La Rosa Benefit Climb - Cerro Chirripo 2011

 

"Place of Enchanted Waters"

 

Welcome to the blog home of Hotel La Rosa de America's charity climb! On Dec 5th and 6th we will be climbing Cerro Chirripo in Costa Rica to raise money and awareness to support the efforts of the Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary in the Southern Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. This organization is striving to protect animals within the National Parks of Costa Rica from poaching and degredation of habitat. To find out more about this worthy cause, please check out their website and associated news releases, blogs etc...

Also for future climbs, you can help by spreading the word and letting people know about this opportunity to blend a great holiday experience with some hard work, and a great payoff through supporting our environment.

Basic Facts about the Mountain:

 

• Cerro Chirripo is 3,820 metres or 12,533 feet in hight.
• The second tallest mountain in Central America and the tallest in Costa Rica.
• Trailhead elevation is 1,520 metres
• Overall hiking distance is 40 km over two days
• Non technical climb - great for fit adventurers!
   

Our Guide:

Integral to our climb is a strong desire to learn about the various environments that we will pass through. That, coupled with the extra safety of a guide, led us to search out one of the best! Ameila Garita, daughter of Jose - the man with the World Record for Chirripo ascents, has agreed to be our guide. Amelia holds a degree in tourism from the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, is bi-lingual and has extensive experience in the Chirripo region. We are very happy to have her join us!

The Itineray:

 

Day 1: Enroute from the Central Valley, we will cross over the famous Cerro de Muerte and see our first glimpse of the Cerro Chirripo rising over the omnipresent Talamanca Mists. Arriving in San Gerardo de Rivas on the afternoon of 04 December, we will enjoy a dip in the Thermal Springs prior to supper.

Day 2: Rising early, we will enter the Chirripo National Park and begin our hike, passing through many distinct climatic regions as we climb. After about 7 hours, we will enter the "La Cuesta del Agua" which will prove a challenge to our endurance! We will then enter the Paramo Valley and then stop at Base Crestones for the night.

Day 3: Rising early, we will have a quick breakfast, and then begin our climb to the Summit in time for a "continent spanning" sunrise. After an hour at the top, we will commence our descent down into the Valle de los Conejos (Rabbit Valley) and through the Paramo high altitude equitorial vegetation. If time and energy allows, we will take a look at the Cerro Terbi and Los Crestones features as well. Coontinuing our descent past Base Crestones, we will arrive back at the Hotel Uran before nightfall.

Day 4: After breakfast, and the inevitable swapping of stories and maybe a few aches and pains we will say goodbye and continue on with our holidays - until meeting up again at Hotel La Rosa prior to departing Costa Rica.

We are very excited about this chance to climb the highest point in Costa Rica and hopefully have the chance to see the Pacific AND Atlantic Ocean at the same time! Thank you for your participation and for your willingness to support our wildlife charity cause! See you at the top in a month!