34 / Ingapirca (~14,534)

9/25/25: Second summit of the day - this is a ridge I had been scoping out from the top of Rucu for the past 18 months. Feeling strong after Wayra Urqu and making good time to the base of Ladrillos, I decided to give it a shot.

Given there is no defined trail and I had not met anyone who had attempted it before, original plan had been to attempt this as part of a 2 day / 1 night backpacking trip. With 6 hours of daylight left and a favorable weather window (always my main concern given it is an exposed ridge without much shelter), I descended from the Ladrillos T-junction and did a bit of wayfinding in the dense páramo to gain the ridge.

It was about a four-mile deviation with a few fun rock climbs and amazing views of the four surrounding peaks (Rucu, Guagua, Ladrillos, Padre Encantado). Made it to the summit at just past 230PM and had to sprint back to the teleferico at sunset just before they shut it down.

Overall, a big day out - about 5,500 vertical feet over ~12.5 miles. Almost all of it above 14,000 feet elevation. Will upload the trail later to Wikiloc and link here.

Feeling ready for Volcán Cotopaxi with the Climbing for ROMP team!