Day 1 – Capileira, Hoya de Portillo to Siete Lagunas
Leaving Lanjaron just after midday we drove to the ranger station above Capileira. There were 6 of us, Kiersten, Paul, Kate, Jackie, Nick and myself. Moving up through the forest quickly revealed the 1600m of altitude gained by the car. Onto the open slopes above the forest we proceeded on the long, boring slog to the Mirador de Trevelez where we rested and gazed down onto the (purported) highest village in Spain.
Then it was up the south ridge of Mulhacen to the 3000m level where we diverted from the main Mulhacen track and contoured round the eastern flank of the mountain on faint tracks. There was still a few old snow patches left on north facing slopes in the bowls down to the right hand side. An hour traversing led us to the shoulder overlooking Siete Lagunas. The bottom lake of Laguna Hondera viewed from here looks vaguely like a shape of a dog. Hence the river flowing from its backside is known as the “Rio Culo del Perro” (the Dog’s Arse River!).
We dropped down steeply to the valley bottom. This is a camping shangri-la! Lakes, running water, grassy patches for the tents. All with the backdrop of crag and mountain scenery supplied by Mulhacen and Alcazaba. A wonderful arena.
We piched the tents and settled down for the night. My tent, a Hilleberg Nallo, has been with me many times before in summer. It is a spacious 3 man tent but very lightweight. Great for 2 people. The weather forecast had been set fair and there was no mention of high winds. Unfortunately it could not stand the force of the wind that night at Siete Lagunas. The wind was acting stranger than I could ever remember. It came as a rushing tormented whirlwind gust then dropped dramatically to nothing. 5 minutes later the same thing would happen. The inevitable happened at 2 in the morning when a particularly savage gust snapped a tent pole. Out with the repair kit and headtorch we went. Back to sleep. At 5am another heavy gust broke another pole, and at 6am another snapped. We ended up covered in Swedish tent material!
Day 2 – Siete Lagunas to Laguna de la Caldera
The wind continued next morning. We had planned to ascend Alcazaba then Mulhacen but the strong wind would have made both a difficult exercise. Instead we opted for the east ridge of Mulhacen.
After a leisurely start we plodded up the east ridge. Easy but heavy packs and the altitude made it harder than it looked. Being a Sunday, Mulhacen summit at 3481m had many day trippers there. We took shelter behind the summit blocks against the wind that still had not shown any signs of abating. We then descended the steep west flank of the mountain and decided to make it an easy afternoon by stopping in the shelter of the Laguna de la Caldera.
The afternoon was spent enjoying the dramatic views and relaxing by the lake. With no tent and not wanting to share the Caldera Refugio with other partying spaniards, we opted for a bivvy under the stars by the lake. During the night the wind died down and so did the temperatures. We spent hours tracking the planes and satellites and watching the occasional shooting star in the heavens above.
Day 3 – Laguna de la Caldera to Hoya de la Mora
By the morning the sleeping bags were covered in a light frost. No time for breakfast in the cold morning air so we packed in 15 minutes and were on our way round the rim of the Caldera crater. 30 minutes later we stood on Loma Pelada gazing at the wonderful mountain views, just as the sun rose over Mulhacen summit.The early morning sunlight cast sharp shadows on the rocks and mountainsides.
We followed the old road stopping to cook breakfast near the Col de los Lobos, a dramatic gap in the main ridge where steep views northwards are gained. Then it was on to the Col de Cariguela and the summit of Veleta (3398m) before dropping northwards, trying to ignore all the ironmongery of the ski centre to our left.
We descended to the Hoya de la Mora for a welcome beer (or 3!) and a plate of stodgy chips. Our transport arrived to take us back to the fleshpots of Granada and Lanjaron.
See Paul and Kates excellent post of the trip on their own Blog
[...] my last excursion into the Sierra Nevada hills (see http://www.sierra-nevada-news.com/2008/09/3-day-south-north-crossing-sierra-nevada/) I experienced the first flaws with the tent. We camped at Siete Lagunas at 2900m. The wind was [...]