Pico Piedras Blancas

Pico Piedras Blancas
Pico Piedras Blancas
	Pico Piedras Blancas (Right) and Pico Mucumamó (left) seen from Alto de Mifafí
Highest point
Elevation	4,737 m (15,541 ft)
Coordinates	8°51′N 71°57′W / 8.850°N 71.950°W
Geography
Location	Mérida, Mérida, Venezuela
Parent range	Sierra de la Culata, Andes
Climbing
First ascent	Unknown, however
Easiest route	Walk, easy climb PD

The Pico Piedras Blancas (also known as Misamán), at 4,737 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. Its name, meaning "White Stones", is of uncertain origin, since the massif is predominantly grey in color.^[2] Pico Piedras Blancas lacks glaciers; however, seasonal snowfalls may briefly cover its flanks. From its summit and under clear conditions, Lake Maracaibo 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.

^ It is known that guide Daniel Toro and his father climbed it toward 1964.
^ Although there is some uncertainty regarding the name of the mountain, there is a local legend about the origin of the mountains and surrounding lagoons at Páramo de Piedras Blancas. It tells about the mourning into which the women of the local indigenous tribes fell after the conquistadors slaughtered their husbands. God, afflicted by "the suffering of His daughters", and wanting to alleviate their great sorrow, turned them into mountains, but still those "mountains" cried, giving origin with their "tears" to the local lagoons. If any tear became entrapped inside any frailejón, or trap of the terrain, it would turn into a "stone as white as milk, of which there are thousands on the summits of the Páramo de Piedras Blancas".

[1] It is known that guide Daniel Toro and his father climbed it toward 1964.

[2] Although there is some uncertainty regarding the name of the mountain, there is a local legend about the origin of the mountains and surrounding lagoons at Páramo de Piedras Blancas. It tells about the mourning into which the women of the local indigenous tribes fell after the conquistadors slaughtered their husbands. God, afflicted by "the suffering of His daughters", and wanting to alleviate their great sorrow, turned them into mountains, but still those "mountains" cried, giving origin with their "tears" to the local lagoons. If any tear became entrapped inside any frailejón, or trap of the terrain, it would turn into a "stone as white as milk, of which there are thousands on the summits of the Páramo de Piedras Blancas".

[1]

[2]