The plan was good. Avoid temptation and leave the New Years celebrations in Lanjaron well alone. Rise early the following morning and, without nursing hangovers, climb to the 3005m summit of Cerrillo Redondo in Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountains.
Heading upward through the forest Puente Palo
All went well at first. The party met on time. No hangovers. Nice, relaxed journey to the start point at the Puente Palo Forestal area (1700m). Sure, we could hear the wind rattling above the trees and snow covered the forest paths as we ventured upwards, but we were sure that we would reach our summit.
Heavy snowfall in the forest
After 30 minutes the snow deepened and I began to regret the lack of snowshoes. We hadn’t had snow below 2000m all winter. Surely only a covering had fallen in the past day or so? Wrong! As we climbed through the forest the snow thickened and the wind blew eddies of snow across our path.
Battling the elements
Emerging from the forest’s upper limit at 2100m we met the full onslaught of the conditions. Strong winds blew spindrift into our faces as we struggled upwards in deep powder snow. Where were my skis? It was only marginally easier keeping to tufts of spiky vegetation poking through the snows.
Shall we stay or shall we go?
After another 30 minutes of hard effort we hadn’t progressed very far. The wind chill was crippling. The deep snow strength sapping. There was no way we going to achieve our goal. I hastened a meeting of the group. Some of the party needed no second invitation and sped away downhill to reach the relative shelter of the forest once again. Was this really southern Spain?
The intrepid adventurers
We relaxed as we strode valiantly through the forest back to the car. The bars of the Alpujarras beckoned. On the way down we had glorious views of Cañar across the valley. As we reached Lanjaron, it was as if spring was in the air. Nobody seemed aware of the violent elements at work only 1500m above. I guess that’s part of the fascination of living here?
And below, Cañar and the Alpujarras basking in glorious sunshine
Maggie messing about in the snow
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