For many years Chimborazo was thought to be the highest mountain in the world. Whymper and the Carrel brothers climbed it first in 1880. There are five summits, the highest is called Whymper or Ecuador.
Because of the height of this mountain proper acclimatization is essential. To go with us, climbers must have been in the sierra for at least a week and climbed above 5000 meters (preferably Cotopaxi) in that time.
Chimborazo was the name of a god in the ancient nation of Puruh who was later worshiped by the Incas. The name has various meanings. It is also belived that chimbo originated from the word chimu which means shade protection. In Quichua chimbo or chimbu means the other half or part, and rassa means snow, and hence chimborazo could mean "snow of the other part or half". In indian mythology they considered Chimborazo to be the husband of Tungurahua.
From the parking area a narrow trail takes us up to the Whymper Refuge (30 mins).
The Whymper route has caused several deaths over the past few years. The direct route which is a lot steeper offers a straight line to the summit via the peak of Veintimilla at 6267 meters. It is less than 1km between the peaks of Veintimilla and Whymper, but the time it takes varies from 20-60 minutes depending on the snow conditions.
Snow up to the knees is not uncommon and a high level of fitness is required the peak will certainly push your physical limits. The average temperature during the night is -18°C.
Day 1: Leaving Quito at around 8:00 am we will reach the first refuge (4800m) in the afternoon. We will have dinner and then hike 30 minutes to the second refuge (5000m) and rest there.
Day 2: We start our tough ascent very early in the morning. The average ascending time is 7-9 hours and the average decent takes 3-4 hours. We return to Quito via Ambato. The refuges offer very good facilities to tourists and climbers (water, electricity, an open fire, safe storage facilities, lockers and a kitchen with all cooking utensils).