Monja Chica, Altar Group. Members of the Mountain Club of the Polytechnical School of the Ecuadorian army made the second ascent of Monja Chica (5120 meters, 16,798 feet), a peak located in the eastern end of the Altar massif. On January 1, 1981, A. Andrade, O. Cevallos, A. Munchmeyer, I. Ortega, B. Ramos, W. Villacís and R. Yépez climbed to the top after overcoming an unstable glacier and a short but steep rock wall. Their altimeters registered a height of only 5040 meters. Monja Chica (“Little Nun”) had been ascended in 1972 by the German Bednar expedition and the Ecuadorians probably repeated the route of the first ascent (information from El Comercio, Quito).

Evelio EchevarrÍa