I'm living in Medellin for the next year, and naturally I'm already itching to get into the mountains. Unfortunately, the closest tall peak, Nevado del Ruíz, is closed due to volcanic activity (sounds like a good time to me!). So, I started looking into los Picos Cristobal Colón y Simón Bolivar, but I'm finding various vague talk of "dangerous access." Does anybody know about this? There were some references to guerrilleros y paramilitares, but with the ever-changing political conditions and the current 'peace talks,' I wondered if anyone had any updates on the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

And, if that really is out of the question, where are my next best options for big mountain adventures? I have almost 4 weeks from the end of December to the middle of January, and I want to see some mountains!

Unless things have changed, the Santa Marta is closed because it is a reserve for the indigenous people.

There are still hundreds of mountains to choose from, some of which are on SP.

Nevado Purace, Nevado Tolima, and the entire Sierra El Cocuy (i.e. Ritacuba Blanco, etc.) are some possibilities.

Colombian Mountains on SP:

http://www.summitpost.org/object_list.p ... bject_name

You might want to send a message to Parofes. I think he was investigating mountaineering possibilities in Colombia as well a while back.

Hello Tom,

A couple years ago I thought about do some climbing there as well. Not so simple as I wanted, as you probably want.
You might wanna accept Scott's idea, keep to the other peaks, forget about C Colon, S Bolivar, and Ruiz (in serious activity for years). Go for the other mountains which have access and nearby villages.

Something you might wanna read: http://www.summitpost.org/i-used-to-think-brazil-was-bad-not-anymore/678167

(it will take a while for the images to load, but wait for it around 45 seconds)

Cheers
Paulo

I must add that Nevado Tolima is one of the most beautiful climbs I have ever done.

I've climbed several higher mountains in the Andes, but the route to Tolima goes along the rim of a spectacular gorge on the approach to the trailhead, the route climbs through the tropical cloud forest, past hot springs, through another spectacular gorge and eventually climbing to glaciers. It is just south of Nevado Ruiz and highly recommended. If Ruiz is active, you may get a good view from a safe distance of it blowing up.

PS, I'd appreciate any updates you have to Nevado Ruiz and the current eruption so I can update my SP page.

Scott,

All I can find is pretty much all you can find too...
But here's something interesting, live cameras. One 3.5 kms away from its summit, other 12kms away and the last one 21 kms away.
The photo changes every 60 seconds. Neat tech, very usefull.

http://intranet.ingeominas.gov.co/popayan/P%C3%A1gina_Principal

It is still active, five years of constant activity now...

I was in Manizales a year ago, and you could take a bus 1000 ft below the summit of Ruiz, but that's it unfortunately. Cocuy is your best option for high summits with little restrictions, but will take some fun bus rides to get there!

Unfortunately, the whole park is closed due to the continued activity of Ruíz.

From the home page (http://www.parquesnacionales.gov.co/PNN ... =01.022908): Manizales, 14 septiembre de 2012: A pesar de que el volcán Nevado del Ruiz cambiara de nivel naranja II a amarillo III, el Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados continúa cerrado.

Scott wrote:Unless things have changed, the Santa Marta is closed because it is a reserve for the indigenous people.

There are still hundreds of mountains to choose from, some of which are on SP.

Nevado Purace, Nevado Tolima, and the entire Sierra El Cocuy (i.e. Ritacuba Blanco, etc.) are some possibilities.

Colombian Mountains on SP:

http://www.summitpost.org/object_list.p ... bject_name

Thanks Scott,
The Cocuy look pretty spectacular. That might have to be the option, with Parque Los Nevados being closed and Colon and Bolivar off-limits.

Parque Los Nevados is officially closed, but there is absolutely no problem entering via Ibague/Juntas to attempt Nevado Tolima. That said, Cocuy is probably a better spot for climbing, but also much harder to access.