Carihuairazo

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Carihuairazo
Carihuayrazo left of bigger Chimborazo as seen from the north
Elevation	5,018 m (16,463 ft)
Location	Ecuador
Range	Andes, Cordillera Occidental
Coordinates	01°24′25″S, 78°45′00″W
Topo map	IGM, CT-ÑIV-C1 [1]
Type	Caldera
Age of rock	Paleogene (Gomez 1994)
Last eruption	Unknown
First ascent	1951 A. Eichler, H.L. Uribe, J. Morawiecki
Easiest route	glacier/snow/rock climb AD

Mount Carihuairazo (also Carihuayrazo, IPA: [kɑɹɪwɑɪɹɑsɒ]) is a volcanic caldera neighboured by Ecuador's highest mountain Chimborazo.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Location 1.2 Glacier 1.3 Volcanism 2 History 2.1 Etymology 2.2 First Ascent 3 Climbing 3.1 Routes 4 References 5 Notes 6 External links

[edit] Geography

[edit] Location

Carihuairazo is located in the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes of central Ecuador, 150 km (93 miles) south-southwest of the capital Quito. Its neighboured by 6,267 m high Chimborazo. The nearest cities are Riobamba (~30 km to the southeast), Ambato (~30 km to the northeast) and Guaranda (~30 km to the southwest). Carihuairazo's 1.5 km wide heavy eroded caldera opens to the east.

The Carihuairazo forms part of the "Reserva de Produccion Faunistica Chimborazo" which forms a protected ecosystem to preserve the habitat for the andens native camelids Vicuña, Llama and Alpaca.

[edit] Glacier

Carihuairazo's Glacier has lost an important part of its mass during the last decade caused by global warming and ash covers caused by the recent volcanic activity^[1] of its eastern neighbour Tungurahua.

[edit] Volcanism

Carihuairazo must have been a Volcano of similar dimensions to its neighbour Chimborazo before explosions during the last period of activity have destroyed the mass of it and left today's caldera. There is no evidence of historic activity and Carihuayrazo is considered inactive.

[edit] History

[edit] Etymology

An interpretation of its name is that it's a combination of the Quichua words Cari (man), huay (wind) and razu (Ice/Snow) (Schmudlach 2001). Local indian mythology narrates that Carihuairazo and El Altar which are both volcanic calderas have been destroyed by Taita (Father) Chimborazo fighting for the grace of Mamá Tungurahua.

[edit] First Ascent

Carihuayrazo was climbed by Edward Whymper and the brothers Louis and Jean-Antoine Carrel during their 1880 Ecuador expedition. It is not entirely clear out of Whymper's descriptions but it is believed that they climbed the Mocha (4,960m) and not the Maxima summit (5,018m). The first ascent to the Maxima summit is attributed to Arturo Eichler^[2], Horacio Lopez Uribe and Jean Morawiecki^[3] in 1951 (Neate 1994).

[edit] Climbing

Due to the glacier retreat and its consequences climbing Carihuairazo has shifted from a PD glacier route with some rock scrambling to a AD route with a technical climb to the summit tower (Maxima, 5,018m).

• Carihuairazo can be climbed year round with best seasons being December-January and July-August.
• A good height acclimatization is highly recommended for this climb.
• The mountain is contained on the IGM (Instituto Geografico Militar) 1:50000 Map Chimborazo (CT-ÑIV-C1) (IGM 1991, [2]).

[edit] Routes

The normal route to Carihuairazo Maxima (5,018m) starts from a camping spot at ~4,600m, reaching the main ridge either via the SW-ridge or from West via the glacier, followed by a difficult technical climb to reach the summit tower.

[edit] References

• Gomez, Nelson (1994). Atlas del Ecuador. Editorial Ediguias. ISBN 9978-89-009-2.
• IGM (Instituto Geografico Militar, Ecuador) (1991). Chimborazo Ecuador, CT-ÑIV-C1. Retrieved on 2006-08-05.
• Neate, Jill (1994). Mountaineering in the Andes. Expedition Advisory Centre. ISBN 0-907649-64-5.
• Schmudlach, Günter (2001). Bergführer Ecuador. Panico Alpinverlag. ISBN 3-926807-82-2.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Tungurahua's recent activity period started in 1999 with the most significant eruptions between October and December 1999 and May and July 2006 (Actividad Volcan Tungurahua. Instituto Geofísico, EPN Ecuador. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.)
2. ^ In 1934 Arturo Eichler emigrated for political reasons from Germany to Ecuador, he later became an important ecologist in Venezuela (Arturo Eichler - Biografia. Fundacion la Era Agricola. Retrieved on 2006-08-05.)
3. ^ Jean Morawiecki was interim in charge of the French Embassy in Ecuador 1950/51 (Ambassade. Ambassade de l'Equateur en France. Retrieved on 2006-08-05.)

[edit] External links

• Mountaineering information for Carihuairazo
• Official page of the protected area "Reserva de Produccion Faunistica Chimborazo" (Spanish)