Ritacuba Blanco

Ritacuba Blanco
Ritacuba Blanco from the west
Highest point
Elevation	5,410 m (17,750 ft)[1]
Prominence	3,645 m (11,959 ft)[1] Ranked 46th
Listing	Ultra
Coordinates	06°29′39″N 72°17′51″W / 6.49417°N 72.29750°W / 6.49417; -72.29750[1]
Geography
Ritacuba Blanco Location in Colombia
Location	Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Colombia
Parent range	Cordillera Oriental, Colombia; Andes
Topo map	CIGM Sheet 137
Climbing
Easiest route	glacial hike

Ritacuba Blanco is the highest peak of Cordillera Oriental, in the Andes Mountains of Colombia. It's also named Ritak'uwa, an ancient name from the U'wa indigenous people that live in the lowlands of the National Park Sierra Nevada del Cocuy y Güicán, where the Ritacuba Blanco is located. The summit is accessible from the west via the town of El Cocuy, the village of Güicán, and the hamlet of Las Cabañas. The hike is fairly easy, but the weather is not reliable, and a glacier must be crossed. Because of global warming, its glacier is melting at very high rates, backing down 25 linear mts per year; the same is happening at amazing speeds to all other snow-covered tropical mountains in Colombia. In 1950, Ritacuba Blanco's glacier extended down to 4,100 metres (13,500 ft) above sea level; in January 2007 its lowest point was at 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) above sea level. If this melting rate continues, the glacier is expected to disappear before 2055.