Pico Simón Bolívar is possibly the highest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, with an estimated height of . Pico Bolívar and the neighbouring summit of Pico Cristóbal Colón are the two highest peaks in Colombia and are very nearly equal in elevation. The height difference is about 7 meters. For this reason, it is the fifth most prominent peak in the world (see

list of peaks by prominence This is a list of mountain peaks ordered by their topographic prominence. Terminology The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or from sea level if there is no higher peak. The low ...

). The nearest peak that is higher is Cayambe, some away. There is a permanent snowcap on this peak and on the nearby mountains. It is part of the

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...

range, along with Pico Cristóbal Colón. The peak is named after

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

Climbing history

Pico Simón Bolívar was first climbed in 1939 by W. Wood, A. Bakerwell and E. Praolini. Access to these mountains became very difficult after the early 1990s due to hostile locals, drug traffickers, and

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in 1966 from peasan ...

guerillas. An expedition in 2015 was one of the first to climb in the range for many years, reaching the summit of Pico Cristóbal Colón.

References

{{reflist Simon Bolivar Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

Climbing history

See also

References