For over half a century, Baltazar Ushca has hiked up the slopes of Mount Chimborazo, Ecuador’s tallest mountain, to harvest the glacial ice that covers this dormant volcano. In the past, up to 40 ice merchants made the journey up the mountain at a time; today, however, Baltazar works alone.

Watching Baltazar work is akin to time travel. Using just his hands and a pickax, he performs a task that would have looked no different hundreds of years ago; yet the necessity for ice from the mountain became outdated with the advent of refrigeration. At $2.50 per 80-pound block of ice, Baltazar often makes no more than $25 a week. His younger brothers, Gregorio and Juan, both raised as ice merchants, have had to retire from Chimborazo to find more steady work.

I was introduced to Baltazar by my friend Rodrigo Donoso, who later produced the movie about him. As a tour guide and local, Rodrigo has known Baltazar’s family for over 20 years. He has witnessed firsthand the gradual decline of ice merchants as the older generation retired without replacement. Awe-struck not just by Baltazar’s work, but by the pride he takes in it, we found a story of cultural change told by three brothers who have dealt with it in different ways.

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 70 years old, is a relic of a bygone era; like clockwork he continues to harvest ice twice a week to sell at the bustling city market. The hay-wrapped blocks of ice, now used only for juices and ice creams, stand as a reminder of traditions lost to progress.