There are children of the own volcano. For 63 years I've climbed the Chimborazo
more than a thousand times and I really found my destiny here. I think I'm dressed well,
physical and mentally, so I can try it. Today is a big day,
the climbing day. And I really hope to achieve
what I'm proposing myself in these days. Guys, we stopped a bit between flights,
I'm at the airport, but I want to tell you one of
my tricks to save money in the process of organization
of these trips. It'll be two minutes and
then we go back to Chimborazo adventure, one of the most extreme
of my life and my channel. I want to tell you about Dify,
who is collaborating in this video. What is Dify?
I'll briefly overview. For us, travelers, if we want to pay
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like <i>Booking</i> or <i>Logitravel</i> that are in the program... Dify automatically pay us back. Basically, everything is the same. You buy what you need
in these traveling agencies, but doing this through Dify,
it pays you back a part of the money. The best about this:
it's super simple. You only have to register in
Dify Cashback Also, when you finish this video,
I recommend you go to Dify, register in Dify Cashback and
then create a Dify Wallet and connect them with a QR code. Then it's ready.
You can already receive money. Also, everyone who connects
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Simple, easy, practical... For curiosity,
leave in the comments the first destinations
you'll get your first refunds. Now I'll leave you
with the Chimborazo. Chapter 1
Whymper Needles Welcome to the province Chimborazo,
in Ecuador. A Latin-American country where
I've been for several weeks. It'll be one of the most extreme,
hardest, wildest challenges, not only of this trip, but probably
also of my life. I want to climb the Chimborazo volcano. Not only it's the biggest
of the country, but also it's the tallest mountain of
the world, since the center of the Earth, which turns into Whymper at the top,
where we want go, the spot on Earth closest to the Sun. But let's go part by part,
because we can't arrive wanting to pull it off at the first attempt. Especially me without
any training. This wasn't my own decision. For weeks, I've been filming
in Galapagos, in the jungle... In low altitude, very different climates...
So before doing this, I need to train and
to get used to the climate. To begin, we woke up at three, four
in the morning, to drive to Carihuairazo. The Chimborazo is almost four miles tall,
Carihuairazo is about three miles. They're in front of each other. It was perfect, but
the weather was really bad. Here it's difficult, but
there it was raining heavily. It was very risky to climb
the volcano with these conditions. Besides the ground to arrive there
was full of mud and we couldn't even go with the car. So basically, we kept climbing and
walking through the <i>Bosque de Polylepis</i> a lower zone and
also very unprotected. There was a strong wind, but
at the end, all we do in this altitude is perfect so our bodies
get used to it. Obviously, I can't brave this alone. I don't know the route nor
I have the experience needed. That's why I'm here with Cris
and here with Brou. They're experts hikers in the province
and they'll lead me to the mountaintop. We're right here in the 3-mile-refuge
of Chimborazo. We came back from Carihuairazo,
because of weather conditions, we couldn't climb, since it was raining
and the conditions were bad. We couldn't climb so
we decided to go with plan B. That is to climb the Whymper Needles,
in a height of 3.3 miles, and it'll work as acclimatization to
attempt the peak on Thursday. So right now, we'll climb as a group
to the peak of the Whymper Needles. Obviously, as in all mountains, there were accidents,
people who didn't make it. That's why we can find tombstones
of different people after the first refuge. In fact, like all the big mountains,
Chimborazo has a graveyard. You see there are a lot of graves. It's because rescuing bodies
at the top of the mountain is too difficult. That's why for believers,
it's a tranquility to know that the mountain tells where your relative is,
in the graveyard, it's like a cemetery. In fact, you see there are
a lot of tombstones. Obviously, our mission is to
not go with these people... So not only getting to the top,
but also being able to come down to the foothill again. The good part is that in Carihuairazo
there wasn't snow, but we're here in Chimbo.
Here there's snow to ski. We brought the boards to snowboard
so we'll go with everything. In fact, the snowboard in Ecuador
is very new, basically. There isn't in seasons,
only in the virgin mountain. Yes, in virgin mountain. It's a sport that is starting to appear
here in the country, Especially, here in Chimborazo province. Now we're in the second and last
Chimborazo refuge, about three miles. Two years ago I arrived at this point,
a bit higher in this direction. Now we're going to those points there. The Whymper Needles,
about 3.3 miles. The trail is ending so we're going with helmet,
climbing harness and crampons. So we can move forward
in the snow and in the ice. The conditions are very harsh to record. There's so much wind and
that complicate a lot, but we keep going on. Now, after a bit of climbing while it's snowing, we'd finally arrived in the
Whymper Needles. The challenge of the first day,
the one that act as a training so I won't die. Well, obviously I'm noticing the altitude. I'm not used to it,
but I'm fine. Today last steps.
Double motivation. I just finished climbing and
I'll take the board... Well, the first day is already gone. Guys, with Chimborazo behind me, I can tell loud and clear that I'm happy
because something big has began and I really hope to achieve what
I'm proposing myself in these days. Today I could climb the Whymper Needles,
even with this strong wind that you can see. It was a training day and
a day to get used to it. I believe I'm physically and mentally
well enough to try it. The day after tomorrow, since tomorrow
we have a resting day. And the next day we begin
the final climbing. Right now, in these moments,
I'm in a very special place where I intend to meet
someone more special. Someone that can be a motivation and
also an inspiration, I'm sure, to what I'm aiming,
what I'm proposing to myself. I'm talking about Marco Cruz, the man that
has climbed the Chimborazo more times and he's a person you should meet. I want to listen to him and
find out what he can talk about it. So let's go. I'm Marco Cruz, mountain guide
from Riobamba, of Chimborazo province. I've been here in this mountain
in Ecuador for more than 63 years. I climbed the tallest mountain of Ecuador
for the first time 63 years ago and this left a mark in my life. It taught me to appreciate the beauty
of the mountains and gave me a new path. I've been a mountain guide for
more than 50 years. For 63 years, I'd climbed the Chimborazo
more than a thousand times in many routes. I had much luck to walk many routes
for the first time, repeat the first route of Whymper
when I was a 16-year-old kid and I really found my destiny here. Are you the person with more climbs? No, no, no.
I don't want to say that, but... I have a lot of respect, affection
for the mountain. I went when I was 20 years old after
climbing all the mountains in Ecuador. Some Catalan friends invited me to Spain
and I went on a banana boat. I arrived in Barcelona and I learned
to climb because here I was self-taught. Here we didn't have schools and
we didn't know what mountain climbing was. I had the opportunity in Spain, so
I have a big appreciation and gratitude for it. I had the opportunity to climb Montserrat,
near Madrid in La Pedriza, in Gredos, in the Picos de Europa and
then in the Pyrenees. I was a member of GAME, a Spanish group
of high mountain, in the 60's. What do you feel every time you go back
to this mountain that has marked your life? I always go to Chimborazo
with the same naivety. In the first years...
I mean, it's always new and with hope... And... Comparing with important climbers
that did big things, like the Basques, like Juan Sebastián, like Edurne Pasaban,
like Juanito Oiarzabal... I'm a humble man... But... I have the mountain spirit. That's good. It's an honor to be here,
meet you and specially in my last days, just before I also try this accomplishment Yes, good luck. You're in good hands
with my friend Cristian, a great climber. The new generations have changed
the climbing here. We were the pioneers, we didn't know anything
about the technique or the equipment. I was the first one to climb the hardest
peak in Ecuador, <i>El Altar</i> in year 73. Now Cristian does this... very easily. One last question, as I'm two days away
from the attempt of my first climb, What recommendation or advice
can you give me? Well, you have to be careful, Chimborazo is
a very difficult mountain, dangerous, like all the mountains here with respect,
they're sanctuaries of the nature. I'd recommend you to get used to it
slowly and steady, as everything in life. The mountain, the beauty in it
is the effort you achieve, overcoming the fear, the limit and achieve what you want,
this big challenge you have in the big mountains and also, modestly,
achieve what you really dream of. Thank you very much, it's an inspiration
and, hopefully, I can crown it too... Of course you can,
all the best and good luck. Thank you very much. Chapter 2
The children of the volcano Good morning.
We woke up in the resting day after yesterday the little training route
without many complications today. I rested very well tonight.
I just have a burn in my lip that really looks bad, but well...
I won't complain, because tomorrow it's going to be
much worse, I'm sure of it. As I was saying today is a resting day.
I used it to walk around the province, to other indigenous villages and
I was filled with a way to see the world, their world view, their beliefs...
And the Chimborazo is really interesting, <i>El Taita</i> Chimborazo is completely sacred
for the Andean indigenous. As you know, they call it "<i>El Taita</i>",
which means the father. And the Tungurahua, the volcano over there,
they believe it's the mother. When there's snow or storms,
they believe they are angry. Some indigenous from here sometimes claim
they've seen Chimborazo embodied. That is a person who is Chimborazo,
an old man in white, with white hair. Not only this, but also when it
touches women, they can get pregnant. That is to say there are children
of the volcano itself. But, for this, we met a lady
called Margarita, completely native from here,
indigenous from this zone, that explained it to us
in a very special way and I wanted you to hear it. My dad was an iceman, worked with
<i>taita</i> Chimborazo getting ice. Then my dad got old,
felt ill... And couldn't go to Chimborazo
to collet ice. We went with ten, eight, twelve donkeys
to carry 14 straws, we went to <i>taita</i> Cimborazo to extract
this little ice brick to sell to Riobamba. <i>Taita</i> Chimborazo, mom Tungurahua...
If they were angry, they knew how to say, when it's snowing. In Chimborazo, when it was snowing windy
it was dark because of the fog. They were angry and knew how to say it. Well, that's how my mom used to say. Now, in similar wasteland, all the ice is
covering the white snowy ice. This way, we were shivering with cold here,
my dad was pulling the stake rope, protecting it, wrapping the side,
bringing closer to the rock then he said: child, you won't sleep,
here <i>taita</i> Chimborazo can't hunt anymore, it can't hunt anymore,
unless it hampers knowing. I hope you don't get pregnant
from <i>taita</i> Chimborazo. Before, they used to say that
when <i>taita</i> Chimborazo was angry, it could get a woman pregnant
with a small alpenstock. He was riding a white horse,
taking an alpenstock, this woman said she was washing herself and
he touched her belly with the alpenstock, so the baby was born with
a white head, ginger hair. That's why my dad used to say:
you won't sleep here. As you see, it's completely
amazing this belief, how the natives think the volcano
can get women pregnant and that's how albinos are born, because... Indeed, there're albinos
in the communities of the Andes. It's curious how in Tanzania
they were chased and killed to be used as charms, in Benin
they were treated like gods and suddenly here they see them as children
of <i>taita</i> Chimborazo. And above all, to highlight the term
they refer to albinos in this area. They are known as <i>chimbitos</i>,
they talk about <i>chimbitos</i>. Of course, the diminutive of Chimborazo.
So it's a <i>chimbito</i>. But this doesn't end here. Baltazar, that is the last iceman,
Baltazar Ushca. We already met him two years ago,
there's the video in the description. Baltazar Ushca... I didn't know it
when I met him and I discovered it just now in this new phase,
this new trip to Ecuador. Baltazar Ushca believes
he is the grandson of Chimborazo, because his father was albino. He talks about his father
with white hair. When I found this out, I knew, as
I was here, that I had to find him again. Because it would be nice to see him again
and then he could tell us himself. Right after we arrived at his house,
above the entrance of the ice mines or the beginning of the path
to the ice mines where he went up. We encountered him with sunglasses,
almost of bicycle riders, that surprised me. He told us that...
Well, the years are passing and the poor man has cataracts. But I met again the icon,
almost worldwide icon, Baltazar Ushca. He invited us to his house and
he explained to us himself. My father was <i>taita</i> Chimborazo's son. My father was who used to bring ice. That's the legacy we have. For me, <i>taita</i> Chimborazo is like a grandpa,
was like a grandpa. My dad was like a son of
<i>taita</i> Chimborazo, all white. <i>Taita</i> Chimborazo was like a grandpa to me. Before we go to <i>taita</i> Chimborazo
we ask to pray so nothing happens. Some people have children of
<i>taita</i> Chimborazo, white head, some people. Right ahead, my neighbor has a baby,
here there are three Chimborazos. We have children of <i>taita</i> Chimborazo. Well, after yesterday testimony,
completely touched, almost crying, of Marco Cruz, that brought, inspired,
motivated and touched me. Also, after I got filled with
these Andean cultures, this world view, with how they see <i>taita</i> Chimborazo. I just have to eat, drink some water,
have a good night of sleep and tomorrow we have the great climbing. So let's clench our fists
and climb upwards. I'm already so excited. Chapter 3
The point on Earth closer to the Sun The afternoon has just started. Today is a big day, the climbing day. I'm prepared with high mountain clothing,
with mountaineering boots, ski boots. Today we won't arrive at the summit,
at the top, at the highest peak, but we will go to the high camp. This high camp is about 3.3 miles
above sea level. Just like Whymper Needles
we climbed the other day, so the acclimatization must be completed. All the team is prepared and walking.
We have a two-hour-path. If we have luck,
we'll arrive before evening. Let's start. A lot of people tried to climb Chimborazo
and failed in the XVII and XVIII centuries, as they thought
it was the highest mountain. In 1880, Edward Whymper
became the first to arrive at the top. Due to the equatorial zone having
the biggest diameter of the planet, measuring from the center of the Earth, Chimborazo is about 1.2
mile taller than Everest. This volcano was also
an Inca sanctuary. The people of its foothill sacrificed
virgin ladies (Capacocha Ceremony) to control its rage
as storms, frosts and drought. During this climbing, a full moon
escorted us, what filled the place with an incredible energy. I'm in high camp for a bit now
and I'm very affected and shattered. I didn't expect to arrive here
in such bad conditions, in the same height of Whymper Needles
two days ago. But here I've arrived so much worse,
because I made a big mistake. My backpack was badly organized
and very loaded. My back is shattered. For dinner I had a soup and
rice with chicken. We are in high camp, as we spent two hours. Tomorrow I'll have the triple, six,
seven hours to arrive at high zone. Due to all it has snowed in the past weeks
and the last days conditions, there is a lot of fresh snow,
which complicate the things a lot. There is more risk of avalanches and
we can see patch of ice, of snow and we couldn't even get to the top. It's more than 7 pm.
We'll wake up at 11 pm. Right now I'm tired,
my back is hurting so much, I have an effect im my head
because of the altitude. As I said, I have about three hours
to try to sleep a bit. We'll wake up and start the final climbing. I'm not sure I'll be able to do it,
because I'm very hurt. But, well... Tomorrow I won't take
my backpack, I'll leave it all here. Except cereal bars and water. So good night.
I'll see you in a bit. Guys, this time I couldn't make it, because
it's a terrible night, I mean evening, because it doesn't seem like, but
my blood pressure is low, it's very cold, my stomach hurts and then a very strong headache,
like I had in Kilimanjaro. Even though we're not at the top,
as we're not very far, we are still the ones,
of all people in the world... We're still the ones closer to the Sun. From the Earth's core,
we're a lot above Mount Everest. The moonlight that is above us right now
doesn't affect anybody as it does to us. With this, tomorrow I'll tell how it ends. Well, some days later
I'm in a hostel in Riobamba. Now I'll explain, tell you what happened
and my conclusions about this adventure. First of all, I want to say that
I really enjoyed and I'm very delighted. These zones of Ecuador are incredible. Also I couldn't film more,
due to my bad conditions, to the sore I was feeling,
for the time I was suffering a lot. Both climbing to high camp
and from high camp to the top, or attempting to get to the top. It was so critical that I couldn't film. And the same with other people
that took cameras. That is, in these environments,
in these messed up situations... To record is even harder. So think about it to understand this. Now I want to tell you
what I think that has happened. Not just me, but talking to everyone
that was going with us, we came to a joint conclusion. Last week on Tuesday,
we climbed the Whymper Needles, at 3.3 miles and I was great. On Wednesday, it was a resting day.
And on Thursday, I woke up a little weird. With a weak body, sore throat... To arrive at high camp it was the same
that to Whymper: 3.3 miles. However, in this route
I suffered so, so much. Both physically and mentally,
I noticed I was very weak. After the high camp,
I was suffering with unusual things. A part of it was the altitude,
the altitude sickness, of course. But for example, I got into a 5 degree down
sleeping bag, put another one over me and I was still shivering with cold
and it wasn't that cold. My teammates that were in
the same dome as me didn't feel cold. It was something with me. I had low
defense mechanisms or blood pressure. That's what I was thinking. I didn't know how to explain,
but I was really weak... As I was unusually tired. I didn't want to say at the time,
because you would see it as an excuse and I don't want you to. On the last day, when going down
from the high camp to the parking lot where the cars were, I suffered so much
that I almost didn't arrive. My legs were failing, I was feeling sick,
chills all over my body... Those were things that didn't seem
simply due to altitude. The issue is that I arrived here and
started feeling a strong fever, all my body was burning...
Everything points to jungle fever. You know that I spent two weeks
traveling through Amazon a while ago. When every kind of mosquitoes
bit me all over my body, obviously. I have a lot of infected injuries
over my legs... Also, Erick, the filmmaker and photographer
that was in Amazon with us, had fever as soon as he left. So everything points that's
what happened to me. That I caught it too.
Maybe for being with low defenses, for being weak and,
by the way, proven... Because I confirmed that it wasn't Covid,
so don't worry that's not it. Before you think something
that isn't right. And I'll say again, I don't want you
to see it as an excuse, because, naturally, I assure this fever
has marked, has been a defining factor, but if I'd trained more,
if I'd gotten really used to it maybe I could have done it too. Because, for example, the altitude
affected me as well, hurt me in a strong way with brutal headaches. Also in the resting day,
I was almost sleeping standing, I was falling, sitting,
kneeling on the ground, leaning my head on the ice axe,
on the pickaxe to rest and dreaming awake. This is because the lack of oxygen
in the brain. These moments when you sleep while
practically walking is your brain missing air and it puts you on standby,
nearly asleep. So obviously, it wasn't just the fever,
it was also the altitude, that I came from very low heights
and without training, from Galapagos and the jungle... Also, naturally I should say, in these
Andean cultures, not only indigenous people, but also climbers and mountaineers
that live in these areas... There is the belief that you have to
ask the volcano for permission, especially, Chimborazo, because
as you know, it's called <i>taita</i>. They treat it as if
it had its own identity, personality. This is the tallest volcano and
on the native's view, it governs, rules this place. When you can't climb,
can't arrive at the top it's simply because the <i>taita</i>
didn't give you permission or because <i>taita</i> said
that isn't your time. So according to Andean culture,
what happened to me simply was that it wasn't my day, my moment. I'm very happy with what I did.
When I thought about this mean height of almost 3.7 miles, 3.6 miles or
something like that... I know that I did it well,
because it's not that I was tired, but my body was weak in a way that
I've never known, a very odd way. Then I found out why.
If I had pushed myself to climb to the top, I nearly wouldn't come down and
the rescue would be arriving. You have to be very reasonable, because
the goal is not to arrive at the top. The real goal is being able to
come back home too. So I noticed I was missing physical
and mental conditions at that moment. It was like I was turned off
by pressing a button and that's why I think that my way to act,
also the team's way to act respecting me I think it was the most reasonable thing
we could have done. That's why it was a defeat, but
in any way it was a surrender. I know I really gave my best
at those moments, but not at all it's a goal
that we'll have to put a cross, because in a couple months
I'm sure I'll come back to try again and respectfully and humbly
I'll ask permission to <i>taita</i> Chimborazo, I'll try to climb again
to the top of Whymper and luckily, I'll achieve it. If I don't, I'll come back again
and try until I can make it. Because this peak will be mine,
at some point. So at the end, if all I showed you
were victories, what we accomplished, it wouldn't be fair to you or to myself. Obviously, when you expose
yourself to risks, when you want to
get to the limit, sometimes it works out well,
sometimes it doesn't. This is part of the adventure and
even if I didn't make it to the top, the adventure was incredible,
really interesting, I've learned so much And for that, I don't want it
to be deleted, I want to pass it on to you so you fall in love in the same way. When I try to climb the peak again
and when I make it, we'll already have lived all this and
yet it's better that we didn't make it, this doesn't mean
it's not to bear in mind, it's important, interesting and
suitable for enjoying. So now I'm saying goodbye to Riobamba
and I'll have some days off, because between all this filming,
these days I was ill... Well, some days off will be good. Then, I will make the last video
in Ecuador before I leave, I'll probably go back to Mexico. It's another video in Amazon,
a very, very special video that is nothing like the others
recorded in Amazon. So as I said, some days off,
I don't know if I'll stay in the hills, if I'll go to the coast... Bye, bye.
Before this, I'm making an analysis, an examination of mountains maps
of all the world to see which one is going to be next. I'm hooked on these mountains.
Now, I'm leaving. Gratitude to Marco Cruz, Baltazar Ushca,
Margarita and all those who went with me in the attempt to get to the top, specially
the brothers Moreno, Cristian and Brou.
