Climbing Volcán Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador

Chimborazo is a well-known volcano around the world both for being the highest point in Ecuador and for being the place on earth closest to the sun. If you're wondering how can a 6,267-meter (20,561 feet) mountain be closer to the sun than Mount Everest and other 8,000-meter peaks in the Himalayas, it is because of Chimborazo's proximity to the equator and location in earth's equatorial bulge, which is caused by the earth's rotation. No place on earth is further from the center of earth and no place is closer to the sun.
Climbing Chimborazo is not difficult from a technical standpoint. While glaciated and steep, it does not feature many crevasses or seracs, making it a relatively safe mountain from that standpoint. However, it's high slope angle brings a high risk of avalanche after large snowfalls and has claimed many lives over the years as a result of this.
Chimborazo is about a four-hour drive from the capital city of Quito, near Ambato. The hike up to base camp from the parking area takes over an hour. From camp, the ascent begins with a traverse along a steep, rocky slope before hitting the glacier after a very short, easy rock climb. From there, the route goes mostly straight up to the summit area, which features four different summits. You first arrive at the second-highest summit, Veintemilla, after a seemingly never-ending hike. Veintemilla is only about 30 meters shorter than the Whymper summit, though the hike takes about 40 minutes to first descend to the saddle and then ascend the final, easy push to the true summit.
We summited Chimborazo in late December 2024 with the assistance of NorthxSouth Expeditions, a local guiding company out of Quito. I highly recommend their personable and well-qualified guides.