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Which mountains and volcanoes did Alexander von Humboldt climb near Quito, Ecuador?
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Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt, oil on canvas by Julius Schrader, 1859; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
During his expedition to South America, Alexander von Humboldt and his companion Aimé Bonpland explored the Andes extensively. While in the vicinity of Quito, Ecuador, they climbed a number of peaks, including all the volcanoes in the surrounding area.1
Most notably, Humboldt attempted to scale Chimborazo in 1802. Although he did not reach the summit, he ascended to an altitude of 19,286 feet (5,878 meters), a feat that stood as a world mountaineering record for nearly 30 years. During these arduous climbs, which were conducted without modern equipment, Humboldt experienced altitude sickness and became the first person to correctly attribute the condition to a lack of oxygen in the rarefied air at high elevations.21