We had made two previous attempts at Chimborozo over the years before we finally made it to the main summit for a first American ski descent and second ever.
Global warming and nearby volcano activity and the resulting ash has depleted the once beautiful snow climb to a difficult climb and peak that is rarely skiable due to massive penatentes. The lower slopes entailed scrambling over 20 to 30 foot steps of solid ice but the pumas rock flakes frozen into the ice made it impossible to belay or use tools, and even crampons bounced off the surface.
Slowly we managed to ascend and to our amazement the upper slopes were perfect corn skiing. We got lucky and the mountain finally gave in. We climbed from the base to the summit in a single push and the attempts and hard work were realized in a fantastic adventure with superb skiing!
