Chimborazo Challenge

The climb up the third and final mountain of our "Ambitious Adventure to the Andes" is about to begin!  We arrived in Ecuador's capital city Quito on Wednesday and were treated to our first home-cooked meal in over a month courtesy of family friends, the Galarza/Segovia's. It was a welcomed change from eating in either a restaurant or a tent, and we enjoyed the Ecuadorian hospitality immensely! 

We now find ourselves four hours south of Quito in Riobamba, a bit tired yet ready to tackle the highest mountain in Ecuador: Volcan Chimborazo at 6,310 meters or 20,703 feet!  Our summit day will be a long one, climbing 5,000 vertical feet, so we plan to start before midnight and hope to reach the top by sunrise Sunday morninng. 

View of Chimborazo along road to Riobamba

Fun fact: Chimborazo is taller than Mt. Everest!? ¿Que? Well, apparently when measured from Earth's center, Chimborazo's close proximity to the equator and the fact that our planet bulges at the equator, makes the summit approximately 2 kilometers farther from the center than the top of Mt. Everest!