A Glimpse of Chimborazo

Chimborazo is just to the northwest of Riobamba, about 90 minutes away by car. It is the tallest volcano in Ecuador at 20,564 ft. (hey, that's almost two Mt. Hoods) and higher than any other mountain to the north in our hemisphere (there are some taller mountains to the south). Even though it is not as high above sea level as Mount Everest (highest in the world), when you measure from the center of the earth, Chimborazo is actually taller than Everest. Also its summit is closer to the sun than any other point on earth. This is due to the so-called "equatorial bulge" -- the fact that the earth is not a perfect sphere, but bulges out at the equator. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time in our rambles around Riobamba to see the snowy top of Chimborazo just peaking though the clouds.