Elevation
5,897m
19,347 ft
First Ascent
1872
Wilhelm Reiss, Angel Escobar
Best Season
December–January / June–September
Summit Days
2–3 days
Permits
Required
Overview
A 5,897-metre active stratovolcano in the Andes of Ecuador, 50 kilometres south of Quito. Cotopaxi is among the most geometrically perfect volcanic cones on Earth — the symmetrical profile, the snow-capped summit, and the consistent angle of the upper slopes have made the mountain one of the most photographed peaks in South America. The crater at the summit is approximately 800 metres across and 250 metres deep. The volcano has erupted dozens of times in recorded history, most recently in 2015. The summit remains permanently glaciated despite the active geology.
The first ascent came in 1872, by the German geologist Wilhelm Reiss with the Colombian Angel Escobar. The mountain had been declared unclimbable by earlier explorers; the upper glacier was assumed to be permanently impassable. Reiss's ascent demonstrated that the standard route via the Northern Slope was tractable, and the mountain became one of the early destinations for Andean mountaineering tourism. The German climber Edward Whymper made the second confirmed ascent in 1880 during the same expedition that summited Chimborazo.
The standard route today is the José Ribas refuge route on the northern flank. The climb begins with a drive to the parking area at 4,500 metres, then a one-hour walk to the high refuge at 4,800 metres for an overnight stay before the alpine start. The summit day involves seven to eight hours of glacier travel with several crevasse crossings and a final summit ridge that has been variable in difficulty depending on recent volcanic activity. The fatality rate is low for a 5800-metre peak. Most accidents have involved crevasse falls.
Cotopaxi is climbed by perhaps several thousand people per year, more than any other peak in Ecuador. The mountain has the infrastructure of a major Andean climbing destination — refuges, guides, permits, rescue capability — without the duration or expense of an Aconcagua expedition. For climbers progressing toward larger objectives, Cotopaxi has functioned as a calibration peak for over a century.