Cayambe

Description

Cayambe is the third highest mountain in Ecuador. It is a huge extinct volcano, its snowy flat-top summit rising above the capital city of Quito, which is forty miles southwest of the mountain. The mountain is the highest point on earth through which the equator passes. Its summit is positioned just north of the equator. The summit is composed of three craterless domes, all blanketed by a single glacier. The normal ascent is a glacier climb, and though it is not technically difficult, crevasses and avalanches are serious hazards, and have killed climbers in the past.