Chimborazo – Ecuador

Overview
Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point one can get from the center of the Earth and still be on land.
It is about 2160m farther from the center than Everest's summit. This is only possible because the
Earth is in the shape of an oblate spheroid, i.e., it is flattened (squashed) at the poles and bulging at
the equator. Longtime consider as the highest mountain on the planet, Chimborazo was dethrone by
the Himalayan and Peruvian peaks. It has five summits, the highest culminating at 6267 meters. There
are many routes up its slopes. The normal route runs up the Southeast flank and is a variation of the
original Whymper route. One can also climb from the East side (sun ridge route) which involves mixed
rock/ice climbing.

The Normal route sees many attempts all year long and is consider a class 4 climb with route finding
and crevasses crossing. There are two refugios on the mountain at approx. 5000 meters and most of
the parties do their summit bid directly from the huts. It is a 6-9 hours climb with slopes up to 60
degrees. People usually start their climb around midnight and return to the hut in the late morning.

Climbing Routes
Route Name Route Grade First Ascent Notes
Beltran, Campana,
North Side – Las 8-9 Hours for
II Carrel, Whymper
Murallas Rojas ascent. 3900 feet
(1880)
North Side via the 8-9 Hours for ascent
II Unknown
Castillo 3900 feet
40 Degree slopes. 8
North Side via the
II to III Unknown Hours for ascent.
Thielmann Glacier
4300 feet
Sections of 85
West Face WI4 S. House 1996 Degree mixed
climbing. 3900 feet
Follows SW Ridge
Carrel, Carrel,
Original Route II and Face. 8-9 Hours
Whymper 1880
for ascent. 4300 feet
50 Degree and
L. Griffin, M. steeper sections. 1 ½
South West Face III
Woolridge 1984 days for ascent.
5000 feet
The hardest route
put up so far. The
J. Anhalzer, R.
first 2/3 of the route
Arista del Sol V Cardenas, R.
is entirely rock.
Navarrete 1983
Requires 2 days.
3300 Feet.
Getting There
Fly to Quito and take a bus to Riobamba. There you will find good accommodations, restaurants and a
lovely market on Saturdays. You can hire a taxi cab($15US) for the drive to the trailhead, 1/2 hour
away from the Whymper Hut. You can also stop at Ambato instead of Riobamba. It is more rustic but
the accommodation is more complicated. From there you can take a bus towards Guaranda and stop
at the lower trail head then climb up to the Whymper hut (16,250 feet) in 6-8 hours. Alternatively, as of
January 2005, you can get public transportation to take you up to the entrance of the park, where you
pay for the permit. From there you have to hitchhike unless you have your private arrangement or are
up for the dusty hike. From Ambato take a bus towards Guaranda, the driver will very likely know
where to stop if you tell him where you want to go. If not, watch for a deserted house, painted with
slogans, on the left side of the road; here you have to get off. (This house is also mentioned in the
highly out of date and highly useless Bradt guide, which says you have to hike from here to the hut!)

A newly constructed (2-3 years ago) road , perpendicular to the Ambato-Guaranda road will take you to
the entrance of the park. There are buses that pass this road, 1-2 each hour or alternatively hitchhiking
may be a fastest option to consider. However, it is not much of a used road and not many trucks pass
by. Once at the entrance of the park it is a matter of luck how fast/ for how much $$ you can get to the
lower hut. In high season there might be trucks/buses going up to pick other trekkers/climbers.

Red Tape
Park acces fees are $5-10 US. There is no parking fee but do not leave any expensive belonging in the
car...Common sense implys you to carry-out what you carry-in and not to trash the mountain. There are
no fees to climb the mountain.

When To Climb
Chimborazo is climbable year round however, the best climbing months are June and July and December
through early January. February through May are known for bad weather, especially in the month of
April. Make sure you start around midnight so you'll be back before 1300 hours, for two reasons. First,
rock fall hazard. The part of the route along The Castle, a large rock wall about one hour from the
Refugio Whymper (5000m), gets dangerous around that time. Lots of small and large rocks start to fall
down then from this high wall due to warming temperatures. Passing this area later in the afternoon is
really running between falling rocks. Secondly, clouds will most often roll in early in the afternoon,
making route finding very difficult. As there are big areas of crevasses on both sides of the normal route,
losing track can be very dangerous.

Camping
As I said earlier, most parties climb directly from the hut. It provides bunk-beds (4 dozens), toilets, cold
water, basic food supplies, stensils, gaz stove, fireplace and ... cable TV (just kidding!) It cost a cheap
$10US per night and a guardian will keep an eye on your belongings while you climb! What esle do you
nead? Camping is also allowed anywhere on the mountain and some parties make a high camp to cut
the summit push in two days which, I think, increases your chances to make it to the summit.

Refugio Whymper (5000m) on the Chimborazo normal route