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Pica d'Estats (3.143m) via Réfuge du Pinet

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 13:26:00 +0100

Continue reading Pica d'Estats (3.143m) via Réfuge du Pinet

About 2 years ago, I promised Judit that someday we would go hiking with a tent. The initial idea was to cross from la Vall de Núria to Carança through the Nou Creus summit. But realizing that Judit is going to University next year, I thought it was better to do something more exciting and I suggested to hike la Pica d’Estats.

At 3,143 metres altitude, Pica d’Estats is the highest mountain in the Catalan Pyrenees and one of the most iconic climbs for Catalan mountaineers. I had already climbed it several times from the Vall Ferrera, in Catalonia, and I remember a long approximation, the best way I remember to do it was sleeping in the lake “Estany d’Estats”.

While discussing my plans with Jaume, he suggested to attempt it from France. He told us that it’s a 3h walk from the parking of l’Artigue to the Pinet mountain hut, and then another 3h climb to the summit. So, we could do it in 2 or 3 days.

After checking the weather forecast for several days, we found a window of 3 days without rain and we started our adventure. To go there the road is quite good. I was expecting some high passes and slow roads so we did a big detour via Narbonne, but on our way back, we went through the Porte tunnel and it was really fast.

The adventure starts at the parking of L’Artigue, the closest big village is called Auzat. There is a parking lot close to the start of the trail, and several indications to the Pinet mountain hut. The region is known for Montcalm (3.077m) even though Pica d’Estats is higher and also French.

At the start of the trail, there is a toilet and a fountain to fill your bottle. We did not find many sources/fountains on our way up. It’s a good idea to fill your bottle before you start, even if the water from that fountain smells of chlorine.

The initial steps are quite easy as the ground is reasonably flat. You walk alongside an old installation to bring water to the valley, with some small dam systems and waterfalls. After the first 1km, things start to get serious. We have to climb 1,000 meters in 3 hours, and the only way to do that is by climbing a pretty vertical slope. The first part is through the forest, which will protect you from the sun, but it will also increase the humidity and you end up sweating like crazy.

You exit the forest at 1,600m. Here you have the feeling that the heavy part is over, there is a meadow with a shepherd hut, but check the altitude. Your destination is at 2,200m, there are still 600 meters to go. This is just the start.

At this hut, there is a path that leads to the Étang Sourt lake. We took this path on our way back, and now that I have done it, I recommend that if you are carrying a big backpack as we did, you take this path. It’s longer, but it does not have the verticality you will encounter if you follow the original path.

The weather was good, but thankfully some clouds protected us from the heavy sun. The trail became more and more vertical with every step. We had to use the help of our hands several times to climb the rocks and follow the path… and for sure the mountain hut was never on sight.

I recall looking at the GPS app every 15 minutes and telling ourselves, we have climbed another 50 meters, but still we could not see the mountain hut, only some cows laughing at our poor skills to climb the mountain with our big backpacks.

We got to the Étang de Pinet by 8:00pm. By that time, the mountain hut had already finished diner service, but they were kind to allow me to eat something, while Judit ate her potatoes with green beans. We had to plant the tent in a rush, and we did it in a cozy place near the hut, without realizing the spot was not perfectly leveled.

That night we did not sleep very well… When we went to sleep, we realized that our heads were lower than our feet… so we had to sleep the other way around and my head was touching the roof of the tent on a cold and humid night. Judit had heavy cramps on her legs due to the earlier climbing…

By 6:45 am we were already awake, with a clear sky, the sun still not completely awake, and a nice sea of clouds covering the valley we climbed yesterday. The trail to la Pica d’Estats was visible. We decided to start early to avoid the high sun while climbing up.

We started our way up at 7:30am. Our legs were working, but with some difficulty, we had the cost of the day before and of not sleeping much, but we had the determination to get to the summit.

The first section of the trail is not that hard, you walk around the base of the Montcalm, and the gain in elevation is not that much comparing with the 1.000 meters we needed to climb to get to the summit of la Pica. Once we reached the Étang d’Estats, things started to get serious. We stopped at the bivouacs close to the Étang du Montcalm. It’s incredible how transparent the water of the lakes is in this region.

From the Étang du Montcalm the climb becomes more vertical, we need to start using our hands occasionally. Very soon there is no more grass and we are climbing and walking on iron-rich rocks. Some of them look like melted iron. On our way up, we cross some small lakes, some with snow and icy water.

Once we got to the Col du Montcalm, the wind was blowing with intensity and it was quite cold, we put our Gore-Tex and gloves, while some sky-runners overtook us with shorts and sneakers… well, they got there before us, but they regretted not taking any extra layers of clothing.

From the Col du Montclam (2.980m) to the Summit there is still an 163-metre climb. You can see the summit from there, but there is still a long way to go. Seeing the summit helped. We were tired but determined and being able to see the remaining trail helped to give us the extra boost of energy to get there.

A 12:43 we arrived to the highest point of Catalonia, la Pica d’Estats, 3.143m. It took us 5 hours to reach the summit, so probably 1h 30 mins more than what we were told. The day was beautiful, with incredible views of Vall Ferrera, of Catalonia, and of France.
The whole region has no telephone coverage. We asked the guard in the mountain hut, and he told us that at the Pica d’Estats, we would have some signal… but no, the winds were not blowing in the right direction.

It was cold, so we decided to take some pictures and head down. On our way down, we decided to climb the Pic Verdaguer (3.129m). It’s a quick climb from the Coll de la Pica. It took us less than 15 minutes. Here we did have some signal, so we sent a “we are ok” WhatsApp to the family and posted a selfie on Facebook (shame).

Our way down was very slow, we were exhausted and our legs had already climbed more than 2,000 meters. Once we got to the tent, we had lunch/dinner with some rice noodles and mackerel, and we lied in the sun, relaxed and played cards, until it was time to go to sleep.

The second night you always sleep better. Either you get used to the tent, or simply you are so exhausted that you sleep like a baby. It also helped that the night was less cold.

On our way down, we choose to go via the Étang Sourt, the path is a bit longer, but you avoid the steep, difficult slopes, where you have to climb down with the help of your hands. It was interesting to see that early in morning (8:30 am) there were sky-runners already 200m from the hut, running up to the Pica d’Estats from the parking.

And that was it, once we got to the parking, we took a cat-shower in the river, packed our things and returned to the rest of the family.

Canal Roja, Montserrat

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Sat, 24 Dec 2016 16:41:00 +0100

Com ja va sent tradició, pels volts de Nadal, amb en Jaume ens hem aventurat a fer la Canal Roja de Montserrat. Una col·lección de rappels força llargs entre mig de una canal estreta i humida.

Continue reading Canal Roja, Montserrat

La Canal Roja o "Tres en Ratlla", és una canal equipada per baixar-la fent rappel al sector d'el Bruc de Montserrat.

El camí comença a can Jorba, on seguirem la pista una estona, per despres començar a pujar.

El día es lleva amb una mica de boira i fresc, però el sol comença a apretar, i en un tres i no res, estem suant i amb samarreta de maniga curta el 24 de decembre...

El cami esta senyalizat amb marques vermelles; la vegetació es exhuberant, i algun cop acabem en un camí de cabres, però ràpidament tornem al bon camí.

En menys d'una hora, arribem a l'inici de la canal.

La canal estava molt humida, amb força guals d'aigua. Primer comencem baixant amb les mans, i ràpidament farem un col·lecció de rappels curts. Son molt estrets, amb molt de fregament.

Pels rappels llargs cal portar una corda d'uns 70m, i millor si es porta equipament especial com un shunt, ja que potser que la corda quedi mal posada i calgui manipularla en mig del rappel.

El Canigó

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 15:43:00 +0100

Aquest estiu aprofitant que estàvem per la Cerdanya per dur la Núria de campaments, la Judit, la Gemma i jo, vàrem aprofitar per pasar uns dies a Vilafranca de Conflent, i una de les excursions que toca fer quan estem per la contrada, es el Canigó. És una muntanya mítica, i això vol dir que hi ha molta gent, i en el meu cas, vol dir que com sempre que l'he fet, l'he fet amb boira.

Continue reading El Canigó

El Canigó és una muntanya del Pirineu, situada entre les comarques nord-catalanes del Conflent, el Rosselló i el Vallespir. Ha esdevingut símbol de la personalitat catalana de les comarques pirinenques.

El cim, la pica del Canigó o Pic de Balaig, fa 2.784 m. Malgrat la seva altitud moderada, fou considerada la muntanya més alta dels Pirineus a causa del gran i brusc desnivell que la separa de la plana del Rosselló, cosa que la fa més aparent que altres muntanyes més engorjades i situades entre valls ja més altes. La llegenda n'atribueix la primera ascensió al rei Pere el Gran, l'any 1285.

L'ascenció comença al refugi de Cortalets. Al refugui s'hi pot arribar en cotxe, per una pista forestal en molt males condicions. La pista son uns 20km, i es pot fer en una hora o hora i mitja. Es el segon cop que la faig en 20 anys, i no ha millorat massa. El proper cop, mirarem de agar un "taxi".

La intenció era fer l'ascensio per la grimpada i baixar pel cami fàcil fent la versió circular, però amb la boira vàrem preferir no prendre riscos.
El camí esta molt ben senyalitzat, hi ha unes pilones que van indicant l'alçada a la que ens trobem.

L'ascenció amb nuvols en ple estiu es d'agrair, per que t'esperona i no tens calor, però cal anar preparat amb un bon polar, i guants per evitar tenir que fer mitja volta.

De pujada ens creuem amb un munt de gent, molt d'ells domingeros amb bambetes i pantalons curts, la majoria amb les cames totes vermelles per l'effecte del vent glaçat sobre la pell.

Per sort abans de fer cim, es va obrir una mica el cel, i poguerem contemplar la vall,desde Sant Marti de Canigo, Vilafranca de Conflent, Pradres...

Al cim, vàrem tenir que fer cua per fer-nos la foto de tanta gent que hi havia. Amb el fred i la por de que vingues una tormenta, ens hi varem estar el just per poder menjar una mica, fer les fotos i cap avall.

El camí de tornada el vàrem fer molt ràpid, és molt agradable de caminar, i un cop hem pasat el pic Jofré podem gaudir de les azalees, les vaques, i una mica de vistes quan el cel ens obre una clarina.

Le Reculet, Crête de Neiges, Grand Crête

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Mon, 16 May 2016 15:46:00 +0100

Everyday, while driving from back from the school, I can’t avoid looking at the magnificent Jura mountains that surrounds Geneva. For a while I wanted to go to the top of those cliffs. The day is a bit sunny with cloud patches, the snow is almost over in the Jura and the family is busy studding … all perfect excuses to plan a solo hike to the mountains.

Continue reading Le Reculet, Crête de Neiges, Grand Crête

Looking at the maps, looks like there are several options, the most interesting is a hike over the “crêtes” (mountain crests). The question is where to start as you can go from the Dôle to the other end.

Reading a bit, I’ve learned that there is a summit called “Le Recoulet” it’s not that high, it’s 1,718m, so sounds as a nice start for the plan. Looking at the options, looks like it can be reached from the South or the North. Finally, I decide to go via Lelex, a village in the French Jura.

The drive it’s longer that what I expected, almost 50 minutes from home, it’s a collection of mountain roads that bring me there. Once in the village, you go another 4 kilometers to get to the start point.

The path starts in a forest with a very vertical step. The first 2 kilometers, you have to climb almost 600m. The forest is very humid and slippery, even if the trees protect you from the sun, the effort and the humidity will extract the even the last drop of sweet you can imagine.

Once you get out the forest, you can see the metal cross at the top to the “Le Reculet”. Some snow patches, and still ice-burned grass will be quickly overtaken buy some mountain flowers.

The summit is a bit windy, but you can enjoy a great view of Geneva, and the Jura valley. It’s clearly a good choice, from the Summit you can see at the end, “La Dôle”.

After a brief break at the summit, it’s time to start the hike over the crests. At this point is not clear where they are. In this part of the mountain they are quite flat, if you take the wrong path (as I did) you can end up going down or have to recover to get back to the right path.

The “Crête des neiges” was covered by snow and the “Grand Crête” offered impressive views of Geneva, Le Reculet, and La Dôle…

The descent is a bit confusing, the path I’ve planned was closed to protect the nature from human noises, thankfully there are plenty of paths, simply forced me to go closer to the ski slopes that what I had preferred. To be honest I almost haven’t seen the ski lifts.

Once you get down to Lelex, you have two options, either you walk for another 4km on the road, or you can try to hitchhiking, I decided to walk and toke me an extra 40 minutes.

Grand Canyon

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 16:50:00 +0100

In January 2016, it happened that I had a meeting in Los Angeles, and due a complex agenda the meeting was planned for a Friday and a Monday. What can you do alone a weekend in Los Angeles? Easy, take a plane, flight to Las Vegas, rent a card, drive 400km to arrive at 2:00 AM at the Grand Canyon south rim.

Continue reading Grand Canyon

The initial idea was to walk down from the South Rim to the river, and then back. There is only a problem, the South Rim it’s at 2.200 m altitude and the closes river at 800m, a non negligible 2.800 m in one of the most arid terrains in the world.

The solution seams, easy, let’s split the journey in two days, right? Wrong, the guides are not allowed to take a 2 days’ hikes, either you take a single day or a 3-day hike.

Why a guide? Really… never go to the mountain alone, even if you know the terrain, … in this case, I did not know it. Also, if you plan to do it your self... take a guide, the Grand Canyon is one of the most inhabited places on earth… if something happens to you and you are don’t have a satellite phone… nobody will find you for days.

With all plans set, we decided to stat walking at 7:00 AM, and it was hard as I almost did not sleep that night. But the adventure gave me the energy to go on. From the south rim cabin, we we drive for 15 minutes to get to the start of the Grand View Trail. Originally that trail was created for the hotel owners to go to a source to get water for the guests. The Hotel no longer exists.

The first surprise was to find snow, we have the idea of the Grand Canyon as a hot dessert... and it is… but due to it’s elevation, in winter, there is snow. We had to wear crampons to avoid a free fall of hundreds of meters, as the first steps down are simply to go down about 400m vertical in less than 100m in horizontal.

As soon as the path gets more wider, it also reduces the descent speed. After descending about 800m, we can feel the temperature change. It’s a sunny day, we are alone, the trees have disappeared and now there are only cactus and other desert plans.

Even if we know how much we have walked, looks like we are still starting, we can’t see the end of the valley. The dimensions of the Grand Canyon are impressive. It’s 29Km wide, and 446Km long. As reference… Switzerland east-west length of about 350 Km.

One of the most impressive feelings I had on that day was the silence. I think it’s the first time on my live that I’m in a place where there are no sounds, and I’m not referring to human sounds, ... not a single sound… we did not hear any animals, birds, … you can imagine our surprise when on the edge of a rim we hear the sound of the river.

The path it was created by the hotel owners and later used by the miners looking for cooper and uranium. It’s funny to find a radioactive warning sign at the middle of the path. The mines have been abandoned for a while, but you can find the tools and houses as they left them.

A country with a very short history, anything older than 50 years is considered archeological relevant. You are asked to not remove broken glass bottles provably left there by drunk miners.

The Grand Canyon is packed with impressive caves, we had the opportunity to do a short visit to one of them.

The guide was happy that for once he did not had to baby sit an aged couple with the wife on high-heels, so he kept pushing me, and I was not complaining, I really wanted to see as much as possible…

But the return path, was challenging, we had already done more that was supposed to be done in a single day. When we arrived to the base of the Rim, I knew the last 400m ascend will be difficult, and I reduce a bit my pace, but kept trying to go follow my guide, he is the expert and he knows what is the best pace to get back home… right?

Well, when we got to the car, he told me that he was impressed, that the other guides will take about 8h to do what we have done in 6h. That was the final boost I needed to finish an incredible journey…

Well that and a chocolate and mint cheese-cake!

Puigllançada

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 16:52:00 +0100

Aquest Nadal vàrem voler fer amb l'Angel, la Isa, en Jaume, la Neus i els cunyats de l'Angel. El temps no pintava massa bo, pero al final s'ens va obrir una clariana, el que va permetre a l'ultim moment organitzar una pujada al Puigllançada, al costat de la Molina. Després a dinar a Puigcerda amb la Montse i en Narcis.

Continue reading Puigllançada

Després de l’excursió al Matagalls des de Coll Formic, ens vàrem dir que per Nadal, tota la colla tenia que fer una sortida. Al Nadal sempre son dates complicades, i aquest any no seria menys difícil. Els plans estaven fets, però cada cop hi teníem menys opcions i el temps no acompanyava... al final sembla que el dia 2 de Gener hi haurà una treva i farà una mica de bon temps...

Dit i fet, volíem una cosa assequible, per que tothom pogués gaudir de la sortida,... ens vàrem decidir pel Puigllançada. Al final però, sols en Jaume i la Neus, la Isa, l’Angel i la Judit, la Núria, la Gemma i jo vàrem poder fer-ho. També es vàren apuntar els cunyats de l’Angel que estaven de visita per Nadal.

L’ascensió al Puigllançada es força senzilla, no esta gens senyalitzada, però és en línia recta. Tot comença a la carretera BV-4031. Hi ha un petit aparcament, no esta senyalitzat. Es abans d’arribar a l’estació de la Molina, i si mireu un plànol seria mes o menys on comença el barranc del Pedró.

Des del aparcament i mirant en el sentit de la carretera cap a la Molina, el Puigllançada ens queda a la nostra esquerra. Des de l’aparcament podem intuir la part alta de les pistes d’esquí, de les que passarem pel costat.

No hi ha camí, així que pel dret i cap a munt per les costes de l’Huguet, però sense arribar al Cap de les costes de l’Huguet, seguim fins a superat l’alçada del teleesquí .. i ara si, ja veiem el cim del Puigllançada.. seguim fins a trobar la carena, que remuntarem fins al cim.

Des del cim podem contemplar les vistes dels Pirineus, el Pedraforca i el Cadi, i les muntanyes del sud.

Le Grande Jumelle (2215m)

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 16:07:00 +0100

Des de que vàrem fer l’excursió al llac de Tanay que teníem ganes de pujar a "Les Jumelles". Son unes muntanyes en forma d'enforcadura, recorden els encantats o el Pedraforca. Aquest cap de setmana ens hem decidit a fer-ho. La preparació va ser una mica mes difícil del previst, va costar força trobar la ruta. El camí no esta marcat, i els camins i rutes dels voltants expliquen com pujar al Gramont, però no a les Jumelles. Tot i això es fàcil de trobar "posts" que parlen de que l'han fet, però a cap d'ells hi ha el fitxer GPX o cap ressenya. Tots en parlem com si ja sabéssim per on anar-hi. Al final vàrem tenir un cop de sort i després de molt buscar, vàrem trobar un parell de fitxers GPX.
L'excursió es puja molt be al principi, la part final una mica vertical i acaba amb una grimpada molt senzilla.
El dia va ser esplèndid, una mica núvol per començar, el que ens va fer pujar frescor, sol al cim amb un mar de núvols impressionant al fons de la vall
I per acabar un rösti.

Continue reading Le Grande Jumelle (2215m)

L’excursió comença al pàrquing de Flon. El dia s’havia aixecat una mica núvol i anàvem una mica tard, com el camí des del pàrquing fins al llac ja l’havíem fet, i no volíem tenir que patir per la pluja, vàrem decidir de fer la primera part en taxi. Això ens va fer guanyar una hora ben bona.

Un cop arribats a la parada de taxis superior, el cel segueix tot cobert, enfilem el camí cap al llac una mica tristos però pensant que els núvols ens protegiran del sol. En arribar al poble, una escletxa s’obre i podem contemplar l’enforcadura de “les Jumelles” entre els núvols.

Des de el poble, agafem el camí que porta a Mont Gardy, s’ha d’anar amb compte per que el camí es bifurca a mig poble, un te la impressió que cal seguir la pista, però no, cal fer un gir a l’esquerra i remuntar el riu per l’esquerra.

El camí es força humit i relliscós, però es puja molt be, el pendent no es molt fort, però sense donar-nos compte anem remuntant metres i ràpidament ens trobem amb la pista. Una mica mes amunt, cap els 1’700m d’alçada hi ha una bifurcació, nosaltres prenem el camí cap “La Combe” que es un refugi lliure al costat d’un llac a la cota 1’900m.

Aquest camí si be es més de muntanya també es remunta fàcilment. Aquesta cota hem deixat enrere els grans arbres i podem començar a gaudir de les vistes de la vall. Nosaltres vàrem tenir la sort de poder gaudir de un mar de núvols impressionat i els cims de les muntanyes davant nostre estaven tot enfarinats.

Arribats al refugi de “la Combe” ja no hi ha camí senyalitzat, comença l’aventura... segons les guies GPX que vàrem trobar hi ha dues opcions, una que voreja el llac, puja fins a la carena i després remunta fins els cim amb alguna grimpada... l’altre puja per darrera del refugi, i el camí esta mes ben traçat.

Nosaltres vàrem escollir el camí de l’olla,... be lo de camí sols son els primers metres... després cal remuntar l’olla com es pot fins arribar a la carena. En arribar a la carena tens un moment de “Oh”. Vistes impressionants, un coixí de núvols a sota, però un cel clar i vistes fins l’horitzó de muntanyes impressionats.
La carena esta traçada i es prou ample però no patir massa, però no es apte per gent amb vertigen.

Des de l’olla podíem veure tota la gent que havia anat a pujar el Gramont, rius i rius de gent, nosaltres tots sols gaudint de la muntanya... be sols no del tot, davant nostre un parell d’isards, després de la foto de rigor vàrem començar a resseguir la carena de l’olla fins a la grimpada...

En arribar a la grimpada, la sorpresa va ser que teníem mes de 50 isards davant nostre, i que no volien marxar. La grimpada no esta senyalitzada, i vàrem tenir que triar entre un pas sense massa mans ni peus, o un d’exposat, vàrem preferir el primer i amb els genolls, i les arrels vàrem remuntar els 7 o 8 metres d’aquest primer obstacle...

Un cop superat, esperàvem que els isards marxessin, però no.. això és casa seva i no va ser fins que els vam tenir a tocar que van decidir anar a pasturar a un altre lloc.
D’aquí a l’antena meteorològica no hi ha cap risc, un parell de pedres, i ja i som. Des de l’antena veiem que el com no es l’antena, que hi ha una creu més enllà. Per arribar-hi cal fer una sèrie de grimpades amunt i avall, però res de l’altre mon.

Per evitar la grimpada de baixada, vàrem decidir tornar per l’altre camí, i la veritat és que ho vàrem encertar. El camí esta força mes traçat, que no senyalitzat, i en un dit i fet ja estàvem al refugi de “La Combe”.

En veure l’hora ens vam proposar baixar una mica ràpid per arribar a temps al poble de Tanay i poder menjar un “rösti” al refugi de Grammont. Dit i fet, en menys de una hora i quart ja érem a taula.

Les Chaux - Chau Ronde - Taveyanne

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 16:09:00 +0100

At the highs of Gryon ski slopes, there is a small mountain village called Taveyanne. You can only get to Taveyanne by car in summer; in winter the road is fully covered by snow and you will have to access with snowshoes or skies. It’s a typical high altitude Swiss cluster of home in the pastures.

The hike starts at the “les Chaux” cable-car exit; first you walk the ski slope to get to the Chaux-Ronde summit. The summit is signaled with a huge wooden cross. From there a narrow trail traces the crest of the mountains, the trail will then go down trough the pastures, forest and finally to Taveyanne, where we will take the 4x4 track to get back to the cable car.

Continue reading Les Chaux - Chau Ronde - Taveyanne

We start our journey in Gryon, we take the cable car that will bring us to “Les Chaux” where we will start our hike by walking along the blue ski slope that brings to the “Chaux Ronde”.

Quite soon we will be able to see the “Miroir d’Argentine” at our right, the start of the mountain group that becomes the Diablerets Glacier behind the Chaux Ronde, and the sky slopes of Villars with Roc d’Orsai at our left… a bit far on the horizon we can also easily identify Leysin mountains.

The hike to the Chaux-Ronde summit is quite easy, nevertheless is the blue ski slope, you only need a bit of patience and you get there. But things change once you get to the summit. There is very narrow trail tracing the crest.

The trail is not suitable for people suffering from dizziness, it’s not the narrowest, neither the one with the biggest hole I’ve crossed, but in a windy day and with a large backpack you can end up at the end of the valley.

The reward to your courage will be the impressive views of the “Miroir d’Argentine” and the Anzeindaz pastures. You can easily see the mountain huts and the path we hiked only a couple of days back.

The highest point it in this trail it does not have a name, is an small summit on the “Rochers du Van” at 2085m (6840feet) of altitude.

The descendent trail to Taveyanne is quite upright (or downright), starts with alpine vegetation, to become a pasture until we enter the forest to become a pasture again when we reach the village. The path is slippery due to the soil and humidity.

From Taveyanne we can return to the cablecar by the 4x4 track in about 30 minutes, or you can walk down to Gryon by the forest in about 1 hour an a half.

Miroire d'Argentine tour

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 16:12:00 +0100

Miroire d'Argentine is an impressive group of mountains located in Bex municipality, in Canton Vaud, Switzerland. The formation majestically rises above Solalex pastures.

Continue reading Miroire d'Argentine tour

We started early morning at Solalex parking; this hike is close to seven hours and most of it you don’t get any shadow. We followed the 4x4 track instead of the hike trail. The track is a bit longer, but is less pitched and we wanted to save energies for the long day.

There is an option for the lazy ones, you can take a taxi to the Anzeindaz (1875m) and that will save you 400m.

Anzeindaz is huge meadow where you can find 2 mountain huts, Giaccomo and “la Tour”, both serve great alpine food, and you can also stay overnight.

From Anzeindaz, we take direction to “Col d’Essets” (2029m), the climb is gentile, and cows will accompany you. Col d’Essets is the highest point in our hike, you have not finished to climb, now we start a descent down to 1750m, to an incredible meadow, it’s free from any human constructions. While we walk down, you will have incredible views of the back of the “Arête de l’Argentine”.

At the end of the valley, there is another typical Swiss hut, “la Vare”. Here you can enjoy great food, stop to drink something while you enjoy the views. We decided to continue this path, which is again a 4x4 track even if that will go down to 1717. They views will pay for the extra climb we will need to do to compensate this descent.

There is a shortcut that will avoid few vertical meters… you can take it before you get to the “Vare” hut. It’s well signaled.

After all the walk we have done and with the sun in it’s climax, the climb we have to do it will be painful, simply stop once in a while to contemplate the great views of “Pont de Nant”, and look back to the path and enjoy what you have accomplished.

Once you get to “la Motte” (1940) you will have climbed almost all the positive ascend, now it’s time to start following the high ground trail, with gently sloping up and down until to follow the orography of the mountain.

At last we get to the “Roc du Châtelet” pass, from here all is downhill but don’t think it will be easy. The initial steps of the descent are on humid and vertical soil. There is a chain to help us get down in security.

Once we get to Solalex parking, a quick shower in the fountain and cold beverage at one of the restaurants.

Puigmal desde Núria

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 21:52:00 +0100

Aquest estiu hem fet una petita estada a la Vall de Núria, ens hem refrescat als rius, hem muntat a cavall, hem descansat, i també hem fet el cim del Puigmal (2.910m) des de el Santuari de Núria. Per començar vàrem fer una petita parada per dinar al costat del Freser, però no a ribes, sinó que a la part alta del riu, a Queralbs. Després de dinar, agafem el cremallera i cap a Núria. L'endemà ens llevem d'hora per sortir d'hora a fer el cim, no volem que el sol ens no ens deixi arribar... de baixada, una refrescada al riu, activitats, sopar, dormir i qui vulgui dormir en tenda, i l'endemà a fer una passejada en cavall, baixar amb el cremallera, i per acabar aquestes mini-vacances en refrescant se al salt del grill.

Continue reading Puigmal desde Núria

Diumenge 12 Juliol 2015

La Gemma, la Núria, la Neus, la Judit i en Jordi de Barcelona direcció de Queralbs amb tota la calma del mon, el cotxe ple de material de muntanya, moltes ganes de passar-ho be. En arriba a Queralbs, ja era hora de menjar... clar que sempre hi ha gana. Així que abans d'agafar el cremallera, vàrem buscar un raconet ombrívol on poder refrescar els peus al riu Freser, i menjar una mica de pasta que ens havia preparat la Gemma.

Amb tota la calma del mon, vàrem enfilar cap a l'estació per agafar el cremallera, no teníem pressa, no podíem entrar a l'apartament fins a les 16:00, així que anàvem en mode turista, carregant motxilles i una nevera plena de teca (i gel).

Un cop instal·lats, tocava descobrir que podíem fer, les nenes varen descobrir el parc aventura, on vàrem fer una mica de tubbing, coltxonetes, i altres activitats... però avui toca anar a dormir d'hora, que dema s'ha de matinar si no volem que el sol ens faci desistir de les nostres intencions de fer el Puigmal (2910m).

Dilluns 13 Juliol 2015

El dia comença amb mal peu, la Gemma no ha pogut dormir mes que 4 horetes per que un bretol s'ha despertar a mitja nit i ha tirat totes les cantimplores, i la Judit s'adona que s'ha deixat les plantilles de les botes a El Masnou, però es que per no portar no porta ni les normals... però al mal temps bona cara, preparem l’entrepà de la Neus, la teca per la resta, ens posem crema, omplim les cantimplores i a les 8:30 comencem a caminar.

La primer part del camí ja la coneixem... és el mateix que vàrem fer ara fa un any quan vàrem anar a fer el Finestrelles... El cel esta clar, no hi ha un sol núvol, i la temperatura es correcte, però hem fet bé de llevar-nos d'hora, fa pinta que tindrem calor.

Semblava que tot anava be, no hi havia massa gent, però ens han passat una parella i una dona fent sky-running. Nosaltres els seguim, el camí esta molt clar, va al costat del riu, no hi ha dubtes, hi ha fites... fins que la parelleta que ens ha passat torna enrere per dir-nos que no es pot passar que el camí esta tallat... mirem el GPS i veiem que el camí va uns 100m més alt i cap a la dreta... no entenem com ens ans perdut, de baixada ho revisarem... després de revisar les opcions, veiem que la mes simple es seguir un camí de cabres a l'esquerra que fa pinta anirà a trobar el camí del Puigmal que surt del Santuari i va per l'esquerra del Roc de l'Ortigar...

Dit i fet, ràpidament retrobem el bon camí, i seguim avançant, fins que seguint el riu sec veiem una resclosa amb molta aigua, i ens preguntem on va a parar tota aquesta aigua, ja que el riu esta sec... en acostar-nos el misteri es resol... l'aigua va a una cova, impressionant. Seguim remuntant el camí, que es fa molt fàcilment, aviat veiem la tartera del Puigmal davant nostre, cada cop mes a prop.

A la plana abans de la tartera, la Gemma decideix que prefereix no arriscar i es queda prenent el sol mentre la resta ens preparem per remuntar el 450 metres que ens queden. Ja portàvem unes tres hores de camí, val a dir que havíem fet un parell de parades per picar una mica. La resta del camí es de ràpida ascensió, els 450m els vàrem fer en menys d'una hora, i cal tenir en compte que a 150m del cim estàvem fets pols i vàrem parar a fer un mos.

En arribar al cim, una mountain-bike comença a baixar cap a Font-Alba. Al cim la foto de rigor, una parell de nectarines, l’entrepà uns ous passats per aigua... el de sempre. Feia un bon dia, i feia ganes de prendre el sols, reposar i potser fer el Pic del Segre, però no volíem deixar la Gemma sola, pel que sols ens vàrem estar uns 45 minuts al cim.

La baixada es molt ràpida, si no tenim en compte els 30 minuts que ens vàrem prendre per refrescar els peus al riu, el temps seria de 1h 30 minuts, i sense córrer.

Un cop a l'hotel, una bona dutxa, i a plantar tenda, que la Judit i la Neus volen dormir al ras, una mica mes de activitats al parc aventura, i a sopar al bufet de l'hotel on vàrem repetir les patates al forn unes 4 vegades.

Dimarts 14 Juliol 2015

Avui es dia de tornada, però ens ho prendrem amb calma... res de llevar-se d'hora... però les amazones no vàrem tenir tanta sort, a les 6:30 les vaques ja fan sonar els escallots. Mentre elles esmorzen, un servidor desmunta tenda. Després d'esmorzar, una passejada amb cavall pel camí de les creus, i ja son les 11:45, corre, corre que tenim un cremallera a les 12:00.A Queralbs, una parada tècnica per comprar una mica de fruita i ens tornem a trobar la parella de Castelló, els que es varen perdre i amb el que ens hem creuat 5 o 6 cops.. sembla que ens perseguim.

Ara si, aparquem el cotxe i cap al Salt del Grill, diu el rètol que son 20 minuts.. i si ho fem en 19 minuts, però quina calor, mira si feia calor, que la Gemma es volia banyar... i cop al Salt del Grill, una refrescada al llac, una dutxa al salt d'aigua i a dinar...

Aquí teniu la ruta del Salt del Grill si hi voleu anar

I això s'ha acabat, cap a casa, i a saludar en Narcís!

Puigpedros (2.914m)

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 22:03:00 +0100

This weekend, we hiked the Puigpedros with the people from Gels.

Continue reading Puigpedros (2.914m)

The excursion begins at the refuge of Malniu.
The refuge can be reached by car from Meranges.
The parking costs 3 € and if it is a sunny day, it is normal to find it full of people.
The refuge is rather small, but has bathrooms and showers.

The fact that the refuge can be reached by car, makes it full of people ... and not everyone respects the mountain as they should.

The path starts at the left of the refuge, going through small hills until you reach the peak of the mountain of Puigpedrós.
At the bottom of the path we find little water springs sprouting from everywhere that form streams that feed the lower lakes.

Summit and tour of the Moleson 2.002 m

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 22:05:00 +0100

The mythical mountain that can be seen in the background of the photos of the castle of Gruyères is the Moleson. An important elevation of 2.002m in the middle of nowhere. The excursion begins at the parking of the ski station of the Moléson-Village. From the summit, there are impressive views of plains, pastures and meadows to the west, and magestic glaciers of the Alps to the east. Bored of seeing so many people, and seeing that there was another summit close by to the col, we decided to take a short trip towards it.

Continue reading Summit and tour of the Moleson 2.002 m

The mythical mountain that can be seen in the background of the photos of the castle of Gruyères is the Moleson. An important elevation of 2.002m in the middle of nowhere. The excursion begins at the parking loz of the ski station of the Moléson-Village. We took the path that went to the left of the cable-car station.

The first part of the path is rather tiring, with a strong vertical slope. In our case, we had to endure it alongside the strong heat emitted by the sun, and with a bunch of tourists that overtook us with their their little party shoes. After a 400 m climb, we are at the level of the superior cable car station. Here, most of the people have left us, probably to take the cable car until the summit.

From this point on the path circles around the summit, without any sort of slope. What altogether makes this part of our excursion more pleasurable is the fact that we finally have some trees to cover us from the sun, and there is a little wind - and this allows us to finally take a breath.

Once we are at the back side of the mountain, the path once more rises steeply towards the summit. During this part of our excursion, we encounter some goats as well as people, but this time the people are proper mountaineers.

Once at the col, we can sight the superior cable-car station and a bunch of tourists acting foolishly at the terraces. From here to the summit there is little to go. But the path seems to extend neverendlessly - we crossed a mother that could not manage her son to walk a single more step, people with party shoes and.. once we are at the summit, surprisingly there are benches, but they are all occupied... the summit is occupied by about 100 people.

We stop for lunch, and enjoy the views with impressive plains, pastures and meadows to the west, and magestic glaciers of the Alps to the east. Bored of seeing so many people, and seeing that there was another summit close by to the col, we decided to take a short trip towards it.

The descent is very vertical, in fact, in the winter it is a black ski slope. Once having once more arrived at the cable-car station, we find the via ferrata trails - one that is 'easy' and another that is more difficult, and both meet at a secondary summit.

If you want to do it, remember to bring sun-cream, a hat, and disgraceful-tourist repellent.

Toubkal 1992

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Thu, 16 Apr 1992 18:01:00 +0100

During the easter break of 1992, Albert, Anna, Angel, Budri, Ermelinda, Jaume, and I undertook one of the most exciting adventures - climbing to the summit of the Toubkal (4165 metres) in the Atlas mountains, in africa. It would be 10 very intense days, 4000 kilometres in a classic Landrover cazorla. We slept in a stone quarry, at the home of the porters of Imil, on the snow and the parking lot of the ferry of Ceuta. We were in the middle of a protest demanding the dimission of the government delegate, and we had to sleep with the propane gas bottles in our sleeping bag to cook breakfast...

Continue reading Toubkal 1992

On the 10th of April 1992, Albert, Anna, Angel, Budri, Ermelinda, Jaume and I were preparing in the courtyard of the building of la Salle in the street Lluçanès for a great adventure, the Atlas. We met with each other in the evening. We first had to check our material, food, then try to put it all in our bags and say good-bye to our friends. The journey would be long.

We drove the whole night. We took turns, some tried to sleep while at the front, two of us tried to be awake and attentive. Our car, the Landrover, was quite good, but you could not go very fast... Somehow Anna managed to make it run at 130 km/h. The Gasoil was a pain, we had two deposits, but the indicator of the second did not work - so we counted the kilometres...

On the 11th, we crossed the strait and we drove for many kilometres in Morroco. When it became dark, we decided that driving in the night once was enough, and we tried to find a path, we climbed it, and when we arrived at a flat surface, we prepared ourselves to bivouac. We put all the material inside the car, closed it, and slept on our mattresses with the stars as our blanket.

On the 12th a chicken shepherd woke us up. We had parked in a stone quarry. It was time to eat breakfast, and we still had a bunch of kilometres left to arrive at Imil. When we arrived at the village it was already dark. We found the parking lot, where we left our car. We asked the parking manager where we could sleep, and he put us in contact with a local guide, who let us sleep at his house. The next day, we found out that his family had slept in the barn to let us sleep comfortably.

The 13th starts with the negotiation on how much we have to pay for porters - they let us use two mules and porters at a good price if we left Ermelinda behind. In the end, we prefered to pay a little more and we all started our journey uphill. We all carried our own backpack, and we carried an extra one with all the food. I shouldn't have to explain the weight of this last backpack - when the porter lifted it, he moaned, and being very considerate, we decided to take a packet of cookies out from the backpack... then he thought it to be a fair deal.

The uphill path usually is done on top of a mule.. but we go by foot, as the mules carry our back-packs. When there starts to be snow, and the path becomes narrower, it is time to carry our back-packs and continue upwards. Yes, we did struggle a little, Albert, Angel and I had to carry the contents of another back-pack, that of Ermelinda I think. Our porter was probably already at the base camp, while we were still putting our boots on.

While we were climbing, we saw about everything, I remember seeing a spanish couple, and the woman could not go further. A porter offered to carry her back-pack, but her husband wouldn't accept having to pay the same amount half-way than down at the village - and the sad part was that we were talking about 50 pesetas at the time, which even for us was not that big of an effort.

Having arrived at the base camp, it is time to plant our tent and have dinner. The first night was cold, but we were so tired it did not take us long to fall asleep.

14th of April - today we must start doing some acclimatization. The day starts difficultly - the gas we use for making breakfast barely works, the propane gas bottle is too cold and our boots are frozen. This day, we climbed our first 4.000 metres, the Aougdal Boutiona (4.040m) and the Afella (4.043m). It was a very warm day, very vertifcal slopes, and very little water. At night we decide to sleep with the boots in our sleeping bag, our back-pack under our sleeping mattress as an isolator, the propane gas bottles between our legs.

15th of April, second day of acclimatization. Today we climb to 3 different summits of more than 4.000 metres. The Akioud (4.030m), the Ras Ouanokrim (4.083m) and the Timesguida Ouanokrim (4.089m). It was an easy day, we started becoming used to the cold, of sleeping on the snow and eating directly from the cooking pot.

16th of april, day of the ascencion. We woke up early to climb the Toubkal (4.165m), I think we climbed to the summit by midday, with fantastic sunlight and impressive views. From the summit, we went to the Toubkal west (4.100m). The descent was quite fast, with a large collection of butt-sledging which put our skill with the pickaxes to the the test. Once at the base camp, we had a good shower with glacier water...

17th of april, we had planned to stay a day longer, but as we had completed everything, we decided to descend, this time without porters. At half-way of teh path, in finding a group of local boys we offer them some cookies, fruit and marmelades that were spare. We then realised that they kept it for later, to share with the family.

Once at Imil, we hear a voice that says 'Catalans'... it was a guy from Mallorca that was with his girlfriend from Morroco that had lost the bus they had to take, and asked us if we could bring them to the next stop. As we were going to Marrakesh, we offered to bring them.

We wanted to eat some couscous, and we asked them where the best place to eat it would be, it seemed a logical question. The girlfriend offered to cook it herself, at her home, in the condition that if we wanted it made from meat, we would have to buy the meat ourselves.

Once arrived at her home, her brother brought us buying at Zoco, where Albert bought himself the typical drums while the rest of us looked at mats, back-packs, shoes, hats, as one must. Once at home, it is time to help peel vegetables. The couscous was delicious, and not because we had spent a whole week eating from conserves....

At night it was time to start our route back, we had 2.000 km ahead of us. When we arrived at Ceuta we risked not paying the bribe, it wasnt in fact hard for us to cross the border. It seemed we were already at home, but no, in arriving at the port, we heard the news that there the ISNASA ferry company had a strike, and they made us park the car in a place - we went to lunch, and in coming back, the car was alone, in the middle of nothing... they had moved the queue.

Those were two very stressful days, having little money, with the shops closed, without bread, the civil police handing out firewood, with protests against the civil government to demand the dimmission of the politicians. We were on the local newspapers, we slept in the parking lot, we managed to get bread, and in the end we managed to to come back from one of the most exotic and authentic adventures we have ever lived.

Travessa de Sallent de Gallego - Ordesa

joduba@iwith.org (Jordi Duran i Batidor) — Thu, 25 Jul 1991 18:02:00 +0100

During the summer of 1991, a group of friends decided to cross the pyrenees. The route we chose went from Sallent de Gallego to the Vall d'Ordesa. The idea was to cross from the top and reach all the summits possible in 10 days. And as we didnt have too much money, we would sleep in a tent, and we would carry all our food for the 10 days at our backs. It was an incredible adventure, where we fully enjoyed the mountains, and we went hungry until we ate bread we found on the floor or collected the left-overs from the plates of the refuge of Goriz that people wouldn't eat. That said, we did eleven 3.000 metre-mountains in 9 days.

Continue reading Travessa de Sallent de Gallego - Ordesa

The adventure begins on the day of the 18th of July at the Espluges de Llobregat, where we had to fit 5 people, 5 back-packs, mountain equipment and food for 10 days in a renault clio - luckily we had a Thule. From Esplugues we took the national 2 highway in direction of Sallent de Gallego, where we arrived after lunch. Sallent de Gallego was where we started to hike, but our arrival was at the National Park of Ordesa, so we divided ourselves into two groups - three of us stayed to buy bread and look after the equipment, while Angel and I went to leave the car at Ordesa. Our intention was to come back by bus, but at the end, an elderly french couple brought us there by car.

It was then time to spread the weight evenly between us, the tents, the equipment and starting to hike. I remember that nothing more fitted inside my 90 litre back-pack, and on top of that I was carrying my mattress and my pickaxes, and some other equipment that was hanging from the top of my bag. It wasn't like we were carrying too many changes of clothes - I think we only changed once in 10 days - our back-pack was packed with food.

The first night (17/07/1991)

As you may imagine, after a whole day of car-ride, it was hard to load. After loading a few hours, when it started getting dark, we arrived at a lake - I think it was the Ariel alto. Once at the lake, we were so tired, that all our plans went out of the window... we sat down, opened our back-packs, and started eating some bread with chocolate, a bit of dried sausage. We didnt have energy for anything else. We ate about half the chocolate we were carrying.

And planting the tent...? We were out of strength, the night was starry, so we decided to bivouac. Our exhaustion helped us fall asleep, at the fresh breeze of the morning helped us wake up very early.

Day 2 (18/07/1991)

One of the first decisions we took was to be more disciplined with our food - as we would have to return in two days if we continued eating at the pace we did on the first night. So we split the amount of cookies and sips of milk each person was allowed to.
Once having cleared these points out, carrying our back-packs, it was time to start walking again, and this was now serious. We had to reach the Balaitous (3.144m), a solitary summit crowned by a sort of metalic structure in the shape of a pyramid and a geodesic point. Having made the first summit we were already exhausted. From the summit we descended in direction to the Gran Facha, which we did on the 19th. This night we did plant the tent and we could rest a little.

Day 3 (19/07/1991)

The third day, I recall hiking a lot - it wasn't that we was a lot of slope, but a lot of distance. The Gran Facha (3.006m) was quite quick to reach, we decided to leave our back-packs at the col, so that enabled us to get to the summit quickly and continue walking towards the Vignemales.

Day 5 (21/07/1991)

We had already spent four days walking and everything hurt. Some of us had many blisters on our feet, but the most interesting part of our journey was approaching us. On the 5th day we arrived at the refuge of Vignemale, we left our back-packs, went to hike the Petit-Vignemale (3.032m), which we did in only 30 minutes, we were quite strong. While we were descending we heard someone speaking in Catalan, and the voice was familiar.. it was Jordi Lòpez, a mate from GELS with his friend. It was a lively night, a storm with impressive electric storm. Each time there was lightning, the tent would light up, and the thunder would make it tremble.

Day 6 (22/07/1991)

Climbing the Vignemales from the refuge is rather quick, and it wasnt the first time climbing a glacier, but putting your crampons, pickaxes and wear a short-sleeve shirt is not very normal. Safety goes first and although crampon made us struggle a little, we climbed the most important summits of the Vignemales: el Grand Vignemale (3.298m), Cerbillona (3.247m), i el Pic Central (3.235m), and if that wasn't enough, we entred the coves (caves) de Russell. Once having made it to these summits, it was time to descend to go to the circ of Gavarnie.

Day 7 (23/07/1991)

During this day we climbed a summit of 2600 metres called the Pico de San Andrès. Days had passed since we had last ate some bread, and arriving at the port of Boucharro, there was no one, but on the floor there was a piece of bread, and without asking whether it was good or bad, we simply ate it. From the port, we could see some impressive views of the Roldan breach, we had to climb some more to sleep at the refuge of Sarradets. That night we slept at the refuge but we did not eat there as we did not have enough money.

Day 8 (24/07/1991)

From the refuge of Sarradets to the Roldan breach seams to be there, but the truth is that the breach is immense, precious. From the breach we climbed the Taillon (3.144m) and the Casco (3.006m) , and we visited the cave of Casteret. We spent the night at Goriz, but we slept in a tent. The blisters were hurting and Oriol had his feet covered with blisters so we decided to shorten our route and return after having arrived at the Mont Perdut. That night we ate at the refuge to celebrate, we were so hungry we counted the number of spoon-fulls of soup and when the people saw this, they offered their remains. One of our mates, in returning his tray, realised that people were leaving a lot of chicken and bread and so he put himself in the queue and collected the trays and took the bread and chicken that people were throwing away. Its a shame we didnt think of doing that before in the preious refuges we had stayed at.

Day 9 (25/07/1991)

The next day a couple approached us and offered us their spare marmelade... yes, the only thing we had was marmelade...
Our plan of the day was to climb the Tres Sorores, which include the Mont Perdut (3.355m), the Soum de Ramond (3.254m) and the Cilindro de Marboré (3.325m), and we did them... During our way back, we collected our tent at the refuge, descended by the grades de Soaso, got into our car and went home.

A unique adventure!