Monja Chica, El Altar Group, New Route. On December 24, we arrived at the south side of the Altar massif. After three days of bad weather, fog and deep snow, on the 27th we reached the col between Monja Chica and El Tabemaculo. The next day, Carlo Guillén, José Sulbarau and I ascended steep Monja Chica (5045 meters, 16,521 feet) up its east side, a new route and the seventh ascent of the peak. We descended belayed by aluminum pegs 70 centimeters long. Meanwhile, Nelson Rojas, a Venezuelan like ourselves, and Ecuadorian Silvio Pesantes made the sixth ascent of EI Tabemáculo (5180 meters, 16,995 feet). Afterwards, we ascended Cotopaxi, whose summit we found occupied by 40 Germans, guided by Marco Cruz.

José Betancourt, Mérida, Venezuela