Pico Piedras Blancas
Encyclopedia
The Pico Piedras Blancas (also known as Misamán), at 4737 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
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. Its name, meaning "White Stones", is of doubted origin, since the massif is predominantly grey in color (however, see ). Pico Piedras Blancas lacks glaciers. However, seasonal snowfalls may cover briefly its flanks. From its summit and under clear conditions, Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish bay in Venezuela at . It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait at the northern end, and fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo. It is commonly considered a lake rather than a bay or lagoon, and at 13,210 km² it would be the...

 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.

Location

Pico Piedras Blancas is located 35 km (22 mi) to the northeast of Mérida
Mérida, Mérida
Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, Venezuela, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes...

, 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
Pico Pan de Azúcar
The Pico Pan de Azúcar, at 4680 meters above sea level, is the ninth highest mountain of Venezuela, and the third highest of the Sierra de la Culata range in the Mérida State. Its name, which translates as "Bread of Sugar", is due to the sandy slopes of the mountain, which resembles "Pan dulce", a...

 in the same range of La Culata or the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida
Sierra Nevada de Mérida
The Sierra Nevada de Mérida is the highest mountain range in the largest massif in Venezuela, the Cordillera de Mérida, which in turn is part of the northern extent of the Cordillera de los Andes...

 range.
  • Piedras Blancas can be best climbed during the dry season
    Dry season
    The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...

    , 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.
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