Ecuador Rock Climbing

Ecuador is an amazing place. Located on the equator between Colombia to the north and Peru to the south, it may be one of the smallest countries in South America, but it's also one of the most diverse. From Pacific beaches to the west to glaciated volcanoes in the center to Amazon rainforests in the east, it's got a little bit of everything. It's small size makes it easy to get around in as well. And its people and culture are worth the trip even if you don't go there to climb.

Ecuador is a volcano climber's dream. In fact, due to its geography, volcanoes - or their eroded remains - are just about the only mountains you'll find. There are peaks for every level - from grass-covered walk-ups to massive glacier-clad giants like the country's highest, 20,700 foot Chimborazo, and everything in between. Being volcanoes, by nature even the majority of the glaciated ones are moderate snow slogs - with an occasional bergschrund crossing or short headwall - doable by anyone with glacier and snow climbing experience. What sets this country's summits apart from their American counterparts like Hood and Rainier is elevation. Anyone looking to break into high altitude climbing couldn't find a better place than Ecuador.

The Andes of Ecuador run more or less north-south through the center of the country and the main highway, the Panamericana, runs right through the middle between volcanoes that stand out bold against the blue sky on a clear day. Although the mountains here are considered part of the Andes, think of them more like the volcanoes of Washington and Oregon in relation to our Rockies, rather than the craggy granite peaks of Peru's Cordillera Blanca or the torres of Patagonia.

When you get off the beaten path, away from the highway and the adjacent urban areas like Ambato and Latacunga, you enter a world of farms and lush green pastures, eucalyptus groves and llamas, and then finally the scattered stands of polyepsis and tall grasses of the paramo that let you know you're in the heart of the cool, thin-aired high country.