Twice a week for over half a century, Baltazar Ushca has hiked up the slopes of Mount Chimborazo, the tallest mountain in Ecuador, to harvest glacial ice that covers the highest altitudes of this dormant volcano. In the past, up to forty ice merchants made the journey up the mountain to mine the ice; today, however, Baltazar works alone. Even his brothers, Gregorio and Juan, both raised as ice merchants, have retired from the mountain to find more steady work.

This video shows a meeting with Baltazar as part of the Tren Crucero luxury train trip through Ecuador's Valley of the volcanoes and down to the coast near Guayaquil.

The indigenous communities of Chimborazo continue to be incredibly beautiful and rich in culture; yet, they are also part of the poorest population in Ecuador, with few employment opportunities. Baltazar, now over 70 years old, is a relic of a bygone era; like clockwork he continues to harvest ice twice a week to sell in Riobamba's market. The hay-wrapped blocks of ice, now used only for juices and ice creams, stand as a reminder of traditions lost to progress.

His story is the subject of an award winning documentary film - El Último Hielero (The Last Ice Merchant), which inspired this video.