Pico Piedras Blancas

Pico Piedras Blancas

Pico Piedras Blancas (Right) and Pico Mucumamó (left) seen from Alto de Mifafí
Highest point
Elevation 4,737 m (15,541 ft)
Coordinates 8°51′N 71°57′W / 8.850°N 71.950°W / 8.850; -71.950
Geography
Location Mérida, Mérida, Venezuela
Parent range Sierra de la Culata, Andes
Climbing
First ascent Unknown, however[1]
Easiest route Walk, easy climb PD

The Pico Piedras Blancas (also known as Misamán), at 4,737 metres (15,541 ft), is the highest mountain of the Sierra de la Culata range in the Mérida State, and the fifth highest mountain in Venezuela. Its name, meaning "White Stones", is of doubted origin, since the massif is predominantly grey in color (however, see [2]). Pico Piedras Blancas lacks glaciers. However, seasonal snowfalls may cover briefly its flanks. From its summit and under clear conditions, Lake Maracaibo can be seen. One of the accesses to reach the base of the mountain, is through the Mifafí Condor Reserve, which hosts some specimens of this andean bird.

Location

Pico Piedras Blancas is located 35 km (22 mi) to the northeast of Mérida, the capital city of the State. Pico Piedras Blancas is very close to Pico Mucumamó, Pico Los Nevados and Pico El Buitre; all of them are surrounding a high altitude valley located in the heart of the Sierra de la Culata, at approximately 4200 meters above sea level, known in topographic maps as Hoyo Negro.

Elevation

A former measure of 4762 metres given by Jahn in 1910, was corrected in 1951. This last measure was confirmed by a 2002 GPS survey.

Climbing

Though being the highest mountain of the Sierra de la Culata, it is not as frequently climbed as Pico Pan de Azucar in the same range of La Culata or the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida range.

References

Notes

  1. It is known that guide Daniel Toro and his father climbed it toward 1964.
  2. Although there's some doubt regarding the name of the mountain, there's certain local legend about the origin of the mountains and surrounding lagoons at Páramo de Piedras Blancas . It tells about the mourn in which the women of the indigenous tribes fell after the Conquistadores slaughtered their husbands. God, afflicted by "the suffering of His daughters", and wanting to alleviate their great sorrow, turned them into mountains, but still those "mountains" cried, giving origin with their "tears" to the local lagoons. If any tear became trapped between any frailejón or trap of the terrain, it turns into a "White Stone, as milk, of which there are thousands in the summits of the Páramo de Piedras Blancas".
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