Chimborazo Volcano

Chimborazo towers above the central Ecuadorian Andes, its glaciated summit visible across the highland valleys. In 1802 Alexander von Humboldt attempted the ascent with Aimé Bonpland and Carlos Montúfar, accompanied by two local guides whose names went unrecorded. They climbed high on the mountain before turning back short of the summit, an expedition that helped make Chimborazo famous in the scientific study of altitude and mountain environments.