Happy New Year!!

New Year came and went, I woke up at 1:00 am to the sound of music and partying which seemed close but actually was down in the valley. After an hour of tossing and turning, I decided to use ear plugs which worked. I woke up around 7 am, my shoulder still hurts from the fall yesterday, I tried a balm and some ibuprofen and then called my wife and dad for the new year wishes. They were all excited to the see the pictures of Illiniza.

Steve and Joe from Colorado are also staying at the same hotel, we talked about climbing in Colorado. I spoke at length with Steve about colorado as a place to live, apparently there are 52 peaks above 14K ft, Colorado Springs or Bolder as the places to be. They even invited me to stay with them if I am in the area.

Joe is an aerospace engineer whose 11 year old son climbed 12 14K peaks and raised $2,000 for charity for his 12th birthday. What an amazing childhood. Steve is a professor in aerospace and lives in Colorado Springs. I really liked these guys, its unusual to meet such genuine people.

My shoulder feels better, so now I can think about tomorrow. Cotopaxi is more then 3,000 ft higher then Illiniza, the trip can take about 5-7 hrs going up and 2-3 hours coming down. I have to plan to be out there for 10hrs thats 3hrs longer then anything I have done so far. I have to hydrate and make sure I have enough energy to come back. How much water do I carry, how many energy bars, how many times can I rest. So, many questions. I drink about 2 liters before my guide even gets to the hotel.

We get to the parking lot, my guide gives me another 10lbs of food to carry; my backpack is full and very heavy but I keep a steady pace and make it to the Refugio in about 45 min;  I feel light as a feather once the back pack is off.

There are a bunch of Indians who work for TaTa, there is a 70 year old who is going to make a solo attempt, the Russian couple and Edgar are here as well. At 3pm we have soup and some hot tea, then its dinner at 5pm, then get some rest and wake-up at mid night, have breakfast and start walking.

I am a little nervous but I think if I manage to maintain my energy levels, I should be alright.

Had a last minute panic attack, Segundo checked my crampons and found that they are not big enough for the plastic boots, luckily Edgar has a pair that can be expanded.

The climb is on..