Cojitambo Rock Climbing

Cojitambo was one of the first climbing areas developed in Ecuador. No surprise - its 500 foot walls are hard to miss and will make any self-respecting climber's heart rate increase. Around 25 years ago, Ecuador's first homegrown climbers started opening the cracks with homemade gear. Today, Coji is one of the country's premier climbing areas, with a wide variety of quality sport and trad routes ranging from moderates to open projects in the 5.13-14 range.

The majority of the face routes are vertical to slab, with emphasis on technique over strength. The cracks are mostly uneven but tend to protect relatively well. There is also an overhung area accessible by rappel that has been the focus of recent development, with lots of harder sport climbs. Some climbs go from bottom to top in up to 5 pitches, but there are also many single-pitch routes due to the sometimes broken and vegetated nature of the cliff.

Rock quality is good, and gear, both fixed and otherwise, is solid and abundant. One exception - do not trust any pitons you encounter. Nobody has placed any in years and all should be considered suspect. Don't worry - there is certainly a good clean placement nearby. The rock is volcanic and tends to have lots of small holds and slopers - not a lot of jugs to be found.

Rappelling: The best way to get down from most of the routes that top out, is by walking down to the saddle between the 2 peaks. This area is known as la Gruta. Once you arrive at the saddle you'll walk past a fence and follow a short steep trail to the first rap station. You can get down in two repels if you have at least a 60 m rope. 

There are some tiendas in the town of Cojitambo at the base. Still, it's not a bad idea to bring any necessary food from Cuenca - selections are limited.

Juan Gabriel Carrasco and Pedro Montezuma have led the development of Coji in recent years. They can still be found climbing and bolting routes on many days. Juan Gabriel lives in Cojitambo and will provide you with guide services or a nice place to stay if you don't want to make the trip back to Cuenca every day.

For detailed route descriptions, check out Monodedo's guide in Spanish. monodedo.com/web/paginas/to…