Climb Volcan Chimborazo

 Rising 20,548 ft above sea level, Chimborazo is nearly 9,000 ft shorter than Everest. However, because the Earth bulges a bit around the equator, Chimborazo is actually the point on Earth furthest from the core and closest to the sun!

Your climb will begin at the Whymper Refugio at the base of the mountain, around an hour and a half outside of Riobamba. You'll be surrounded by guides and other climbers making the ascent. Depending on your guide company (you have to have a guide) and itinerary, you may spend a night here before the climb, or hike up to a high camp. I'd recommend doing the climb in one go from the refugio.

After a meal and short sleep, you'll likely wake around 10pm to prep and then head out. The early portion of Chimborazo is highly dependent on snow conditions, so you may take the direct (shorter) route, or have to go around to the base of the ridge if there isn't enough snow.

At the base of the glacier, you'll put on your crampons and rope up with your guide. After a steep section to gain the ridgeline, you head to the right and up. And up and up and up. Chimborazo is not a heavily technical ascent. Although there can be avalanche and glacier dangers, most of the difficulty comes from the steep snow climb and from the altitude as you get closer to 20,000 ft.

The ridge is mostly a steep snow ramp all the way to 20k, with maybe 1 tricky section on rock. With luck, you'll be at or very near the Veintemilla summit around sunrise! Check out the views and the huge shadow that Chimbo casts in the morning. This is often the turnaround point for many climbers. Depending on your goals and timing, you can continue on through a snow and crevasse filled basin to the Wymper summit, the true highest point on the mountain.