This is the most lofty and majestic peak of the Andes, and has a
circular summit. It is twenty-two thousand feet, or more than four miles
high. On the shores of the ocean, after the long rains of winter,
Chimborazo appears like a cloud in the horizon. It detaches itself from
the neighboring summits, and raises its lofty head over the whole chain
of the Andes. Travelers who have approached the summits of Mont Blanc
and Mont Rose, are alone capable of feeling the effect of such vast,
majestic, and solemn scenery.
The bulk of Chimborazo is so enormous, that the part which the eye
embraces at once, near the limit of the snows, is twenty-two thousand,
nine hundred and sixty-eight feet, or four miles and a third in breadth.
The extreme rarity of the strata of air across which the summits of the
Andes are seen, contributes greatly to the splendor of the snow and the
magical effect of its reflection. Under the tropics, at a hight of
sixteen thousand, four hundred feet, or upward of three miles, the azure
vault of the heavens appears of an indigo tint; while, in so pure and
transparent an atmosphere, the outlines of the mountains seem to detach
themselves from the sky, and produce an effect at once sublime, awful,
and profoundly impressive.
With the exception of the loftiest of the Himalaya, in Asia, Chimborazo
is the highest known mountain in the world. Humboldt, Bonpland, and
Montufar, were persevering enough to approach within one thousand, six
hundred feet of the summit of this mighty king of mountains. Being aided
in their ascent by a train of volcanic rocks, destitute of snow, they
thus attained the amazing hight of nearly four miles above the level of
the sea; and the former of these naturalists is persuaded that they
might have reached the highest summit, had it not been for the
intervention of a great crevice, or gap, which they were unable to
cross. They were, therefore, obliged to descend, after experiencing
great inconveniences and many unpleasant sensations. For three or four
days, even after their return into the plain, they were not free from
sickness, and an uncomfortable feeling, owing, as they suppose, to the
vast proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere above. Long before they
reached the above surprising hight, they had been abandoned by their
guides, the Indians, who had taken alarm and were fearful of their
lives. So great was the fall of snow on their return, that they could
scarcely recognize each other, and they all suffered dreadfully from the
intenseness of the cold.
A great number of Spaniards formerly perished in crossing the vast and
dangerous deserts which lie on the declivity of Chimborazo; being now,
however, better acquainted with them, such misfortunes seldom occur,
especially as very few take this route, unless there be a prospect of
calm and serene weather.