihuairazo is a “beginner’s” peak, it still has its challenges. At 16,463 feet, climbers still have a solid, steep (but short) march to the top, and cold is always a concern. I knew my ganas (motivation) for getting up was the proposal, but what if Lynsey wasn’t feeling it that day? What if the sky spat rain and hail into a thick soup of fog and the guides were uncomfortable about the ascent? What if?
All of those questions floated around my mind during the weeks of training leading up to the climb. We met our faithful little group of “mountain people” in the park and ran the slopes and steeps of Cuenca - a truly great training ground at over 8,000 feet. She was strong, she was ready, and I'd just have to see what kind of hand we were dealt on the slopes of the giant.
Though Carihuairazo is a “beginner’s” peak, it still has its challenges. At 16,463 feet, climbers still have a solid, steep (but short) march to the top, and cold is always a concern. I knew my ganas (motivation) for getting up was the proposal, but what if Lynsey wasn’t feeling it that day? What if the sky spat rain and hail into a thick soup of fog and the guides were uncomfortable about the ascent? What if?
All of those questions floated around my mind during the weeks of training leading up to the climb. We met our faithful little group of “mountain people” in the park and ran the slopes and steeps of Cuenca - a truly great training ground at over 8,000 feet. She was strong, she was ready, and I'd just have to see what kind of hand we were dealt on the slopes of the giant.
Grandfather Chimbo
The early trip was great. We took a beautiful drive past Chimborazo, Ecuador's highest peak, and stood wide-eyed and the awesome size of the mountain. There was an easy hike into base camp followed by lots of hanging out, cooking food, and chatting it up en español. Only one person knew what I was planning; a friend named Daniel who was my rope-mate on the ascent of the south face of Cotopaxi a few months prior. He happens to be an amazing photographer, and had promised to get a few shots of the moment, if or when it came. With the rest of my friends, on the one hand, I wanted to give them the wink, the sign, or a grin that I had something big planned. On the other hand, I had a great secret that was mine and I reveled in it while I could.
We woke at 3 a.m., late for a summit bid, but the ascent wasn’t so long as some of the others. Lynsey seemed ready, strong, and excited for the outing, a great sign. I carefully checked my backpack for a small white box packed alongside my GPS, and we were off.
What appeared to be fog blurring the light from our headlamps was soon realized to be volcanic ash from the erupting Tungurahua (near Baños de Ambato). We moved through it and up a rocky section that has undoubtedly seen great changes in the recent past with the warming temperatures. People say the mountain was once covered with a great glacier, but the ice now had receded back to only make up a rocky glacial mix towards the top. We were almost there! One last chute to ascend and I’d have my chance. The first group began up and struggled through the nasty, loose rock. We watched nervously as they unintentionally kicked down rocks of all sizes, forcing us to hide behind small cliff faces to avoid the crashing from above. This was a sketchy spot, and waiting around at the bottom seemed to be the most dangerous option of all.
We woke at 3 a.m., late for a summit bid, but the ascent wasn’t so long as some of the others. Lynsey seemed ready, strong, and excited for the outing, a great sign. I carefully checked my backpack for a small white box packed alongside my GPS, and we were off.
What appeared to be fog blurring the light from our headlamps was soon realized to be volcanic ash from the erupting Tungurahua (near Baños de Ambato). We moved through it and up a rocky section that has undoubtedly seen great changes in the recent past with the warming temperatures. People say the mountain was once covered with a great glacier, but the ice now had receded back to only make up a rocky glacial mix towards the top. We were almost there! One last chute to ascend and I’d have my chance. The first group began up and struggled through the nasty, loose rock. We watched nervously as they unintentionally kicked down rocks of all sizes, forcing us to hide behind small cliff faces to avoid the crashing from above. This was a sketchy spot, and waiting around at the bottom seemed to be the most dangerous option of all.
After some indecision on the part of the guides, I proposed to lead a team of five across the chute to get beyond the trajectory of the rocks. There was another short route to the top that involved scaling an icy, rocky trail, but it was clearly better than trying to follow the team above in the rotten chute. I grabbed Lynsey and three others and we quickly started across the chute. Lynsey moved like a cat, determined to get to the safer route, while two other girls hesitated and froze in the middle. After some very direct encouragement to get-your-butt-moving the others got across. My girl could handle this, and in that moment I knew I was going to have my chance.
We carefully climbed the icy rocks until arriving at a small flat spot just below the spired summit of the mountain, our destination. Immediately the guides put together a group shot, which we did, and as I began to plan my next move I heard, “¡Bajense!” They wanted to go down! Wait! I grabbed Lynsey, gave a wink to my buddy Daniel, and sat her down on a rocky seat near a beautiful, chilly notch in the mountain. Daniel moved in with the camera a bit early, and in the urgency of the moment I wildly tried to remember the words I'd rehearsed before. It seemed they’d been whisked away with the howling wind, so instead, as nearly always ends up happening with me, I went with the words that found me. After some fumbling with huge gloves and a frozen pack, I managed to pull out the ring in time to ask Lynsey to be my wife, and she said yes. Through wide smiles, red cheeks, and snotty noses we laughed at the good fortune of finding each other, and the mountain disappeared for a moment. It was just her and me, and it’s going to stay that way for a long time, no matter where the winds of change whisk us off to next...
We carefully climbed the icy rocks until arriving at a small flat spot just below the spired summit of the mountain, our destination. Immediately the guides put together a group shot, which we did, and as I began to plan my next move I heard, “¡Bajense!” They wanted to go down! Wait! I grabbed Lynsey, gave a wink to my buddy Daniel, and sat her down on a rocky seat near a beautiful, chilly notch in the mountain. Daniel moved in with the camera a bit early, and in the urgency of the moment I wildly tried to remember the words I'd rehearsed before. It seemed they’d been whisked away with the howling wind, so instead, as nearly always ends up happening with me, I went with the words that found me. After some fumbling with huge gloves and a frozen pack, I managed to pull out the ring in time to ask Lynsey to be my wife, and she said yes. Through wide smiles, red cheeks, and snotty noses we laughed at the good fortune of finding each other, and the mountain disappeared for a moment. It was just her and me, and it’s going to stay that way for a long time, no matter where the winds of change whisk us off to next...
Fumbling to get the damn thing out!
The spot, the moment, a yes!
Now, it's hard to even remember the cold up there.
Next day engagement celebration in our beloved Cuenca.
...and as it turns out the winds will soon be carrying us to be Seattle, bringing our time in Cuenca to an end, and this is the next story to be told.
To mountains, to love, to life!
To mountains, to love, to life!
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