Climbing Chimborazo

Chimborazo sits in the center of Ecuador, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south-southwest of Quito. The peak is hugely significant in Ecuador, featuring on the country’s coat of arms and was the subject of Simon Bolívar’s (the liberator of much of South America from the Spanish) poem, Mi delirio sobre el Chimborazo (My delirium on the Chimborazo).

Climbing the peak is the perfect challenge for intermediate-level mountaineers and there are two main routes to the summit: the Normal route (which is the easiest) and the Whymper route.

The ascent begins with a hiking approach through the altiplano. Then climbers will begin to ascend the glacier via the western ridge. This requires some previous mountaineering experience and has quite a few tricky and technical parts. Climbers proceed to follow the glacier up to the summit.

Overall, the climb takes two days and will require climbers to stay in either the Carrel Hut (4,850 m) or Whymper Hut (5,000 m). A pre-dawn start is required on summit day to get to the top.