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Volcanoes of Ecuador: Chimborazo
By Mallorie Estenson / Ecuador Volcanoes Expedition Dec., 2019
At 20,564’, Chimborazo is the tallest volcano in Ecuador. Its summit is higher than Denali (20,308’) and technically further from the center of the Earth than the summit of Mount Everest because of its position near the equator. On our volcanoes trip, we climb Chimborazo last to allow for as much acclimatization and preparation as possible.
As we approached the mountain, Juliana described the “Chimborazo effect” to me in which climbers stagger and balk on their summit ambitions upon viewing the sheer mass of the volcano. It’s a lot to take in. Fortunately, we break our climb into pieces and make our ascent from a high camp to ease the Chimborazo effect and maximize our chances of success. If your jaw literally drops upon seeing the volcano, you wouldn’t be the first and you certainly won’t be the last.
The approach from Quito has us drive from the north and wrap around the west side of the mountain. A special and rare breed of llama resides at the base of this massive mountain called a vicuña, which Juliana jokingly refers to as a “fancy llama” since their wool is sold for much more than typical alpaca or llama wool. They’re beautiful and distinctive; they’re also the only animals that I see in the rocky, arid highlands surrounding Chimborazo.
![Chimbo 2](https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/Chimbo-2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1833&q=80&w=2200&s=b969f2abcf25bfde18b9392eb3952f56 2200w 1833h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/Chimbo-2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1667&q=80&w=2000&s=ce5c8244cc1b53e50fcb7fe763542a08 2000w 1667h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/Chimbo-2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1500&q=80&w=1800&s=7f2f718c462bfca6822b1369bf570581 1800w 1500h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/Chimbo-2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1333&q=80&w=1600&s=c8f9401ed63c3bf4aded238a509ac721 1600w 1333h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/Chimbo-2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1167&q=80&w=1400&s=19e3dfb2d600e5a0f3c5eacba7094a72 1400w 1167h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/Chimbo-2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1000&q=80&w=1200&s=20c1962fb04165aa85d757af288b6bf3 1200w 1000h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/Chimbo-2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=833&q=80&w=1000&s=e821401b8086ef0262426f6ce4587657 1000w 833h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/Chimbo-2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=667&q=80&w=800&s=062d6b3acd135208024cfabab48bc814 800w 667h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/Chimbo-2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=500&q=80&w=600&s=682ff2f0ad5c04718026b4e3dad8f072 600w 500h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/Chimbo-2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=333&q=80&w=400&s=7fff7cd257494382533f5cbe96cc845c 400w 333h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/Chimbo-2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=167&q=80&w=200&s=19e58665a098d535dc9bad1c3b6c4744 200w 167h)
![Chimbo 1](https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1833&q=80&w=2200&s=d866a3fb3a88c099b5f1fab5dbcc6aef 2200w 1833h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1667&q=80&w=2000&s=c703c6f214dd4ecbd20888450f6f749e 2000w 1667h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1500&q=80&w=1800&s=c47decbf8db34fc67295009631053e2c 1800w 1500h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1333&q=80&w=1600&s=6c9f41cc33e4510ae0c8f6a33f1b1970 1600w 1333h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1167&q=80&w=1400&s=a3f03b524f56e7ed0b9d050ff63f44cc 1400w 1167h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1000&q=80&w=1200&s=1dc1c578aef8dc70c7ca222035d5f32e 1200w 1000h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=833&q=80&w=1000&s=4c797376bd37a7447f5cb3ea878052ac 1000w 833h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=667&q=80&w=800&s=7c02d19401a351eaed15d85df96eb547 800w 667h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=500&q=80&w=600&s=1a4cfe20aaed380c96f29c8305f83a80 600w 500h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=333&q=80&w=400&s=9e58138392c550bfff8d37de5a3aba18 400w 333h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=167&q=80&w=200&s=c027b30ec32e1c425e1430043ec0e2d2 200w 167h)
![Chimbo 3](https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1833&q=80&w=2200&s=2ee55f04db201b27f97f76e00ead01b3 2200w 1833h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1667&q=80&w=2000&s=79588f9e3e9dfcc2a8fd003f7f31c661 2000w 1667h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1500&q=80&w=1800&s=8b9445abce043af01ac40a91d33e7e97 1800w 1500h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1333&q=80&w=1600&s=25bd80f3b4a03f57b311742f23750e67 1600w 1333h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1167&q=80&w=1400&s=fd17fe5f45a48a533a9fc64fda186b9f 1400w 1167h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1000&q=80&w=1200&s=c1e71f1aeb65736be9042c516ea58fd1 1200w 1000h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=833&q=80&w=1000&s=9c66a2d75545cdeab8be62fb0bb923de 1000w 833h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=667&q=80&w=800&s=2f3fadcbf4d17bb22acea42b55a98fcc 800w 667h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=500&q=80&w=600&s=98421c64dfee1ab8e06ae2603ff30b62 600w 500h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=333&q=80&w=400&s=457371b3fd554ef6957cefa12deab37f 400w 333h, https://mountain-madness.imgix.net/general-images/chimbo-3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=167&q=80&w=200&s=f801af4ecb484b5568fadcf40f76583a 200w 167h)
We park in a dusty lot at roughly 16,000’ and prepare to climb to our camp at 17,500’. There are a few people on the trail, but not many. Several of them hug the guides as we slowly but surely make our way up. The climbing culture in Ecuador is friendly, welcoming and endlessly encouraging. Our guides are the epitome of these characteristics.
When we arrive at camp, we’re welcomed into roomy dome tents with space to spread out and make ourselves comfortable. Unlike Cayambe and Chimborazo, we do not climb from a hut for this objective. Unfortunately, due to climate change, the glaciers have receded considerably and what was once the “normal route” up the Thielman Glacier is no longer a reliable means to the summit. Instead, we pursue the steep but safer El Castillo route, which features memorable stretches of 60-degree snow. To be clear, there are climbers’ huts on the mountains, however, climbing from a high camp gives us the advantage of a shorter climbing day after sleeping higher on the mountain and allowing our bodies more time to acclimatize. At high camp we spend time together in the cook tent drinking tea and snacking intermittently. We rest and allow our bodies time to adjust to this higher, harsher climate. Before you know it, it’s go time.
A trail winds through the darkness and brings us slowly but surely to the glacier. Departing camp above 17,000’ is simultaneously advantageous and challenging for the team. Each hard-earned step counts and you absolutely feel it. Eventually, we negotiate a rocky step that deposits us at the toe of the glacier. Here, we introduce crampons and begin to ascend the long, steep snow climb that takes us to Cumbre Veintimilla, the broad summit plateau before the true summit, Cumbre Maxima.
In total, the climb from our camp to the summit takes approximately eight hours, with some teams summiting earlier. We cover 3,000 vertical feet, which is pretty standard for a summit day. But when your day begins at 17,000’, this isn’t your standard, run-of-the-mill summit day. This is one to remember.