Pico Piedras Blancas

Pico Piedras Blancas
Pico Piedras Blancas (Right) and Pico Mucumamó (left) seen from Alto de Mifafí
Elevation	4,737 m (15,541 ft)
Location
Location	Mérida, Mérida, Venezuela
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.

1 Location
2 Elevation
3 Climbing
4 References
5 Notes

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.

Piedras Blancas can be best climbed during the dry season, from October to March.
The principal accesses are two: through the Mifafí Condor Reserve, near Casa de Gobierno in the Trasandina road, and through the town of La Toma, nearby Mucuchíes, also in the Trasandina road.
The normal route is through the eastern side of the massif.

References

Silva, Gustavo (2001). "Los Picos más altos del Estado Mérida-Venezuela". Rev. Geog. Venez. 42 (1)[1]
Pérez, O; Hoyer, M; Hernández, J; Rodrígez, C; Márques, V; Sué, N; Velandia, J; Deiros, D (2005). "Alturas del Pico Bolívar y otras cimas andinas venezolanas a partir de observaciones GPS". Interciencia. 30 (4). [2]
"Determinan la altura exacta del Pico Bolívar" (2003). Instituto Geográfico de Venezuela Simón Bolívar. IGVSB-BG No 14. [3]
Laffaille, Jaime. "Las montañas que lloran". [4]

Notes

^ It is known that guide Daniel Toro and his father climbed it toward 1964.
^ 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".