Baltazar Ushca(1944-2024)
He was believed to be the last practitioner of a centuries-old tradition of "hieleros del Chimborazo," or ice harvesters on Mount Chimborazo, the highest peak in Ecuador. At least once a week for more than 60 years, he would spend five hours climbing the mountain to a glacier at about 15,000 feet altitude. He would chip off chunks of ice, wrap them in straw for insulation, load them onto the backs of his donkeys, and descend to sell them. When electricity brought modern refrigeration to the Andes, he continued to sell the ice which was said to have health-giving properties.
