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Pico Cristóbal Colón

Coordinates: 10°50′18″N 73°41′12″W / 10.83833°N 73.68667°W / 10.83833; -73.68667
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Pico Cristóbal Colón
Pico Cristóbal Colón in 2008
Highest point
Elevation5,775 m (18,947 ft)
Prominence5,509 m (18,074 ft)
Ranked 5th
ListingCountry high point
Ultra
Coordinates10°50′18″N 73°41′12″W / 10.83833°N 73.68667°W / 10.83833; -73.68667
Naming
Native nameGonawindua (Cogui)
Geography
Pico Cristóbal Colón is located in Colombia
Pico Cristóbal Colón
Pico Cristóbal Colón
Location in Colombia
LocationMagdalena Department, Colombia
Parent rangeSierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Climbing
First ascent1939 by Wood, Bakerwell and Praolini
Easiest routebasic snow/ice climb, Alpine PD

Pico Cristóbal Colón is possibly the highest mountain in Colombia, with a reported height of 5,775 metres (18,947 ft).[1] Pico Cristóbal Colón and Pico Simón Bolívar are the two highest peaks in Colombia and almost equal in elevation.[2] One of the two mountains is therefore the fifth most prominent in the world (see list of peaks by prominence). The nearest peak that is higher is Cayambe, some 1,288 kilometres (800 mi) away. There is a permanent snowcap on this peak and on the nearby mountains. It is part of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta range, along with Pico Simón Bolívar, and was named after Christopher Columbus. This mountain is the highest point in South America outside the Andes.

Climbing history

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Colón was first climbed in 1939 by Walter Wood, Anderson Bakerwell and E. Praolini.[3]

Access to these mountains became very difficult after the early 1990s due to hostile locals, drug traffickers and FARC guerillas. An expedition in 2015 led by John Biggar was one of the first to climb in the range for many years, and reached the summit of Pico Colón on 13 December.[4]

Pico Colon Glacier
Petter Bjorstad climbing the north glacier on Pico Colon, December 2015

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cohen, Saul Bernard (2008). The Columbia Gazetteer of the World: A to G. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-14554-1.
  2. ^ Andes site
  3. ^ "Pico Cristobal Colon Overview - Peakware.com". www.peakware.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-02.
  4. ^ Bjorstad, Petter. "Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Trip Report".