Cotopaxi

The perfect volcanic cone of Cotopaxi rises in the Andes close to the equator. The mountain is one of the highest active volcanoes on Earth. Over 80 eruptions have been documented over the past 500 years, with the last major eruption from 1903 to 1904. The first European who tried to climb to the summit was Alexander Humboldt in 1802. He had to turn around though after reaching a height of about 4500 meters. Thus 70 years later Wilhelm Reiss and Angel Escobar achieved the first documented ascent of Cotopaxi.