Ecuador Field Dispatch: First Expedition of 2025

Words and images by Epic founder, Chris Lininger

There are months when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.

I am paraphrasing one of my favorite quotes a bit here, but you get the point. 

We just wrapped up our first expedition of the year in Ecuador… and… well, it was a trip worth attributing that quotation too. 

Epic and a crew of repeater team members from all over the world came together with one objective in mind: to take on three high-altitude volcanoes in one of the most diverse countries on earth; Ecuador. 

With the dust finally settled on this expedition – I don’t measure the success or failure by how many summits we tagged or the number of times an Epic flag was flown on top – (well it was 2/3 but who is counting 😉 ).  

From day one of this incredible journey – the mindset has always been the summit is the goal, the journey is the process. 

So how does that manifest on the ground? Each person from of our 13-member team brings their personal goals and experience to the table and it was super cool seeing this evolve and unfold over two weeks.  

Limits were pushed. One big snowstorm and high-altitude fatigue tried to wear us down. But even with the lactic acid burning in our muscles combined with nights of little to no sleep catching up with us, those little moments of joy that only comes with challenging yourself with a difficult objective shown through. 

I could not be more proud of the effort our team put in to achieve our goal of standing on top of Cotopaxi (5,897 m/19347 feet) and Chimborazo (6,263 m/20,547 feet). These iconic climbs are now burned into our adventure memory banks forevermore. Cayambe, we will be back for you – hopefully next time our summit push is not during an icy snowstorm! 

Special thanks to our legendary crew of guides on the mountain. Cheers for keeping us safe, navigating the crevasses, and keeping the train moving ever upwards. 

Key takeaways:
– Our team bonded like few Epic groups have bonded before and we had a damn good time doing it. To everyone on this expedition: you guys are amazing and I leave Ecuador feeling inspired, elevated, and grateful to have had such awesome trip participants.
– Everyone including myself learned a ton of cool stuff from our IFMGA guide staff and really made this trip a great knowledge-share experience that we will carry with us to all future mountain objectives.
-Double special thanks to Gustavo, Elisa, and the man in the van Victor for your hard work, good vibes, and all the laughs.  

If you are keen on joining us on another climbing trip in Ecuador in 2026 or Bolivia in May 2025, be sure to get in touch. 

Here is a selection of photos from the journey, I hope you enjoy…