Sincholagua Volcano

Sincholagua is one of the least frequently climbed mountains in Ecuador because it is difficult to access and less well known compared to other mountains and volcanoes in the country. There is also a long hike to access it compared to other volcanoes like Pichincha and Cotopaxi, making it more difficult to get to. Sincholagua is best known for views of the surrounding mountains such as Cotopaxi and Antisana as well as the Western Cordillera and the Amazon rainforest. The climb is of moderate difficulty and takes an estimated three hours and thirty minutes to reach the summit from base camp with ideal weather conditions. The Northwest ridge is the normal route up the mountain and was used by the first climbers. People who want to climb it usually come in from the south through Cotopaxi National Park to reach the volcano. It can also be accessed from Quito. ==History==

The first ascent of Sincholagua was made by Edward Whymper, Jean-Antoine Carrel and Louis Carrel on 23 February 1880. Whymper is best known for being the first to ascend Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland. Sincholagua lost all permanent glaciers on its peak decades ago, but before that had a glacier cover about 1.5 kilometers long. Accompanying Estensoro was the controversial economist Ricardo Zinn, who worked as viceminister of economy and finances in the government of Isabel Perón in 1975, and was the author of the radical adjustment program known as the Rodrigazo. This phenomenon contributed to erode the political and social stability of Argentina in the lead-up to the 1976 coup d'état that installed the military dictatorship known as the National Reorganization Process, to which Zinn also contributed. ==References==