A look from the top; On the road to Pico Bolívar | Photographic review: panoramic

leosalazh (43)in #photography • 6 years ago (edited)

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In this Post you will see a series of panoramic photos, taken towards the peak of Bolívar, in my first high mountain and summit in the highest point of Venezuela, at 4978 meters above sea level, located in the Sierra Nevada National Park, Mérida-Venezuela, in the third week of the month of December of last year (2017). Travel that without a doubt the best that has been done so far, for the singular spirituality, lived emotions, unique experiences, for all that the mountain teaches you, that you can only know by living it. A dream come true.

"All the photographs in this article are by authorship"

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IMG_8794 (2).JPG

Source: Author. Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi. Foto: 1/160 seg f/9 35 mm. ISO 100 B. 2788 x 1360.

Cable car of Merida
Mukumbarí is a cable car system in Venezuela. It is located in the Venezuelan city of Merida at an altitude of 1,640 meters (5,380 feet), up to Espejo Peak, at 4,765 meters (15,633 feet), within the Sierra Nevada National Park in the Venezuelan Andes. It is the longest cable car and the second longest in the world for only 500 meters, but it is in the first place because it is the only one that combined such height and length. The Cable Car of Mérida has a trajectory of 12.5 kilometers, reaching a height of 4,765 meters, which makes it a marvel of engineering unique in its type and with more than 50 years of history.

Fuente

Source: Author. Canon EOS 1000D. Foto: 1/100 seg, f/7,1, 28 mm. ISO 200 B

Source: Author. Canon EOS 1000D. Foto: 1/100 seg f/7,1 28 mm. ISO 200 B

The system consists of four sections and parking.

First stretch

- Barinitas Station (1,577 m) *
- La Montaña Station (2,436 m) *

*From the Chama River Canyon, moving from the top and after the top. The Meseta de Mérida with its neighboring towns - Tabay, La Parroquia and Ejido. *

Second section

- La Montaña Station (2,436 m) *
- La Aguada Station (3,452 m) *

Cloudy rain forest altiandina to the high moors, where El Toro Peak (4,756 m) emerges. The Sierra Nevada National Park and, to the north, you can see the Sierra de la Culata National Park, in the heart of the Venezuelan Andes. *

Third section

- La Aguada Station (3,452 m) *
- Loma Redonda Station (4,045 m) *

The páramos. Here you can see more than 86 species of frailejón, an exclusive plant of the Andes mountain range. To the front we see the North flank of Pico Bolívar and, below, there is a path that leads to Los Nevados village, on the other side of the mountains. *

Fourth section

- Loma Redonda Station (4,045 m) *
- Pico Espejo Station (4.760 m) *

Already at the top of Pico Espejo, the last cable car station. It appears around 20 to 40% less oxygen in reference to sea level. *

... 7:45 am, with our backpacks and climbing equipment hanging on the counted, and the backpacks to their full capacity, we were in the Plaza de las Heroínas waiting for the opening of the Mukumbarí cable car system, being the longest and the second highest in the world ... while the sun's rays caressed the mountain tops detailing all its relief, every minute that passed from the sunrise after the mountain range, it rose imposing, with its challenging and at the same time charming and subtle look beauty ... waiting for your rise ...

Source: Author. Canon EOS 1000D. Foto: 1/320 seg, f/13, 28 mm. ISO 200 B. 3888 x 1707

That was how it was that Merida morning in the holiday season, and the starting point of this adventure. In the distance on the right side of the photo you can see El Toro Peak.

Pico Espejo / Peak Mirror

Rumbo campamento albornos-Pico Espejo2.jpg

Source: Author. Canon EOS 1000D. Fotos 4: 1/320 seg f/11 28 mm. ISO 200 B. 17751 x 4401

Peak mirror, north view of the Sierra Nevada, in the background the state of Barinas. And finally we reached peak mirror after about 40 minutes since we left the first station. Preparing with the climbing team, it would not have been more than 15 minutes of having been in Pico Espejo and we were already placing the harness, the helmet, the carabiners, and descending through the cluaca, a wall about 15 meters high, and so take the course to the base camp Albornoz, filling us with adrenaline that helped us to walk the mountain for 1, 3 hours to the base camp. The emission, unique.

Camp Albornoz

Source: Author. Sendtel Flare. Foto: 1/125 seg f/2,2 3,5 mm. ISO 116 B. 2192 x 544

After the arduous and exciting walk through the páramo we arrive at the base camp albonoz, 4400 masl. Preparing the tents. Point in which I realize the effects of the oxygen flake in the environment, everything, relatively everything was slower, the movements in specific, for later, late at night, the symptoms begin to worsen, and between 8 and 9 of the night, without hesitation, I had bad páramo.

High altitude sunrise, from Base Camp Albornoz

Amanecer en el Campamento Albornot1.jpg

Source: Author. Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi. Fotos 2: 1/160 seg f/9 35 mm. ISO 100 B. 7270 x 3075.

Amanecer en el Campamento Albornot.jpg

Source: Author. Sendtel Flare. Fotos 2: 1/3200 seg f/2,2 3,5 mm. ISO 117 B. 6248 x 2977.

Day 2, after a cold night and little sleep after the malaise of paramo, the day we had planned to make a summit in Bolivar, we had to make the decision to stay to acclimate and look for water in the pond. And to be able to enjoy the same way the mountain and this beautiful sunrise.

La Charca, water intake

Desde la Charca.jpg

Source: Author. Sendtel Flare. Fotos 4: 1/640 seg f/2,2 3,5 mm. ISO 116 B. 10177 x 2590.

We are in a high, where you can see the farm on the left a small plain, where a stream of glacial water is deposited and passes, the old glacial shell. We had the surprise of knowing that in the night if it had been cold, seeing that small stream literally "frozen", to be able to fill our water reservoirs we had to wait for the thaw between 10 and 11 in the morning.

Source: Author. Sendtel Flare. Fotos 1: 1/1000 seg f/2,2 3,5 mm. ISO 118 B. 2320 x 480.

From the pond. A few meters from the path for the Chomajoma.

Sunset of height

Source: Author. FinePix S2950. Fotos 1: 1/80 seg f/6,4 5 mm. ISO 64 B. 4752 x 1248.

From the camp. After sunset, after the mirror peak, the temperature dropped rapidly without warning.

IMG_20171220_175719 (2).jpg

Source: Author. FLARE. Fotos 1: 1/125 seg f/2,2 3,5 mm. ISO 127 B. 3263 x 1320.

Towards the Highest, Pico Bolívar

Source: Author. FinePix S2950. Fotos 1: 1/60 seg f/3,1 5 mm. ISO 400 B. 4800 x 1264.

Dawn of day 3, on the way to the summit. We were already 1 hour from the camp, when we stopped to drink water, when a silence intervenes between the mountains, looks down as when they scold a child, and a single voice was heard - Debajon water. They did not bring the water. As you can imagine, they are ... - ... - what do we do? segimos - without words, only the guide was the one who dared to speak and among other words of the group. - we continue? Well, come on, it's done later than later to download-

Source: Author. FinePix S2950. Fotos 1: 1/320 seg f/6,4 5 mm. ISO 64 B. 4704 x 1248.

View of the mountain by the alternate route, the relief, to reach the peak.

Source: Author. FLARE. Fotos 1: 1/1000 seg f/2,2 3,5 mm. ISO 116 B. 2160 x 544.

At this point you begin to feel the adrenaline, after several rock climbs, moments of rockfall, hail, and a cliff of more than 100 meters, and with the city of Merida and saw the stock in the background. And a few meters from the last climb before reaching peak.

Source: Author. FLARE. Fotos 1: 1/250 seg f/2,2 3,5 mm. ISO 116 B.1280 x 544.

Precipice. Anchoring point of the meeting to climb an almost vertical slope in its entirety, the last climb of that level, before reaching the summit.

Source: Author. FLARE. Fotos 1: 1/400 seg f/2,2 3,5 mm. ISO 116 B. 2624 x 368.

Stage overcome, almost nothing for the summit. What it feels like to be at that point is indescribable.

Source: Author. FLARE. Fotos 1: 1/1250 seg f/2,2 3,5 mm. ISO 118 B. 1782 x 544.

SUMMIT!. Being there is unique, completely ineffable.

Descent, towards Pico Espejo

Source: Author. FinePix S2950. Fotos 1: 1/250 seg f/6,4 5 mm. ISO 64 B. 4832 x 1264.

Course to peak mirror.

Source: Author. FinePix S2950. Fotos 1: 1/250 seg f/6,4 5 mm. ISO 64 B. 4832 x 1264.

Afternoon of day 3. Already in peak mirror, in a plain bordering the station we set up camp for the night and the next day descend to Merida by cable car. We arrived dehydrated, tired till we could no more, to the limit on my part. They helped us with hydration a group of guides who spent the night in a shelter, to acclimatize. And with the sunset thinking about everyone, and nothing, enjoying that unique moment accompanied by a juice and lemon juice, ends that day.

End.

"The feeling for Nature is the most refined expression of Civilization. The clean body is restored with the subtle air of the heights, and the soul is cleaned and restored with the silence of the summits". (Unamuno)

Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it, see you soon.

#travel #mountaineering #cervantes-venezuela #life

6 years ago in #photography by leosalazh (43)

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