Ritacuba Blanco

Infobox Mountain
Name=Ritacuba Blanco | Photo =ritacuba-blanco.jpg| Caption =Ritacuba Blanco from the west
Elevation=5,410 metres [John Biggar, handheld GPS measurement January 2006, but in agreement with SRTM data analysed by Jonathan de Ferranti.] (17,749 ft)
Location=Sierra Nevada del Cocuy | Range=Cordillera Oriental, Colombia; Andes
Prominence = 3,645 m Ranked 47th
Coordinates = coord|6|29|39|N|72|17|51|W
Topographic

First ascent = | Easiest route = glacial hike
Listing = Ultra

Ritacuba Blanco is the highest peak of Cordillera Oriental, in the Andes Mountains of Colombia. It's also named Ritak'uwa, an ancient name from the Uwa indigenous people that live in the lowlands of the National Park Sierra Nevada del Cocuy y Güicán, where the Ritacuba Blanco is located. The summit is accessible from the west via the town of El Cocuy, the village of Guicán and the hamlet of Las Cabaňas. The hike is fairly easy, but weather is not reliable, and a glacier must be crossed.Because of global warming, it's glacier is melting at very high rates, backing down 25 linear mts per year; same is happening at amazing speeds to all other snow-covered tropical mountains in Colombia. In 1950, Ritacuba Blanco's glacier extended down to 4,500 meters above sea level height; in January 2007 it lowest point was at 4,800 meters above sea level. If this melting rate continues, it's glacier is expected to disappear before 2025.

Notes

References

*John Biggar, "The Andes, A Guide for Climbers", Andes, 3rd edition, 2005, ISBN 0-9536087-2-7

External links

* [http://www.parquesnacionales.gov.co/areas/lasareas/cocuy/cocuintro.htm Parque Nacional Natural El Cocuy] Info in Spanish about the National Park where the Ritacuba Blanco is located.
* [http://www.andes.org.uk/peak-info-5000/ritacuba-blanco-colombia-info.htm Ritacuba Blanco on Andes site]