Pyrenees 2011

Cirque de Gavarnie

Last week saw a welcome return to the Pyrenees and a 5-day hut-to-hut trek criss-crossing the French/Spanish border. Eighteen months in the planning, the trip was largely the culminating expedition in a programme of walking trips and Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions for 10 cadets of No 633 Air Training Corps Squadron. Helene, their boss, came along to help provide a mutually-beneficial interface between the quinquagenerian (try saying that after a glass of Merlot - or before, for that matter) mountain leader and his boisterous band of teenagers! Friend (and cadet instructor) Dave was there too, not only to provide invaluable help, but also to carry the sponsor's flags and provide a sonorous soundtrack to otherwise long silent nights in the mountain huts!!! The trek started and finished in probably the most-visited village in the Pyrenees: Gavarnie.

Mt Perdido (3355m)

The village stands at the end of a steep-sided valley at the foot of the Cirque de Gavarnie, a curved amphitheatre of towering rock, snow and ice down which drops the highest waterfall in Europe, the Grand Cascade. The trek is fully contained within the French Pyrenees and Spanish Ordesa National Parks which are both listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. The primary geographical feature on the Spanish side is the Ordesa canyon, a 1000m-deep cleft of vertical limestone cliffs. Trekking between Gavarnie and the canyon involves a steep climb across the Pyrenean watershed, a line of 3000m mountains along which the French/Spanish border runs.

Le Grande Cascade

This watershed is spectacularly breached at the Breche de Roland, a 40m wide, 100m vertically-sided gap in the mountain wall and a key crossing point for trans-frontier trekking routes in the area. We also planned to climb the 3rd highest mountain in the Pyrenees, Mt Perdido (3355m) which completes this stunning collection of outstanding topographical features conveniently arranged within a 50Km circuit in this spectacular pocket of SW Europe.

Approaching the End of the Ordesa Canyon

Following a night in Toulouse we drove to Gavarnie under gloomy skies that promised little for the coming days. We needn't have worried, however, as the following morning dawned bright and clear and we set off in high spirits and under blue skies towards the first great landmark of our trek: the Cirque de Gavarnie. Mule trains still carry tourists between Gavarnie and the Cirque and their sight - and smell - are an enduring feature of this first hour! We left the tourist trail soon after the first of several cadet Magnum fixes at the strategically-placed Hotellerie du Cirque and walked across the floor of the Cirque towards the start of the day's climbing.

Up the Ladder to the Roof!

A steep path up rock terraces lifted us out of the Cirque and it fair took our breath away (almost literally for Selina) as we climbed in the afternoon sun up the Echelle des Sarradets (ladder of Sarradets). Half way up, some cretin (Fr = pratt) above us let loose a sizeable block of local geology which narrowly missed the whole party except for poor Rosie who coolly elbowed it out of the way to prevent further damage! Rosie being Rosie, nobody realised she'd been hit until she displayed a sizeable bruise some days later! A withering look and some blunt Anglo-Saxon advice at the guilty yoof didn't appear to have much effect on the guilty party but at least it made us (me) feel better! Eventually, the slope eased and our home for the night appeared: the Refuge de la Breche de Roland (or Sarradets Hut; 2587m).

The Refuge de la Breche de Roland (or Sarradets Hut).

Day 2 (much to Selina's relief) was downhill all the way, initially over rock down to the Port de Boucharo where we crossed into Spain, and then down the grassy Lapazosa valley to a sunny Valle de Bujaruelo and a stop for lunch at the picturesque Puente de Bujaruelo (Bujaruelo Bridge). Here we were entertained by watching 2 youth leaders cajoling their group of under-10s across the Ara river as well as our own gang failing miserably to master the art of balancing on a dry rock in a wet river (you know who you were...)!

Puente de Bujaruelo

An hour down a dusty track lay the beautifully-placed and well-appointed camping/hostel facility of Camping y Refugio Valle de Bujaruelo (1250m) where the joys of porcelain conveniences were once again reunited with our grateful youngsters! Funny old thing though: there's obviously something in the water hereabouts as once-exhausted international trekkers suddenly found the energy to rush around noisily playing hide and seek whilst more senior heads lay on comfortable beds and dreamt of silence!

An Atmospheric Ordesa Canyon

Day 3 started with more of the dusty track before joining the GR11 long-distance footpath at the Navarros Bridge at the entrance to the long-awaited Ordesa canyon. From here, soaring limestone cliffs filled the sky and shafts of sunlight cut through translucent clouds creating a real atmospheric ambience to enhance our journey up the canyon.

Mr Hillways and One Big Canyon!

A further hour took us to the road-head and tourist centre at the Pradera de Ordesa (Ordesa Meadow) where more Magnums were consumed before the cadets led us up the 600m switchback of the Senda de los Cazadores (hunter's path) to a lofty viewpoint high above the canyon floor with stunning views across - and along - the canyon. Half-way through the trek it was particularly pleasing to see Mat (one 't'), Ollie and Emma respond so well to the challenge of leadership and ensure everyone got up OK. There followed the long, but entertaining, traverse of the Ordesa canyon towards its head below the bulk of Mt Perdido largely unseen under its misty shroud.

The Head of the Ordesa Canyon

The excellent Faja de Pelay clings largely to the 1900m contour and is a superb rolling vantage point from which to observe the graceful crescent of the canyon. Gradually the canyon floor rose to meet us as we approached the head of the canyon at the Circo de Soaso and began the final 400m climb to our refuge for the next 2 nights: the Goriz Hut (2170m).

The Goriz Hut

Circling Griffon vultures seemed to have noticed the increasing (and inevitable) weariness of our gallant group and were no doubt eyeing up any stragglers! The typically crowded Goriz Hut proved to be a popular stop for us (apart from the toilets...ugh!) with friendly staff, warm sunshine and grassy surroundings on which to relax after all the walking. Even Chris found something he actually liked on the menu!

Spring Snow on Mt Perdido!

Day 4 was to have seen us stand triumphantly atop the summit cone of Mt Perdido (3355m), 3rd highest Pyrenean peak. Unfortunately, late spring snow had overstayed its welcome and proved to be initially difficult to cross and then dangerous so we limited ourselves to a snow-free viewpoint at 3050m/10,000' which we rightfully all agreed was a tremendous achievement in its own right. Helene led an emotional group hug and said some fine words, the team posed for numerous photographs in their expedition t-shirts (I didn't!!!) and Dave got the flags out again for more pics to send to the sponsors. We returned the same way to the hut, not too disappointed, and ready for our last day back to Gavarnie on the morrow.

Descending the Breche de Roland

Our last day proved to be quite a challenge one way or the other. The first part of our walk back to the Breche was trouble-free - a good path, great scenery and some chamois and griffon vultures for company. As we neared the Breche though, more snowfields resulted in a number of diversions and an interesting rock step gave everyone something to think about! It was a great learning experience for the team and everyone acquitted themselves admirably, particularly Ollie who became our 2nd falling rock casualty. He couldn't quite get his head to a weighted pass from Matt and took a nasty knock on the knee which caused him to say 'golly-gosh' a number of times!

Approaching the Breche

Eventually, we toiled through the spectacular gap of the Breche de Roland and returned to France - only to be confronted with yet another snowfield! Fortunately, this one came with a flattened path created by hundreds of fellow walkers and was safely - if slowly - negotiated by everyone, including Mat, whose walking lessons were showing clear signs of benefit! Below the snow we passed once again the Sarradets hut and continued down, down, down to the beautiful green valley of the Vallee des Pouey Aspe across the Plateau de Bellevue and down into Gavarnie where food, drink and porcelain awaited, probably in reverse order of importance!

The Gavarnie Valley

In all we trekked 41 miles/65 Km and climbed 19,000'/5100m over the 5 days. Well done everyone and a big thank you to Mat, Ollie, Emma, Chris, Chris, Jack, Matt, Jackson, Selina and Rosie for being such great company. And to Helene and Dave, where's my bloody t-shirt?!!! This particular trek can be walked in either direction but I would recommend our route as it splits up the hut stops and gives a better balanced route profile. In Gavarnie we stayed at the Hotel le Mabore http://www.lemarbore.com the best place in town for location, accommodation and friendly and effective service. Say Hi to Bernard and Roselyne if you’re passing through but watch out for Jack Daniels – especially if your name’s Helene!