One More Summit

One more summit started from one mans dream, Zuko Carrasco, Ecuadorean athlete. This story is one of friendship and  determination inside a volcano in Ecuador. 

One of his biggest dreams was One more summit after a climbing accident he had some years back. He fell from 30 ft high and lost the ability to move from his waist down, it did not stop him, it made him push harder to accomplish new dreams with his new lifestyle. He embraced it.

We arrive to Cayambe’s base camp with a massive group of Zukos friends. We all had a roll, some where the chefs, others the sherpas, others the security team creating the anchors for him to pedal through ropes with a device created by Jack Bermeo, his cosest friend.  This bicycle turned into a sled, by removing the wheels and attaching the ski’s. It also had a peddling system which allowed Zuko to move through a rope.

The 5 day adventure had just started and you could feel all the joy in the entire team. Smiles and laughs while helping Zuko reach the first camp above 14,000ft. The terrain was harsh on the team, loose rocks, gravel and sand made each step hard. A little bit of rain, wind and fog made it cold. The team was completely devoted to Zuko and the goal so me and Gringo had to be completely autonomous.  My bag weighted about 52 pounds of mountain gear, food and photography equipment including tripod, I could not miss the opportunity for the night shots.  We arrived to the first camp a little past 6pm. It was cold but the team moved faster than expected so they saved an entire day. The weather looked good, you could see the summit while having dinner.