Because the cool photos don't tell the whole story Volcán Cotopaxi- the story behind the story Three months ago when I was in Ecuador, I did something a little bit crazy. I went mountaineering for the first time! I strapped on some crampons, hooked into a harness, and clod hopped my way up the glacier of a giant active volcano- to the summit of Cotopaxi at 19,347 feet (5,897m)! The views on the way down were otherworldly, almost ghastly in their icy coolness and massive size;