Cotopaxi White

Hiking Ecuador’s legendary volcano and finding the room with no door

Cotopaxi Stratovolcano in Ecuador

Cotopaxi is the grandest-looking volcano I’ve ever seen. It rises above an epic landscape. Wide plains of muted green with short grass and long stretches of flat where wild horses run. There are mountains in the distance but they don’t command the terrain like Cotopaxi does.

It’s the centerpiece of Ecuador. It dominates the field. Even clouds look small in comparison. I look straight at the pinnacle. The rough point is the tallest in sight, imposing. It has a cap and a collar of s Once I see Cotopaxi for the first time, I don’t want to look away. The longer I look, the more of its layers I see.

The plains are at the bottom. That’s the layer where we are, riding the bus. The next has gentle ridges and features deep drainage cuts. The second is a darker green than the plains. The third layer looks steeper. The snow starts just above the deep black soil and I can see bold texture on the rocks at the melt line.

It’s all white above there. The black on eith…