..:: October 10, 2007 ::..
Hi this is Gordon Denhoed with a Summits of Hope update for the 10^th of October.  just to let everybody at home know, Benoit and Chris have come safely off of Chimborazo.  Benoit summited Chimborazo at about 10 o’clock yesterday morning.  The rest of the team all summited Mt. Pasochoa today,  13,700 ft.   We summited at around 2 this afternoon.  That was originally the first volcano that we were going to climb, however we pushed it back to the end.  The rest of the team all summitted Pasochoa safely and came back down to Quito safely. 

Summits of Hope successfully completed all five volcanoes that we set out to climb.  Guagua Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Iliniza Norte and Mt. Pasochoa.

This was a fantastic climb.  Every single climber worked very hard and we really want to thank everybody back home for all your support and well wishes.  We are all looking forward to seeing you again soon.  We are going out for a team dinner tonight to celebrate the successful climb.  And tomorrow morning we will all be going our separate ways to continue our adventure.

So once again thank you for all your support, and following us along on the website.  We are all safe, sound and resting now in Quito, and we look forward to seeing you soon. 

This has been an Infosat Telecommunications update.  Thanks to Infosat for making these updates possible.

..:: October 9, 2007 ::..

Hello everybody, this is Summits of Hope Climber Russ Barstow with an update for Ecuador 2007 climb.  I would just like to say a big congratulations to Benoit, who made it today to the top of Chimborazo and is on his way down and should be back to base camp now.  Now what has happened is most of the team has come back to Quito.  WE were supposed to climb Pasochoa today, but the weather and rain were too bad, so we have rescheduled it to tomorrow. 

Our team will be climbing Pasochoa as out last mountain.  And today Benoit made it to the top of Chimborazo, so Summits if Hope has been to the top of Ecuador.  A number of time to the highest mountains in Ecuador here.  We hope to end this off on a high note almost all of us, I think we will have 15 climbers tomorrow going to the top of Pasochoa with all of our flags.

Thanks again to everyone that has been following these updates.  Please remember to make a donation if you haven’t made one yet and sup[port all of those climbers that have worked so hard.  All of our climbers have been absolutely phenomenal this year.  We hope to have a great climb tomorrow.  We will be safe, we will get up high, take some pretty pictures, come back down and we are going to have our celebration dinner tomorrow night.  So hello to everybody back home.  On a personal note hello to my family, my little guy Charlie and happy birthday to Sam. Hi to Alex and Sue as well.  All the best to everybody!  This has been an Infosat Telecommunications update.  Thank you to Infosat for making these updates possible.

.:: October 8, 2007 – Update #2- SUMMIT OF CHIMBORAZO ::..

Hi this is Benoit. I am at the top of Ecuador!  I am on top of Chimborazo right now, with two guides, Pepe and Fabian.  I would like to thank everybody that helped me and has believed in me, especially Russ.  Thank you Russ for making this possible.  Hope you have a great day, down there on Pasochoa.  So no wit is time ot go down, hopefully everything will be fine.  This will be one of the last Infosat Telecommunications updates.  Thanks to Infosat for making these updates possible.

..:: October 8, 2007 ::..

Hi, this is Benoit from Summits of Hope. WE are at base camp of Chimborazo at 4,800 metres.  We are going to try and climb this mountain in half an hour or so.  WE will depart at 1am.  Now the conditions are not really good. There is ash falling from the sky because there are some active volcanoes around.  And my team mate Chris needs to rest, so he will stay at base camp.  So I am going to attempt this climb with my two guides, Pepe and Carlos, and we will see how it goes.  So we will give some news later this morning.  This mountain looks a bit scary.  It is only ice, 45 degree slope all the way up to 6300 metres.  So we will see how it goes. W E are just at the foot of the glacier right now, so we will touch the ice maybe at 2am.  So we will give some news later today.

..:: October 7, 2007 ::..

Hello, this is Benoit from Summits of Hope.  Today is Sunday and we are having a rest day.  Right now is 10pm, and we just finished out dinner.

The plan for tomorrow, Chris and me, Benoit are leaving for Chimborazo which is the last climb of the trip.  We are going with the two best guides, Pepe and Carlos.  The rest of the team is going back to Quito at 11am.  The rest of the team will climb Pasochoa volcano on Tuesday.  So we expect to be on Chimborazo, Tuesday 6am or 7am, Ecuador time.  The rest of the group will be on Pasochoa midday maybe Tuesday. 

This is the plan for the Summits of Hope Team. Don’t forget to make a donation online.

This has been an Infosat Telecommunications update.  Thanks to Infosat for making these updates possible.  Thanks!

.:: October 6, 2007 – Update # 3::..

Hi, this is Gord Denhoed with a Summits of Hope update for Saturday, October 6.

Today was one of the toughest days in Summits of Hope history!  15 members of the Summits of Hope team left the refuge on Mt. Cotopaxi at about 1:15am on a bid for the summit.  10 members made the summit by 8:30am.  Congratulations to Don, Leanne, Bruce, Kumar, Benoit, Kelly, Christina, Chris, Russ and Jacquie.

For those who didn’t make it, it was a courageous effort for one and for all.  We all made it down safely, it was a tough climb.  It was a long hard day, about 12 hours from beginning to end, but we are all resting now, safe and sound at a hotel, just outside of Quito.  We are having a team meeting tomorrow to discuss for our course of action for the upcoming Mt. Chimborazo, which we are potentially going to be climbing in two days.  So thanks again for everyone’s support at home.  I hope you are all doing well and we look forward to seeing you soon.

A special hello to my wife Tracy and my lovely daughter Bailey!

This has been an Infosat Telecommunications update.  Thanks to Infosat for making these updates possible! Goodnight!

..:: October 6, 2007 – Update # 2 – Summit of Cotopaxi! ::..

Hello, this is Summits of Hope climber Russ Barstow, calling from the Summit of Cotopaxi again, sorry we got cut off last time.

I am up here will Jacquie Hill, we are the last two on the summit taking a quick few pictures and making the phone call.  The rest of the team is safely on their way down.  We had several that weren’t able to make it right to the very top,  but they did great, walking on the steep ice with crampons and soldiering through this tough day!

I have to tell you, all of the flags are up here, the BC children’s Hospital Flag is up here, and we are going to take as many pictures as we can, so long as we can stay safe and get down safe.

On a personal note, I just wanted to say to my little guy back home… we made it to the Summit!

This has been an Infosat Telecommunications update.  We’ll call you guys soon with some more information on how everybody’s doing.

Thanks so much for listening and don’t forget to make a donation to those kids, because that is what it is all about!

..:: October 6, 2007 ::..

Hello from Ecuador!  This is Summits of Hope climber, Russ Barstow, with an update for our Ecuador expedition.  I am proud to be the person making this phone call, because I am calling you from the Summit of Cotopaxi.  We are on top, Summits of Hope has made the summit!  We had a great day, and like ever other climb it was long, hard, steep, ice.  WE still have to… (connection lost)

..:: October 5, 2007 ::..

Hello everybody, I hope everybody is doing well.  This is climber Don Edwards, doing the update for the Ecuador Summits of Hope climbing team.  Today we set out.  We were staying at a hut that was at about 15,700 on the mountain of Cotopaxi.

This evening we will be going to bed at around 6 pm and getting up at around midnight to hopefully make the push for the summit.  We will be arriving early in the morning when the Sun comes up so we will get a good view.

Unfortunately we have lost two members of our team due to illness.  Ann and Howard, they stayed down.  Everyone else so far is dealing with the altitude and trying to acclimatize.  The weather is a little sopped in right now, hopefully it will be all right for us to leave this evening.

I would like to say hello and thanks to New Westminster Firefighters, for their support and everyone else who has donated.  I would like to say hello to my family, my wife Kirsten and my two boys Hunter and Jack.

I hope everybody is doing well at home.  We miss you all very much. 

This has been an Infosat Telecommunications update.  Thanks to Infosat for making these updates possible.  We will give another update soon, I hope everyone is doing well. Bye!

.:: October 4, 2007 ::..

Hi this is Christina Mavinic, Summits of Hope climber calling on Thursday, October the 4^th with our update for today.

Today is a rest day for the team.  We transferred from our lodge at the base of Iliniza Norte over two hours, up through the Andean Plateau up to the Cotopaxi Lodge at 12,795 feet, basically at the base of Cotopaxi Mountain.  Everybody is doing well and we will be enjoying the evening here in the gorgeous, gorgeous flatlands at the base of Cotopaxi.  Grasslands and big sky as far as the eye can see… clear skies and beautiful sunsets.

I am standing outside right now staring at Cotopaxi straight ahead of me, at the mountain peak.  And we can see our route, we have been staring at it all afternoon, as today has been a rest day as I have mentioned.  We can also see the refugia of the mountain, a small yellow hut that will be our destination tomorrow.  We will be achieving 15,748 feet tomorrow, where we will be practicing our glacier techniques with our teams and attempt our summit the following day.  We will be sleeping at 15,000 feet tomorrow night, and then attempting the summit after that.

Everybody, like I said, is doing well, enjoying the time.  I would like to say a personal hello to my mom and dad and Eric, I miss you all very much.  And big hugs and lots of thoughts and wishes for the kids at Children’s Hospital!  We are thinking about you all the time and everyday, and we are here for you guys.  This one is for you!

Everybody is looking forward to the next phase of our adventure!

We would also like to thank Infosat Telecommunications for making these updates possible.  We wouldn’t be able to do it without you.  So thanks very much and hello to everyone at home and good night from Cotopaxi Lodge in Ecuador! Good night!

..:: October 3, 2007 - Update #2 ::..

This is Summits of Hope. We are checking in for the second time today.  Today is October 3.  We have been up to Iliniza Norte and we are calling to check in and let you know that all of the Summits of Hope team members are doing OK and are safely off the mountain and everybody is doing well.

And as far as stories from today, it took us about 6 hours longer to get off the mountain than we had first expected.  It was supposed to be a 6 or 7 hour climb, but we ended up with a 12 hour climb and descent.  It was an absolutely fabulous experience with amazing views all around.  And absolutely incredible clouds which seemed to keep coming over the valley, but never actually settled over the mountain until we were just about off of it.

Benoit has a special message out there for his girlfriend today, he says he will write to you as soon as he can, but he has no internet.

Tomorrow we actually have a bit of a rest day, before we get ourselves ice ready, before the next summit on Cotopaxi, and hopefully you guys can follow along.  That is it for today.

I am going to make some special announcements for my sponsors.  My name is Stephanie (Schneider) and I would like to thank Heenan and Blaikie Lawyers, and also Dwire tax lawyers and also John’s restaurant, whose staff I work with and have been absolutely amazing in supporting me throughout my fundraising process.  And of course mom and dad, I am OK and having a great time everything is good.

This is Summits of Hope checking out for Oct. 3.  Take care and everybody in Vancouver and Victoria have a great night! Bye!

Thanks again to Infosat for making these updates possible!

..:: October 3, 2007 ::..

Welcome, Summits of Hope supporters!  This is climber Tom Higashio calling from the Summit of Iliniza Norte at 5125 metres.  We started our journey this morning at 6am, and we just summited at 1:20 in the afternoon.  It has been a long gruelling day, but what a fantastic climb we’ve had.

Everyone is feeling well and is healthy.  We have had an incredible journey to get here, it has been a difficult climb, it has been a challenging climb, but it has been well worth it to be able to make this phone call.  This has been my first Summit Call for Summits of Hope.

Special thoughts go out to the Hamilton family for myself personally.  I hope Kathy is recovering well, and I just wanted to let them know that I think of Don and Hannah everyday that I am here.  Also special thoughts go out to the Children at Children’s Hospital and I hope that everyone there is doing well.

We want everyone to visit www.summitsofhope.com and make sure to make a donation in support of what we are doing.  This has been a fantastic cause, and this has been a fantastic trip in Ecuador so far.

I hope we will be making a call from our camp, when we get back later this afternoon.

Thank you for supporting Summits of Hope.  This has been an Infosat Communications update.  Thanks to Infosat for making these updates possible.  Thank you and have a great day!

..:: October 2, 2007 ::..

Hello, this is Leanne Leduc calling from Summits of Hope.  Just a quick update on what we did today.  We are at 11,000 feet right now.  We had a about a 2 hour hike in between huts that we are staying at.  Today was just sort of a rest day with that small walk.  We are getting ready for tomorrow, we are doing Iliniza Norte.  It is going to be an early start, we are up at 4:30, or we are leaving at 4:30, sp up at 3:30.  We are getting ready for our first real big climb.  There is going to be some rock fall, so we are getting ready for that.  We have all tried on all of our gear and everybody’s pretty excited because it is the first one where we get to wear a bit of gear, so that will be exciting.  We are all just sitting around right now. The place that we are at right now has ping pong tables, so we have been having some ping pong matches.  Everybody’s pretty healthy, feeling fairly strong.  So that is great, nobody is sick, a couple colds going around, but nothing too bad. 

So we are going to have an early dinner, an early night and looking forward to tomorrow.  We’ll have an update for tomorrow after we get back to the lodge.  I hope everybody is well at home and thank you very much for all of your support.  Again of you want to donate, you can go to www.summitsofhope.com and that would be great.

And think that is about it.  This has been an Infosat Telecommunications update.  Thank you very much to Infosat for making these updates possible.  It is fantastic to be able to have this communication with home.

Again, Leanne Leduc, Summits of Hope thanks so much everybody! Bye!

..:: October 1, 2007 ::..

Warm greetings, family, friends and Summits of Hope Supporters!  Today we left Quito for a two hour bus ride to Summit 1 of Guagua Pich