Providing painstakingly detailed information for safely and securely navigating some of Latin America’s most rewarding excursions, this guide is for both avid climbers attempting Chimborazo’s 20,700-foot summit and recreational trekkers looking to get off the beaten path. From the heights of the Andes and the cloud forests to the Amazon, coastal rainforests, and the low-lying beaches, time-tested travel advice and updated route descriptions are offered on how to select the best outing to suit each individual’s interests, abilities, and time constraints. Step-by-step instructions on how, when, and where to approach each trail guide climbers, hikers, bikers, and trekkers through these often unmarked paths.

Still the only one of its kind, this guide has been carefully updated by authors who have climbed or walked all the mountains and trails featured. The striking natural history of Ecuador makes it an attractive destination for climbers and hikers of all abilities. This tiny but varied country offers high-altitude ascents as well as gentle hikes through national parks and along Inca trails. Includes all new maps and previously unknown jungle walks and high-altitude treks.

CLICK HERE to download the first 50 pages from Climbing the Seven Summits * First and only guidebook to climbing all Seven Summits * Full color with 125 photographs and 24 maps including a map for each summit route * Essential information on primary climbing routes and travel logistics for mountaineers, with historical and cultural anecdotes for armchair readers Aconcagua. Denali. Elbrus. Everest. Kilimanjaro. Kosciuszko. Vinson. To a climber, these mountains are known as the Seven Summits* -- the highest peaks on each continent. If you've ever dreamed of climbing Denali or Everest, or joining the even more exclusive "Seven Summiters " club, then Climbing the Seven Summits is the guidebook you need to turn your dream into reality. With Mike Hamill as your guide, you will discover different approaches to tackling the list, as well as details on what you'll need to plan an expedition and what to expect from each climb. For each mountain you'll learn about documents and immunizations, expedition costs, training, guiding options, climbing styles, best seasons, essential gear, day-by-day itineraries, summit routes, maps showing approaches and camps, regional natural history, cultural notes, and even post-climb activities like going on safari in Africa or wine-touring in South America. Throughout you'll also find helpful and inspiring stories from the likes of Conrad Anker, Vern Tejas, Damien Gildea, Eric Simonson, and other famed climbers. Special insider tips from Hamill, based on his years of experience, as well as full-color photographs of each peak round out this collectible guidebook. And, because there remains some controversy about whether Kosciuszko in Australia or Carstenz Pyramid on the island of New Guinea is the "seventh summit," this guidebook to the Seven Summits actually covers eight mountains! *Within mountaineering circles there is debate over which peaks are considered the official Seven Summits. For the purposes of this guidebook, the Seven Summits are based on the continental model used in Western Europe, the United States, and Australia, also referred to as the 'Bass list.'

Ecuador's mountains and volcanoes have drawn climbers and hikers for decades. Since 1984 Bradt has been guiding them to the snow-capped summits of such giants as Cotopaxi and Chimborazo and down through the cloud forests to the Amazon basin. Extreme adventure is provided by routes up Ecuador's most challenging rock-faces, while leisurely walks take visitors through highland villages where the colorful local people follow centuries-old agricultural practices. The usual Bradt attention to natural history and local culture makes this a guide not just for trekkers but for all travelers.

Describes the history, customs, traditions, geology, climate, national parks and conservation areas, religion, and wildlife of this South American country.