High mountain activities suspended in five peaks of Ecuador for a week

Ecuador suspended mountaineering for a week in five massifs of the country due to bad weather conditions and after an avalanche in the snow-capped Chimborazo volcano, which left three dead and three missing, the Environment Ministry reported on Friday.

“High mountain activities are suspended in the snowy peaks and elevations above 5,000 meters high,” the ministry said in a statement.

Mountaineers will not be able to enter the snowy Cayambe, Cotopaxi, Illiniza Sur, Antisana and Chimborazo for a week. In the latter, on October 24 there was an avalanche that caused the death of three people.

The avalanche occurred when a group of 16 people, of whom three are missing, ascended to the summit of Chimborazo, a 6,293-meter massif with perpetual snow.

This volcano, located in the province of the same name, is the highest in Ecuador, one of the largest in the world and its summit is the furthest point from the center of the Earth.

The restriction is pending “an improvement in climatic conditions that allow safeguarding the integrity of high mountain tourists,” added the ministry.

Ecuador will start a five-day holiday on Saturday, the longest of the year, to commemorate the Day of the Dead and the Independence of the city of Cuenca, in the southern Andean and the third most important in the nation. The authorities estimate that more than a million people will mobilize during the holiday.