Colom bia

Sierra Nevada de Cocuy, 1993. Our group was composed of Betty Hernández, Rosario Rivas, Miguel Delgado, Ram ón Jáuregui, Eduardo M ár­quez, José Medina, Oscar Sánchez and me. After our arrival at El Cocuy on D ecem ber 20, 1993, by the 24th we were on the all-ice south side o f Pico del Pú lpito (5210 meters, 17,093 feet; also called Pico Pan de A zúcar). This was probably the second ascent of the route. On Christm as Day, M árquez, M edina and I clim bed Pico Campanario (4886 meters, 16,031 feet; also called Campanilla Grande) by its exposed w est ridge. This may have been the third ascent of this fine peak. On our return to El Cocuy, we encountered bad experiences since the town was militarily occupied because o f clashes with the guerrillas. Although the military warned us not to return to the peaks, we did so. Loading our equipm ent on a horse, we reached the snowline on the west side o f Alto Ritacuba, highest peak in the range (5464 meters, 17,926 feet). On January 1, 1994, with beautiful weather, we ascended to the summit by the normal route. M eanw hile M árquez and M edina clim bed the peak by its steep south side. M ountaineers who intend to visit this range are advised to take every precaution since the Colom bian military suspect anybody carrying a backpack as a guerrilla and, furtherm ore, they operate and comb the area at night.

J o s é B e t a n c o u r t , Mérida, Venezuela