Ecuador is surrounded by volcanoes and mountains. Some people fear them, but others, when they are in them, feel at home.
One of them is Dayra Iza, a 10-year-old from Quito, that when he began to walk towards the tops of the highest mountains in the country, he felt no other desire than to continue climbing.
The first impulse was given to her by her ‘naña Taty’, as she tells her aunt Tatiana Chiguano, 30, who likes sports and started mountaineering just over a year ago.
Taty took Dayra to the refuge of the Chimborazo volcano and to the frozen lagoon of Carihuairazo. Enthusiastic, they made their first summit on January 26: the Atacazo, 4,463 meters above sea level.
After five or six hours, they reached the clear summit. Dayra remembers that she felt calm, thinking about surviving and reaching the summit. There he remembered his mother, who used to also do mountaineering, and who was his main inspiration on the journey.
The next challenge was to complete the Integral Route of Pichincha, four mountains that are climbed one after the other. In one of them, Dayra’s eyes fell on the Cotopaxi volcano, which could be seen in the distance.
It was there that his dream really began.
“I want to get there,” she told her aunt.
“You have to train, you’re very small,” Taty reminded her.
Dayra was clear that she could take her body to that peak.
To the Cotopaxi
The Cotopaxi volcano is the second highest mountain in Ecuador, with 5,897 masl.
To reach its summit, you usually have to do prior training, in mountains with similar technical difficulties.
Tatiana chose the Amaru mountaineering group, which climbs Cotopaxi after three mountains: Rucu Pichincha, Imbabura and Tungurahua.
At first Taty was going to go alone, because she was afraid to take Dayra, but she insisted. They agreed to go step by step and if she succeeded, she would try the hardest.
After making the three peaks, Dayra, Taty and the other Amaru mountaineers and guides went to Cotopaxi. They arrived at the shelter on April 9.
They started the walk at midnight. She and the guide Lenin Almachi were in Dayra’s roped party.
After a few hours of walking, Dayra was not feeling too well, her head and stomach ached, typical of altitude sickness. But Lenin knew that she could continue, since she had reached the top of Tungurahua, which has a vertical drop of 2,323 meters.
“I told him ‘I’m not going any further, I’m not going to get there’, he told me that he could, that if we went down there was no going back,” says Dayra.
Lenin gave her Finalín for children (Paracetamol), Dayra felt better and reached Yanasacha, a stop on the mountain an hour before the summit.
That last hour is the most difficult of the ascent, the most vertical. Although the height had taken its toll, Dayra demonstrated her good physical condition and reached the summit by her own means at half past seven in the morning.
“I was happy, we hugged (with Lenin),” she recalls excitedly.
For Lenin, working with Dayra to achieve her goal was a great experience. Her intention was always to take care of her and for her to climb up from her by her own means, without her help (from the rope). “Dayra is very strong”, stresses.
He remembers that they found several people who no longer wanted to follow the route to the top and when they saw Dayra, so small, they decided to continue. “Seeing how they motivated her and how they motivated themselves is unforgettable,” he says.
While Dayra was doing her route, Taty was in another roped party later on. She was told that the girl was feeling a bit unwell and she thought that she would return to the shelter. But upstairs, by radio, she found out that her niece was making progress. She was able to see her in the final stretch, give her encouragement, and when she found out that she had reached her summit, she says: “I was overcome with tears, we couldn’t get there together, but we did it.”
Keep climbing
In love with the mountain Dayra didn’t want to stop. It was set as a new objective to crown the Cayambe, third highest mountain in the country, but with more technical difficulty than Cotopaxi.
Between both peaks, he climbed the two Ilinizas as preparation. The most difficult (the south) in a roped party with his aunt and Luis Almachi. On that mountain you have to rock climb, use an ice ax and rappel, not just walk.
In Cayambe, both women went roped again accompanied by Lenin. This time it was Taty who felt tired and Dayra who supported her. They had a cold early night, with snowfall, but after 5,200 masl the weather improved and they arrived with a clear summit.
From the top, Dayra remembers the happiness she felt at the top and the smell of sulfur.
According to a record held a few decades ago, Dayra is the youngest person (boy or girl) to climb the Cayambe volcano. She would also have the same record in the southern Iliniza.
This record makes her mother, Catalina Chiguano, happy, who supports Dayra in all her adventures, although she always “with the Jesus in the mouth”.
“I despair and at the same time I am happy,” he says. I never imagined that at that age I would be achieving this.” Catalina believes that she cannot stop her in her dream and she must support her as far as her daughter wants to go, always respecting the mountain and the people who accompany her on the ascents.
How far to go?
Dayra’s dreams seem to have no limits.
His next objective was to climb the Chimborazo volcano, but due to a question of permits in the national park and logistics, the group has not tried it yet.
Other peaks that he wants to achieve in Ecuador are those of Antisana and Sangay, when it stops erupting.
But at 10 years old, His biggest dream is to be able to climb Mount Everest, the highest mountain on the planet, with 8,849 meters above sea level.
Details
Amaru, a mountain club that promotes new mountaineers, without the economic issue being an excuse not to try. For this reason, they carry out community outings, affordable to those who wish to venture into this sport. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
