Altar, Complete Traverse. One of the main enterprises yet to be accomplished in this country was the complete traverse (“la travesía integral”) of all the summits of Altar. There were nine peaks to be ascended and descended, with varying degrees of difficulty. This was achieved by four Ecuadorians between September 19 and October 5, 1995. Participants were Osvaldo Alcócer, Osvaldo Freire, Gabriel Llano and Edison Oña. The traverse began with Obispo (5319 m), highest in the massif, and continued with Nonja Grande, Monja Chica (September 24), Tabemáculo (26th), the four Frailes (“friars,”’ between the 29th and October 2) and ended with Canónigo on October 4. Characteristics of this good traverse were the quantity of food, fuel and supplies that had to be carried up and down, the difficulty inherent to each peak and the unknown area east of Tabernáculo and the Frailes.

Marcos Serrano, Director, Campo Abierto, Quito, Ecuador