Mount Carihuairazo (also ''Carihuayrazo'') is an eroded

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

neighboured by Ecuador's highest mountain

Chimborazo Chimborazo () is a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 A.D. Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point on the Earth's surface from t ...

Geography

Location

Carihuairazo is located in the Cordillera Occidental of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

of central Ecuador, south-southwest of the capital

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

. Its neighboured by 6,263 m high

. The nearest cities are

Riobamba Riobamba (, full name San Pedro de Riobamba; Quechua: ''Rispampa'') is the capital of Chimborazo Province in central Ecuador, and is located in the Chambo River Valley of the Andes. It is south of Ecuador's capital Quito and located at an eleva ...

(~30 km to the southeast), Ambato (~30 km to the northeast) and

Guaranda Guaranda () is a city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: R ...

(~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 Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only currently living family in the suborder Tylopoda. The seven extant members of this group are: dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, wild Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, ...

Vicuña The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes, the other being the guanaco, which live ...

Llama The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...

and

Alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successfu ...

Glacier

Carihuairazo's Glacier lost almost all of its mass during the last decade as a result of

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

and ash covers caused by the recent volcanic activity of its eastern neighbour

Tungurahua Tungurahua (; from Quichua ''tunguri'' (throat) and ''rahua'' (fire), "Throat of Fire")) is an active stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Oriental of Ecuador. The volcano gives its name to the province of Tungurahua. Volcanic activity rest ...

. At current rate Carihuairazo's Glacier is expected to completely disappear between 2020 and 2030.

Volcanism

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

History

Etymology

An interpretation of its name is that it's a combination of the

Quichua Kichwa (, , also Spanish ) is a Quechuan language that includes all Quechua varieties of Ecuador and Colombia (''Inga''), as well as extensions into Peru. It has an estimated half million speakers. The most widely spoken dialects are Chimborazo ...

words ''Cari'' (man), ''huay'' (wind) and ''razu'' (Ice/Snow) (Schmudlach 2001). Local Indian mythology narrates that Carihuairazo and

El Altar El Altar or Capac Urcu (possibly from Kichwa ''kapak'' principal, great, important / magnificence, ''urku'' mountain) is an extinct volcano on the western side of Sangay National Park in Ecuador, south of Quito, with a highest point of . Spaniards ...

which are both volcanic calderas have been destroyed by ''Taita (Father) Chimborazo'' fighting for the grace of ''Mama Tungurahua''.

First Ascent

Carihuairazo was climbed by

Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...

, the cousins Louis and

Jean-Antoine Carrel Jean-Antoine Carrel (1829 – August 1891) was an Italian mountain climber and guide. He had made climbs with Edward Whymper and was his rival when he attempted to climb the Matterhorn for the first time. Whymper ultimately succeeded in making th ...

, and Ecuadorians David Beltran and Francisco Campaña, during their 1880 Ecuador expedition. It is not entirely clear from Whymper's description, but some people believe that they climbed the ''Mocha'' (4,960m) and not the ''Maxim'' summit (5,018m). The first ascent of the ''Maxim'' summit is therefore attributed to Arturo Eichler, Horacio Lopez Uribe and Jean Morawiecki in 1951. Whymper and his companions ascended in cloudy conditions, believing the east peak (Mocha) to be the higher one. When the clouds cleared on their descent, Whymper said they could see they had climbed the west peak. It is likely that he meant the central summit, which is just west of Mocha.Whymper, Edward. ''Travels Amongst the Great Andes of the Equator''. John Murray, 1892, p.317.

Climbing

Due to the

glacier retreat The retreat of glaciers since 1850 affects the availability of fresh water for irrigation and domestic use, mountain recreation, animals and plants that depend on glacier-melt, and, in the longer term, the level of the oceans. Deglaciation occur ...

and its consequences climbing Carihuairazo has shifted from a PD glacier route with some rock scrambling to an 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 Acclimatization or acclimatisation ( also called acclimation or acclimatation) is the process in which an individual organism adjusts to a change in its environment (such as a change in altitude, temperature, humidity, photoperiod, or pH), ...

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

.

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.

References

* * * *

Notes

External links

Mountaineering information for Carihuairazo

(Spanish) * {{Authority control Stratovolcanoes of Ecuador Five-thousanders of the Andes Pleistocene stratovolcanoes Calderas of Ecuador