| location | ||
| ||
| Data | ||
| height | 5,018 m | |
|---|---|---|
| province | Tungurahua | |
The Carihuairazo (Maxima: 5,018 m) is the glaciated remnant of a former stratovolcano and is located in the Western Cordillera Highlands of Ecuador.
places
There is no place as a valley location directly on the mountain.
The next major places are the provincial capitals Riobamba (25 km as the crow flies), Ambato (20 km) and Guaranda (30 km).
background
The Surname of the mountain "Carihuairazo" (also Carihuayrazo, Carhuarazo, Cerro Carihuairazo) becomes from the Quichua derived where "Cari" stands for "man" or "masculine", "huay" for "strong wind" and "razu" for "cold" or here for "cold snow".
The volcano is located in the nature reserve of the neighboring volcano Chimborazo ("Reserva de Produccion Faunistica Chimborazo"), which refers to the three highland provinces Tungurahua, Bolivar and Chimborazo distributed. The Carihuairazo lies in the province of Tungurahura.
The Carihuairazo is only the remainder of the former volcano, which lost its entire superstructure after a series of eruptions. Experts estimate that the mountain earlier reached the height of its neighbor Chimborazo (6267 m). Legend has it that this eruption happened in 1699, but modern science has long considered the volcano to be extinct.
The former caldera, about 2 km in diameter, is still clearly visible today. The summit chain of the Carihuairazo is the heavily eroded southwestern edge of the caldera and consists of the parts "Carihuairazo Central" and the northwest part "Carihuairazo Maxima" with the striking rock monolith as the highest point.
The actual First ascent is a little unclear. Edward Whymper, First to climb the Matterhorns (1865) and the neighboring Chimborazo (1880) also stopped at Carihuairazo. That he reached the main ridge is undisputed, but whether he has reached the main summit "Maxima", including his own Travel description, open to the experts. The main summit "Maxima" was safely reached for the first time in 1951 by Arturo Eichler, Horacio Lopez Uribe and Jean Morawiecki.
The mountain is also a victim of climate change; of all the icebergs in Ecuador, it has lost the most of its glacier. While a few years ago the ice reached the summit and enabled a direct ascent as a pure glacier tour, the now free-standing summit ridge has become a real climbing tour and the main summit "Maxima" is a real climbing tour in rock and ice, the technically most difficult to climb glacier mountain and also one of the most demanding normal routes up a mountain in Ecuador.
getting there
The easiest way to get there is via the connecting road Ambato - Guaranda (E491) with junction (approx. 4065 m, 1 ° 23 ′ 1 ″ S78 ° 50 ′ 4 ″ W.) on a dead end road around 50 kilometers from Ambato.
The cul-de-sac then increasingly turns into a more or less rinsed, partly steep and bendy gravel road, depending on the conditions, it can be followed a few kilometers further to the destination. Off-road mobility of the vehicle and driving skills are required, the turning options are severely limited. At some point the end of the route is reached (approx. 4300 m, 1 ° 24 ′ 22 ″ S78 ° 47 '52 "W.).
You should plan around two to three hours or more for the journey to the region alone.
Entrance fees for the region around the Carihuairazo are not required.
Tourist Attractions
Nature and a rugged Andean landscape are worth seeing.
The Chimborazo in the southwest and around 10 kilometers away (as the crow flies) you can always see it clearly.
With a little luck you can watch the herds of Vicuña, Llama and Alpaca. The animals in the national park are, however, really free living and wild and therefore accordingly shy.
The sparse vegetation, insofar as it still exists after the altitude, is a grassy landscape, interspersed with mosses, Andean herbs and flowers.
activities
For general information on hiking and mountaineering, see the corresponding section to the sierra.
The mountain is rarely visited, outside of the main season you may be alone all day.
hike
The area around the Carihuairazo is an ideal hiking area in a technically simple terrain as a hilly landscape with a clear and wide view all around.
However, there are no path markings. In the area of the high grasslands there are occasionally individual "trodden paths" between the up to knee-high tufts of grass, but these often simply get lost again. Parts of the grassland are also a bit damp and slightly swampy.
In the higher altitudes above, you walk on bare scree and rock.
Ascent
Because of its proximity to the Chimborazo (6310 m), the Carihuairazo is a popular height adjustment tour for climbing the highest peak in Ecuador. There is also one for climbing the Carihuairazo itself Height adjustment Absolutely necessary in advance: you should have stayed in the sierra for a few days and have reached altitudes of up to 4000 m and above without any problems.
Due to the remote location and lack of accommodation on the mountain, careful scheduling is necessary: an early start is required for a day tour, an accommodation (tent) must be included in the planning for a two-day tour.
You should plan at least two to three hours for the approach from the valley alone, for the hike from the highest approachable point on the Cul-de-sac to the starting point of the ascent on the north-west side of the mountain and at around 4600 m altitude, also another up to three hours of walking time.
The actual Ascent to the main ridge takes place through the north-west side of the mountain over the remains of the glacier. The summit ridge of the "Maxima" is then reached west of the rock monolith of the summit needle.
Depending on the season, the summit ridge is iced differently. The actual summit and now free-standing summit rock is then a real rock climb (UIAA V-VI, climbing equipment) and is only very rarely climbed after the retreat of the glacier. In the upper part the ascent is steep and also prone to falling rocks, the ascent time to the ridge is about 1.5 - 2 hours (as of 2012).
shop
On the mountain and in its surroundings there is no infrastructure / shopping facilities, not even for souvenirs etc. or even for drinking water.
accommodation
There is no manned mountain hut as a base for the immediate ascent to the summit.
At the beginning of the access road (cul-de-sac, see Directions) there is a very simple refuge of the national park administration with cooking facilities, all necessary utensils as well as showers (cold) and toilets.
climate
For general information on the climate, see also the article on Sierra.
The Carihuairazo is a year-round travel destination, the best months to visit are the months May to September and December. If you come in the other months, you have to expect more precipitation, which, depending on the altitude, can also fall as snow or hail.
This precipitation with clouds, fog and also thunderstorms with a severely restricted view then mainly occurs from midday and should be taken into account accordingly in the tour planning.
literature
- : Mountain guide Ecuador. Panico-Alpinverlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3926807823 , Pp. 252-257; 298 pages. 29.80 €, all volcanoes and mountains of Ecuador of mountaineering interest
- ; John Murray (Ed.): Travels amongst the great Andes of the equator. Bertrams Print on Demand, 1892, ISBN 978-1904466246 ; 452 pages (English).
- : Ecuador: A Climbing Guide. Mountaineers Books, 2000, ISBN 978-0898867299 , Pp. 84-93; 189 pages (English).
