Greek climbers Fotis Theocharis and Dimitris Petrakis recently conquered Mount Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador.
According to The New York Times, Chimborazo's summit rises 6,248 metres above sea level, which is shorter than Everest by 2,600 metres, but that all changes when measured from the centre of Earth.
This means that mountains near the equator are technically higher than those in other areas.
"We came here with a mission! To be able to climb the highest mountain," Theocharis said.
He recalled the hardest challenge on social media: "But let lightning and thunder appear. I think that the ancient Greek god Zeus is probably not very happy that we are here," he wrote.
The mountain has four main summits:
- Whymper 6,310 m
- Veintimilla 6,267 m (named after the former president of Ecuador, José Ignacio de Veintemilla)
- Politecnica 5,820 m
- Nicolas Martinez 5,570 m ( named after the father of Ecuadorian mountaineering)
"There are many who do not continue to the highest peak, perhaps due to the steep slope until you reach the second peak and from there to the highest, there is great exhaustion," the climber continued.
"At 07:30 we reached Whymper Peak (6,310m). Embracing each other, excited! With us mentally are those who gave us their wishes, trusted us and believed in us!"
"Today Greece was located at the closest point of the earth to the Sun," Theocharis concluded.
Bravo Fotis Theocharis and Dimitris Petrakis!
Mount Chimborazo
Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo, is a 6,263-metre summit that sits on the equator.
It is the furthest a human being can get from the centre of the Earth without flying.
*More on GCT: Greek athlete carries disabled student to the peak of Mount Olympus
