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Pyrenees trip  September 2009

Gordon and I snoozed through most of our long drive from Carcassone to Gavernie relying on Laurie to get us there safely. We resisted the trinkets and holy waters of Lourdes and arrived at our campsite above the village only to discover it was going to close the next day and the village was more or less closed for the season. To add to our woes our long imagined sun baked mountains were shrouded in Scottish looking mist with glimpses of fresh snow down to about 2000m. There was some daylight left so Laurie suggested a quick jog into the cirque in seek of the ‘wow factor’. What we could see looked pretty impressive - maybe a mini-wow! - and there was the promise of better weather to come.

The next morning the mountains were again shrouded in mist so we opted for the easy peak of Pimene (2801m) which gave us a 5000’ climb up good tracks with a damp lunch at the Refuge Des Espuguettes. The top gave us a short rocky scramble but we could only imagine the promised views.

The following day we moved down to a good campsite below Gavernie  (Pain de Sucre). When the weather started to improve we set off in the car up the Vallee D’Ossoue towards Vignemal and discovered we could drive up to just below the Barrage. On the way we turned a corner to discover around 30 vultures devouring a dead cow just below the road - an incredible sight but don't fall by the wayside here! Now the sun was out and we were all feeling a bit more enthusiastic. This is a beautiful valley which eventually climbs steeply up to a col overlooking the spectacular north face of Vignemal. On the way we had to circumvent some old hard snow patches and discovered some of the grottos built by the eccentric Count Henry Russell. We reached the snow below the Refuge Bayssellance from where a climb of a few hundred feet took us to the col. There was no doubt about the wow factor here - the north face of Vignemal is one of the great sights of the Pyrenees.

Our plan for the next two days was ambitious – a two day trek over to Spain and back.

We started by taking the scrambling route up the right hand side of the cirque giving us stunning views of the highest waterfall in Europe.  Above the hut we ventured tentatively onto the steep snow slope leading up to the Breche de Roland. To save weight we had decided to leave our axes and crampons but the ladder of old steps gave us enough purchase. Step though the Breche and you’re in Spain and it was literally a step from cloud and snow into dry rock and sun. A delightful walk took us down steep rocky slopes, limestone pavements and gravel flats, past waterfalls and to the edge of the Ordessa canyon. On the way we only just survived a clamber down a rocky step with a few tricky moves.

We were expecting a path into the canyon but instead we were faced with a via ferrata disappearing round the corner of a vertical crag. We set off in faith, hanging on to the wire and soon a vertical gully took us down to the path.  After a descent of a few thousand feet we arrived at the bottom of the canyon at 1400m – reputed to be the biggest in Europe. This is where it got tough – we now had to climb out of the canyon up to the Goriz hut at 2200m. The varied scenery took our minds off the task – forest at first with glimpses of the crags, a succession of waterfalls and then an open area above the tree line. To escape the canyon we dragged ourselves up a chain festooned crag from which another couple of km along an easy path led us to the hut. Relieved to have arrived after 9 and a half hours we relaxed before tucking in to a superb meal.

We were almost last away in the morning but we were soon zipping past other parties on the climb up to the wee Laco Helado at the foot of Monte Perdido. The gully was full of hard snow and we weren’t too sure about risking it. There were plenty of steps in the snow so we decided to set off and give it a go.  A slip would have been serious to say the least but we made it to the summit (3365m) where the views definitely had the wow factor. Laurie attracted plenty of looks and a few choice comments (Spanish for mad?) for his attire of shorts and fell shoes.

 We  made it down safely and chatted to an Irish party at the Lake.  It was still a long way back so we descended to the hut to retrieve our gear and the set off on the rising traverse back to the Breche.  This bit was full of interest with grassy traverses, more limestone scenery and some rough spectacular scenery with yet more chains closer to the Breche.

The descent down to the hut was surprisingly tricky in the hard snow and then we took the alternative descent over the col and down into the  Vallee de Pouey Aspey – very similar to the Ben race descent with steep screes and a ‘green wall’. Now we know why the Spanish lads did so well!  Eventually Gavernie appeared - glad to get back!  Bloody sore feet!

 We took a well deserved rest day after four days of 5000’, 4000’, 8000’, and 7000’ over very rough terrain with  morning shopping and cafés in Luz de Saveur  and then a gentle stroll along the Lac des Gloriettes in the afternoon. Gordie had been helping us resist the temptations of the 2 euro bottles of plonk but then produced a big plastic bottle of gutrot at half the price. "You want cheap - I'll give you cheap!"

On our last day we drove over the  famed Tourmalet  and ran from the summit (2200m) up to the observatory on the top of Pic Du Midi Du Bigorre (2800m) where we enjoyed spectacular views over a lifetimes worth of mountains.

Last years trip to the Verdon had been had to beat but the general consensus was that we had at least matched it this year.

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