author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion
Los Nevados National Park in Colombia’s Cordillera Central mountain range has some similarities with the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy. It rises to just over 5,000m and it surrounded by páramo. But in one key respect it’s very different – volcanoes.
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Eight years ago I hiked the Cocuy Circuit trek in Colombia. To whet your appetite for this beautiful country, here are five videos covering all five days of the trek I completed in 2011. The smiles in these videos tell it all.
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There are few more quintessentially conical volcanoes than Cotopaxi, and it’s hard to look at without wanting to climb it. Edita hadn’t, and as soon as the mountain re-opened after the eruption in 2015, she had to do so at the first opportunity.
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Formerly one of Ecuador’s most active volcanoes, Tungurahua was re-opened for climbing in 2017. It was an obvious objective for us this year, especially since it just squeaks into the list of 10 peaks in Ecuador over 5,000m.
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Welcome to this, the second in my series of Apennine ‘up the backside’ posts, so called because I tackle the mountain from the opposite of its usual side. I have previously talked about an ascent of Monte Marsicano via its
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In local Ecuadorian legend, the god Taita Imbabura is said to have fought the god Mojanda for the affections of Maria Isabel Cotacachi. Imbabura won this battle and took Cotacachi for his wife. As I reported in a previous post
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According to the Urban Dictionary, the word ‘Fuya’ is a portmanteau whose meaning equates to the popular phrase ‘Fuck, yeah!’ If this is true, then the volcano Fuya Fuya was clearly going to be one of the most exciting climbs in Ecuador.
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Since 2015, Edita has been gradually ticking off the highest peaks in the UK. First it was the highest mountain in Wales; then the highest mountain in England and then in May the highest mountain in Scotland. It was high time she introduced me to the highest mountain in her own country, Lithuania.
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A short distance south of Ben Nevis is a hidden sanctuary encircled by mountains. This hanging corrie has a single outlet which drains into Britain’s second highest waterfall. A full circuit of the ring of mountains involves 4 Munros and 7 peaks in total.
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Edita wanted to do another bike ride in Scotland. I suggested the Great Glen Way because it went along a glen rather than over hills, so it should be pretty flat. I was surprised when the cycle hire shop recommended a pair of mountain bikes.
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