Chimborazo... ominous
Schoolkids... ominous
Driving up to the first refuge (4,800m) in zero visibility - the white knuckles belong to a French lady who was there on a day trip. I think my guide was praying.
Displaying the height of mountaineering fashion (wearing all your clothes to keep warm)
Day 2 on my acclimatisation hike
... which I spent trying to follow these vicuñas (who are pretty hard to sneak up on as their heads swivel all the way around to the back)
My guide (Fausto, or maybe Foul's Toe) and I about to start the short hike up to the second refuge (5,000m)
Which looks like this
The timer on my camera is too short for distant self-portaits in the snow...
View to the West from the second refuge
Sunset Day 2 from the same place
Mt. Chimborazo (6,310m) basking (as much as mountains can) in the light of the setting sun
Up at 11:30pm for our midnight start to the summit
Unfortunately this was the only photo I took around the place we turned back - trails of snow rolling from earlier avalanches above. We turned back not long after this (around 1:30am - 5,300m) because Fausto wasn't too keen on the number of avalanches across the route and the soft snow.
Instead we walked up the Whymper Trail that morning (the ridge on the other side of the valley) to around 5,400m
Mucking about on a rock waiting for the sun to come up
The mountain rises about 200m further above the visible horizon in the other photos, so it doesn't really look volcano-y. The shadow at dawn gives a pretty good idea of the volcano shape.
Looking South-West at dawn
The Whymper route - tough slog along a ridge in 20 - 30cm deep snow
One last shot of the mountain. On the summit attempt we trekked up through the rocky gully about 1/3 from the left of the photo and reached the base of the 3rd highest ridge before turning back.
