"Well, well, well. A teachable moment indeed. We got to 5600m to find a 8m wide crevasse, 30meters deep and at least 1km long. Our snow school 101 never covered crevasse crossing!! We were 200m from the summit climbing in a blizzard and we all felt great. But this was it - we could go no further. We had been warned of this danger when we arrived at the refugio on Monday. Apparently the ladder across had collapsed due to shifting ice and the crevasse was widening. News filtering back from other climbers confirmed the worsening conditions. Everyone was aborting and those attempting had a few horror stories to tell. Suddenly the climb's success was not about the summit but an appreciation for mountaineering and the fact that the mountain always has the last word. We all did great - not a headache in the group. We stared into the crevasse and felt lucky to be alive. Summiting suddenly seemed so insignificant - we had climbed as far as the mountain would take us and for that we were grateful. Angus has been an amazing teacher. We know more about mountain climbing than we ever dreamed of and the friendships we have renewed and the culture we've absorbed have enriched us all.
There are old climbers; there are bold climbers; but there are no old bold climbers. Today we chose to return safely to the hut and our families so that we could climb another day.
We're back in Quito looking forward to a 'refreshing' beverage. We're off to the world famous Otavalo market tomorrow and home on Friday.
Hugs to you all."
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