When considering the title of Earth's loftiest peak, the answer isn't as straightforward as one might expect. By traditional standards, which measure height above sea level, Mount Everest reigns supreme at 29,032 feet (8,849 meters), standing proudly on the border between Tibet and Nepal. However, if we were to consider the distance from a mountain's base to its summit, then Mauna Kea, a dormant shield volcano on the Hawaiian island, would take the crown at 33,500 feet (10,211 meters). Yet, there's another contender for the title of the world's highest mountain: Mount Chimborazo, an extinct stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Ecuadorian Andes.

Although Chimborazo's height above sea level is approximately 8,500 feet less than Everest's, at 20,548 feet (6,263 meters), its peak is actually 6,800 feet further from the Earth's core, making it the point on our planet closest to the stars. Derek van Westrum, a physicist with the NOAA's National Geodetic Survey, explains, "Imagine the Earth as a blue dot in space; Chimborazo is the spot where you can stand the farthest from the center of that dot." This peculiarity is due to Chimborazo's position 1.5 degrees south of the equator. Earth, like many of its inhabitants, has a slight bulge around its middle. "The planet is made of rock and is quite round, but due to its rotation, it bulges at the equator," van Westrum says. The centrifugal force from Earth's constant spin compresses the rock, and Chimborazo leverages this compression to be further from the Earth's core than higher mountains in the Himalayas or even the Andes, all of which are positioned further from the equator. Ecuador has seized on this geographical oddity to promote Chimborazo as an emerging travel destination. The country markets the mountain as accessible both physically and financially to everyday adventure seekers, who increasingly make the four-hour journey south from Quito to its snowy heights.

Although Chimborazo is only the 39th tallest mountain in the Andes when measured from sea level, there was a brief period in the 19th century when it was believed to be the world's highest peak. This misconception originated with the influential German geographer and explorer Alexander von Humboldt, who climbed Chimborazo in 1802. Von Humboldt reached about 19,300 feet before descending into the highland valley he would later name the Avenue of the Volcanoes. His widely read accounts of his Andean exploits attracted a stream of European explorers to Ecuador. Among them was British mountaineer Edward Whymper, who, following his first ascents of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc in the Alps, became the first person known to summit Chimborazo in 1880. Nowadays, approximately 500 mountaineers attempt to reach the summit each year, according to Santiago Granda, the Undersecretary of Promotion at Ecuador's Ministry of Tourism. He notes that just over half of them succeed due to factors such as altitude, preparedness, and unpredictable weather. The main trekking season is from late September to February, when the weather is milder, and the mountain is typically covered in a thick layer of snow. However, Granda points out that the Ecuadorian Andes are a year-round destination, unlike most mountaineering hubs. The nation's highest peaks are relatively temperate due to their location in the tropics, and there is little variation in daylight between seasons. Most peaks are also easily accessible from highland cities like Quito or Cuenca. Chimborazo, for instance, is nearly equidistant from the two off the Pan-American Highway. "An increasing number of people are coming to train and prepare for significant challenges at Chimborazo," Granda says. "You are further from the core of the Earth and closer to the stars than you will ever be on this planet—and that's a significant draw." Those aiming to summit the mountain typically do so over two days, as opposed to the roughly two months required to climb Everest. Of course, climbers also need about a week of acclimatization activities beforehand, says Christian Valencia, CEO of Quito-based Activexpedition, which leads mountaineering trips to the summit. Valencia recommends gaining experience on lower peaks such as Cayambe, Iliniza Sur, or Cotopaxi, and then descending each night to lower elevations to adjust to the altitude. "Before going to Chimborazo, you also have to practice with crampons and axes because it's a technical climb," he adds. Ice merchants and Incan sacrifices Valencia, like other Ecuadorian outfitters, offers less strenuous adventures to Chimborazo. Day hikes up to 17,000 feet (5,180 meters) usually follow four days of prior acclimatization on the nearby lodge-to-lodge Quilotoa Loop. Visitors to Chimborazo can then explore the stone-built Whymper Refuge, the mirror-like Condor Cocha Lagoon, and tropical glaciers, which serve as indicators of global warming. Many come to those glaciers specifically to meet Baltazar Ushca, the last hielero (ice merchant) of Chimborazo.

For generations, Indigenous Ecuadorian men worked as ice merchants, supplying chunks of glacier to communities below before the advent of refrigeration. Now, this octogenarian is the only one left carrying blocks down-mountain to the nearby city of Riobamba, where it's blended into a famous juice drink called the neck-breaker. Others come to Chimborazo for its unique alpine environment. "For some Ecuadorians, it's the first time in their life to see snow," notes Granda. "So even if they don't come for the summit, they come for the lagoon, which has become a really popular destination." The mountain is a sanctuary for 8,000 rewilded vicuñas, the feral ancestors of domesticated alpacas, and home to the world's largest hummingbirds, which flit around a flowering evergreen shrub called chuquiraga. There are also forests of gnarled queuña, which can survive at higher altitudes than any other tree. Another attraction is the mountain's pre-Columbian history. Chimborazo was the site of ritualistic sacrifices of young women and children during Incan times. These acts were believed to appease the gods and ensure a bountiful harvest. To this day, local Indigenous groups revere Tayta Chimborazo, or "Father Chimborazo," as a powerful apu, or mountain god. Legends tell of his fiery relationship with the shorter and more active Tungurahua volcano. Valencia says the mountain holds deep significance for all Ecuadorians, even appearing on the nation's coat of arms. "No matter how many times I visit," he says, "I still feel this strong energy every time I go."