Baltazar Ushca is one of the last ice merchants in Ecuador. The traditional occupation is dying out. The Chimborazo is a majestic mountain reaching 6,300 meters high. Its ice-covered top towers above the plateau of the Ecuadorean Andes. Every week Balthazar Ushca hikes for several hours up its slopes to harvest glacial ice, which he then sells at the market in the nearby city of Riobamba. Buyers use it for cooling and ice cream. Being an ice merchant or “hielero” is a recognized and respected profession in Ecuador. In recent years, however, the tradition has been under increasing threat from modern refrigeration technology.
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