Has Mount Everest been dethroned? Is Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo actually the tallest mountain in the world?
Like any good ole scientific dispute, the issue is debatable, but there are surefire methods to arrive at the right answer.
According to a report by the New York Times, Mount Chimborazo — an inactive volcano located in the Andes — is the highest peak in the world by only one measure.
However, if you calculate mountains based on traditional metrics or from above sea level, the highest peak in the world will still be Mount Everest.
Confused yet? Here are the facts: the summit of Mount Chimborazo rises about 20,500 feet (3.8 miles) above sea level. It is indeed nearly 10,000 feet short of Mount Everest's 29,029 feet (5.5 miles).
But if you calculate the height of both mountains from a different vantage point, the results are different.
For instance, if you measure mountains from the center of our planet, the apex of Mount Chimborazo rises the farthest at about 21 million feet or 3,977 miles.
Mount Everest won't even be in the top 20 farthest peaks.
Why is this so? Our planet is not flat, but it is also not a perfect sphere. Earth flattens at its poles and then bulges around its waistline. Because of this, its radius is about 13 miles greater at the Equator.
Mount Chimborazo is close to the Equator, while Mount Everest is about 28 degrees north latitude at the Himalayas. This makes the mountain one-third of the way to the pole.
A Trip To Mount Chimborazo
During a recent climb to remember the 280th anniversary of a mission by French explorer Charles Marie de La Condamine, a team of adventurers discovered that Mount Chimborazo was actually about 15 feet shorter than what was previously believed.
Still, the mountain is considered as the highest from the center of the Earth.
But why is Mount Everest the ultimate mountain to scale for climbers? It's all about the journey.
Climbing Mount Everest requires a 10-day trek to the base camp, six weeks of adjusting to the conditions, and a seven- to nine-day journey to the top.
On the other hand, climbing Mount Chimborazo only takes about two weeks, a one- or two-day hike after getting acclimatized.
Todd Burleson of mountaineering company Alpine Ascents International said the latter should not be underestimated.
"It's an excellent training ground for big mountains," added Burleson.
A Sacred Mountain
Mount Chimborazo has been venerated even since pre-Columbian times and is considered a sacred mountain in which it is thought to be close to God, says archeologist Josefina Vásquez of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
The mountain has been personified as a man in a rocky relationship with the Tungurahua volcano, his shorter and more active female companion known to spew out ash on Chimborazo's icy slopes.
Photo: Jorge Láscar | Flickr
