On Top of the World

A graveyard dedicated to the less fortunate greets us as we depart from the first refugio @ 4,800 meters (15, 792 feet) above sea level. The stone building maintained by Rodrigo and Janell of Alta Montaña Tours serves as a kind of visitors center high up on Volcán Chimborazo, Ecuador's highest mountain and the closest point to the sun on earth.

Zipping up my jacket over a newly purchased heavy wool sweater, my guide and I head towards the second refugio named after English climber the Edward Whymper, which serves as a sort of base camp for the final accent to the peak. Fifteen minutes into the hike, my guide, a kid who is the caretaker at the lower refugio, asks me if I feel okay. I feel strange but well, a bit light headed but strong, ready to continue. I can't recall ever having walked this slow before, one slow step at a time, one foot in front of the other. At the half way point he points out the second refugio up above us and then wishes me luck, turning back to attend to some new arrivals down below, leaving me alone on the mountain to continue onward and upward, solo. It's a beautiful moment as I catch my breath and watch him begin his decent.

The coca tea I drank at the first refugio is helping but every step is grueling. I can't remember having ever walked this slowly before. I've only got a quarter bottle of water left. It's the longest one hour hike of my life and the last thirty yards are the most difficult - 'don't stop, keep moving' - I tell myself. Misty clouds roll in sideways across the mountain engulfing me and the makeshift trail and I can only see about ten feet in front of me as the mountain steepens.

Finally I crest the last rise and stumble upon open flat ground and the empty stone cold hut. The air is now calm and still, the only sound is of ice melting from the rooftop dripping into small pools below. My heart is pounding, like it wants to leap out of my chest, hard heavy and fast, making my head ache, muting the sounds of the dripping water. Swirling clouds play games high above on the peak allowing small circles of sun to open up and then close, all in the blink of an eye and I realize I've made it, I'm at 5,000 meters (16,450 feet) for the first time in my life and I smile, alone and content.