Chimborazo | Andes

20,703-foot volcanic peak in Ecuador

0 ft

Elevation

Ecuador

Country

Days

3B

Difficulty

Nov-Mar

Start

May-Jul

End

About the Mountain

WHY CLIMB IT?

It might surprise you that Mount Everest (29,029 ft) isn’t the highest point in the world by all metrics. If you measure from the center of the Earth, that title goes to Chimborazo (20,703 ft) thanks to the equatorial bulge. While reaching this high summit does not require technical skills, it does require intense physical fitness and experience with glacier travel. It also requires serious acclimatization in advance, which is best done on nearby Andean peaks like Cotopaxi (19,348 ft) and Cayambe (18,997 ft), especially if you can do it as part of a skill-building mountaineering course.

“The west face of Chimborazo resembled Jupiter’s spot, so bare was it of snow that the rock had become a swirl of red.”

- Mark Horrell

Most summit attempts start around midnight, so you can look forward to an early wake-up and climb under the stars. Once you reach the summit, in clear weather, you’ll enjoy panoramic views of epic mountains all around you, including El Altar, Tungurahua, Sangay, the Ilinizas, Antisana, and even Cotopaxi.