Who First Climbed the Andes? No Single Answer—But Key Early Ascents

There is no single "first person" to climb the Andes. The mountain chain stretches 7,000+ km; Indigenous peoples inhabited and traversed its peaks for millennia before European contact. Recorded ascents by outsiders include:

Notable Early Recorded Ascents

• 1532 – Francisco Pizarro's Conquistadors: Crossed high Andean passes to reach Cusco (Inca capital), not summiting major peaks but traversing extreme altitude.
• 1743 – Charles Marie de La Condamine: French geodesist; climbed extensively in Ecuador (e.g., Pichincha, Chimborazo flanks) for the French Geodesic Mission measuring Earth's shape.
• 1802 – Alexander von Humboldt: Prussian naturalist; attempted Chimborazo (6,263 m), reaching ~5,875 m—a world altitude record then. Studied altitude sickness, plant geography.
• 1880 – Edward Whymper: First ascent of Chimborazo (Ecuador's highest), with Italian guides Jean-Antoine & Louis Carrel.
• 1897 – Matthias Zurbriggen: First ascent of Aconcagua (6,961 m, highest outside Asia) via Normal Route.

Indigenous Precedence

Archaeological evidence (e.g., Inca sacrificial sites on Llullaillaco at 6,739 m, and on Ampato) proves Indigenous peoples summited major peaks centuries before Europeans, for ceremonial purposes.

The "first ascent" of the Andes as a whole is a category error; it's a vast range with thousands of peaks, each with its own human history.