Climbing in the Andes

"My first contact with the mountain was when I was 10 years old, when, I and a group of friends decided to have a mountain adventure near our neighborhood. It was a wonderful experience and since then I began searching for more adventures and challenges in the mountains of Ecuador. It is due to this experience that I have now climbed up to 15 times."

Manuel Paz 
Corporate Directory Administrator and Local Registration Authority

The Tungurahua volcano in the center of the country is perfect for physical and mental training and preparing for higher mountain climbs. The Cotopaxi was a new challenge to take on as it is a much higher and colder climate mountain, but quite easy to climb. Finally, the Chimborazo, the highest mountain of Ecuador (6,310 m) is the biggest challenge of all due to the intense cold and the harsh climbing conditions experienced in reaching the summit.

A South American mountain range running almost parallel to the Pacific coast, from the end of Cape Horn to just south of Panama, the Andes is one of the largest mountain chains in the world. It measures 7,240 km in length, 241 km in width and has an average height of 3,660 m. From the southern tip of Chile, the range reaches up in a series of parallel chains through Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. In Venezuela the chain divides into three different ranges, one of which rises sharply from the Pacific coast. The altitude and fold of the sedimentary rocks (of which the Andes are compounded) originate from the Cretaceous period, when the Pacific Plate of Earth’s crust began the subduction under the South American plate in a process known as plate tectonics. The tectonic forces generated by this collision unleashed volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which raised the Andes to over 1,500 meters in some places during a period of over 28 million years.

Reasons To Go To The Mountain

• For children, young people and adults, being out in the open air is an enjoyable necessity.
• In the mountains we face many new situations that enable us to develop our capacity for improvisation, imagination and inventiveness.
• In the mountains we discover our individuality, our body, our strength, our fears and also our potential.
• In the mountains we prove our strength, courage and sacrificial nature, and face our discomfort.
• In the mountains we can gaze upon beautiful and grand lakes, starry nights, forests, rivers, streams, rocks, snow and summits.
• In the mountains we face the cold, heat, fatigue, wind, humidity, rain, and snow, sleeping in a tent.
• In the mountains we achieve everything through our own personal effort be it by reaching a summit, going on long walks, putting up a tent, making food, or carrying our load.
• In the mountains we find a true school of life, we gain self-confidence as well as a strong body, spirit and will.