We breached the snow line at 15,000 feet, clambering onto the glacier-laced face of Pico El Toti, high in the Colombian Andes. Beneath a scattering of fresh snow and moraine, I could see the ice cap's core of purest blue. My crampons crunched the crisp surface as I plunged my ice ax to the hilt and urged myself on for the long upward slog.

The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy National Park, close to Colombia's border with Venezuela, is one of South America's most impressive ranges, yet one of its least-visited. Two parallel mountain chains rise from the jungle floor to more than 17,400 feet above sea level, their ridges laced with spectacular trekking trails that connect glacier-fed lakes, rivers and waterfalls.

The park's circle of glacier-capped peaks is comparatively accessible, offering novice climbers the chance to summit without the need for advanced technique. Just as well, I was thinking, as I had never before tackled a serious peak.

My hiking buddy, Joshua, oozes the confidence that comes from considerable high-altitude experience. ''The last scramble to the summits could be nail-biting,'' he had told me, ``and you'll have to be fit and fairly determined. But you won't need any technical skills.''

I was drawn to the challenge by an additional incentive: Like other glaciers in the tropics, the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy's ice caps are melting fast. In 1983, local authorities predicted that the park's major glaciers would survive for three centuries; by 2005, new studies rated their life expectancy at just 25 years. Go now, I figured, before the ice is gone forever.

Mountaineers have shied away from Colombia's national parks since the early 1980s, when intractable political strife and drug-related violence effectively placed the entire country off-limits for visitors. Yet peace of a kind has broken out in Colombia, and visitors are returning -- in record numbers. Exploiting a lull in the country's internecine strife, 1.2 million vacationers flew to Colombia in 2007, up by 13 percent over the previous year. Many are risk-shy, high-spending American and European vacationers.

FIVE SUMMITS

Joshua and I contracted one of Colombia's youngest mountain guides, 23-year-old Alexander Torres, who outlined a plan to set up base camp at a glacial lake, Laguna Grande de la Sierra, at 14,800 feet above sea level. The lake is encircled by five peaks, each reachable in a day. Once there, we would be able to pick our summits at leisure.

The highway from Bogotá towards the Venezuelan border roller-coasters through dizzying changes in altitude. From the 9,800-foot plateau surrounding the Colombian capital, where rolling grassland is dampened by near-permanent drizzle, it drops by 7,800 feet to the pepper trees, prickly pear and searing heat of Chicamocha Valley, switchbacking upwards as abruptly through a connecting valley that leads to the Andes.

The village of El Cocuy, nestling among verdant pasture at 9,000 feet, is surprisingly handsome, its flower-filled plaza and neatly painted houses displaying a sense of order unusual in remote South American settlements.

At the civil war's height, the FARC twice stormed the village, holding it successfully each time for a day. ''Seven years ago, the FARC stole my car, and used it to attack an army outpost in the next village,'' Alexander recalled. ``They returned it the next day, cleaned, and with a full tank of gas.''

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@