2015 Mar 5-8
Nota: publicado en Inglés: vamos a
editar e incluir versión en español pronto.
El Cocuy had been on our radar for a while, a “lost corner of Colombia” with
an ecosystem ranging from high forest through páramo, and up to the nevados. The
national park encompasses a huge area, including a range of 18 peaks which are
permanently snow-covered, although the snowline is receding and the ice
melting. In 1850 the icecap extended 150 Km2 and now its area is
less than 20 Km2.
For
many years it was not wise to visit this area, however in recent years it is
secure, although disputes have arisen over access to the park, through concerns
regarding environmental damage, and that visitors were not respecting the needs
of the U’wa, whose home this is, and for whom the nevados are sacred.
We
were spurred to visit the park by the visit of our friend Dave, whom we wanted
to show as much as possible of Colombia. His interest in mountains, along with
our wish to visit El Cocuy, combined to make this trip essential.
We drove north, initially on the main highway towards
Bucaramanga, turning off at Tunja and continuing to Soata, where we headed east
on narrowing, even more tortuous roads, to the village of El Cocuy, where we
were to spend the night before heading up into the park.
In the morning we took care of Park Insurance &
Registration and then drove up to the park entrance, then down into the valley
below, leaving the vehicle at a turnaround. We then hiked an hour or so to
Cabaña Sisuma, explored the trails around the cabaña, and then lunched. In the
afternoon we walked up a trail which climbs up to the main north-south ridge to
Boqueron Cusiri, initially overlooking Laguna la Pintada, and then the string
of lakes to the south west of the trail, seeing a pair of condors high above us
as we walked. This was the “acclimatization” walk, giving us a chance to get
used to the altitude (up to 4333m/14,216 ft), and no doubt to give our guide a
sense of our capabilities.
In the evening we dined and then turned in for an
early night, given that we would be making an “alpine start” in the morning for
our walk up towards the Pan de Azúcar. The
night was cold, and the tapwater colder, so our morning ablutions were as
efficiently conducted as possible.
We left the cabaña at 0400h and headed out into a moonlit
night, soon turning off our headlamps, which were not necessary in the
brilliant moonlight. By 0900h we had reached the snowline at La Cumbre, within
a few hundred metres of El Púlpito, where we put on crampons and roped up. It
was clear that time would not allow us to ascend to the Pan de Azúcar and
return safely, however we planned to continue above the snowline to El Púlpito and
then to see how conditions were. To this point, once the sun had risen, the
light was fantastic, and the views amazing.
However, soon after we started
climbing further, the cloud came in, visibility deteriorated, and it rapidly
became clear (so to speak) that there was little point in ascending beyond El Púlpito.
We reached this stunning outcrop, and after appropriate celebration of our
ascent to 4913m/16,120 ft we started back downhill.
We arrived at the cabańa at
1615h, took a break, gathered our remaining kit, and walked back to our
vehicle, continuing to El Cocuy village as darkness fell.
The following day, after wandering around the village, we headed
south again, stopping off in Tópaga, a small town founded (at least in colonial
terms) in 1593 CE, with an unusual church built (according to various reports)
between 1530 and 1632 CE.
Our trip to El Cocuy was well-timed it seems, because more
recently access to the park has been prevented by local people, based on the
concerns mentioned above, perhaps exacerbated by an ill-advised impromptu game
of football above the snowline kicked off (so to speak) by a group of visitors
who either did not realise, or did not care, that this would be seen as highly
disrespectful to those for whom this is sacred land.
Photos may be used for
non-commercial purposes with credit to alanymarce@gmail.com
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