The following notes describe the route from south to north. They are intended to help trekkers avoid the most difficult snow covered areas necesitating ice axe and/or crampons. References are to the best map of the area which is the Editorial Penebetica 1:40000 (More about maps to follow later this week). The following points should be noted for all those contemplating and ascent in June 2011.

The northern aspects Alcazaba and Mulhacen in June

(1) Road access to the Ventura hut – difficult. Road in poor state on final 2 km to trailhead. We now start on the ridgeline S of Pena Caballera, go up the firebreak and meet the acequia above the Ventura hut. Longer but better after the initial ascent.

(2) Easiest way to Caballo hut is via summit and col to the north. This avoids snow and ice covered eastern slopes SE and E of the summit.

(3) Don’t take the amenable looking Verea Corta path. This crosses very steep, snow covered ground! Either take the ridgeline via Tajos Altos or from the hut drop down to the Rio Lanjaron and ascend the valley to the Elorietta.

(4) Ridge NE of Tozal del Cartujo. Avoid the first step dropping down to the right. Next step ascend directly and the final small problem take a line traversing down the exposed left hand side. Easy thereafter to the hut.

(5) Elorietta to Cariguela. If you know the route and are comfortable in crampons the ridge is best. Otherwise you will have to drop down to Lagunillas de la Virgen. Make an early start and wear crampons. This section is on a convex slope with considerable steepening below. Not recommended in the afternoons on soft snow.

(6) Cariguela to Caldera. The road is not clear of snow. Be prepared for at least 2hrs walking at an angle on snow! Watch the section below Paso de los Machos (S of Cerro de los Machos). Scene of accidents. Crampons.

(7) Ascent of west flank of Mulhacen. Straightforward. Bottom half snow covered apart from a small line right on the angle of the west and northern flanks. Top mainly clear.

(8) Alcazaba. Easiest way is via the SE up and down. The gully from the head of Siete Lagunas to the plateau is steep snow. Not recommended unless you have the experience.

(9) Puntal de Vacares. Ok. Just affected at a few sections. Actually in places easier than in summer due to walking on snow rather than floundering around in boulders.

Have fun! If you need any advice or an update on the above please contact me and I will try to help.

Our own report and photos from the trip

Granada & Sierra Nevada, Spain

Camp at Siete Lagunas

Saturday: I pack my bags early in the morning and I take the first bus to Lanjaron where I meet my guide Kiersten and trainee guide James. After a bumpy ride up the mountain with a 4×4 the tree of us start hiking our misty day trip to Caballo peak (3005m). The occasional piece of clear blue sky shows amazing views. Even with all the mist my legs are burned from the sun like a lobster. The trek is a good warm up for our 3 days trek for tomorrow. Back in Lanjaron (a quite little town with a lot of retired people) I get al my groceries in for the trip and have a wonder around into town. Besides the usual cozy streets with all grannies and granpies sitting outside on a bench or their chairs infront of their houses, I am in a smily mood and feel myself surounded by a friendly atmosphere and snooping granddads. There is also a medieval festival in town with street artists, medieval food and hand craft, bird shows and a BIG snake.

The second day we decide to leave some gear in our tents and travel light and head up to Alcazaba summit passing snowy lakes and we spot several “big birds”. After a big and sunny siesta on the summit with amazing views of the Sierra Nevada, clouds heading our way so we decide to go back and install our tents a bit lower down in case a storm comes up.  This night the guys are not worried for foxes anymore but are chickening out a bit for the cows and their bells around. I dont mind them as I am convinced the grass is more interesting than the flesh of a human being

The photo below is taken in winter but the snow outlines better the summer routes to follow from the Puntal de Goteron across the face.

alcazaba-nw-face-aspect

The upper track across is called the Vasar de la Cuneta. The lower track is the Gran Vasar del Alcazaba.

The gully leading from the Vasar de la Cuneta to the summit of the mountain is called the Cuneta de Alcazaba. This is a steep and loose stone filled gully. Maybe makes a better ascent in winter when the slope is stabilised somewhat.

The ridge leading down to the right from the summit of Alcazaba is the Espolon de Alcazaba, a fine winter mountaineering route and also a high class scramble in summer (sections of V.diff rock 3+).

The route up the south ridge of Mulhacen from the Hoya del Portillo may not be the most exciting in the world but at least it gives a high start point. An early start meant the 8 of us avoided the searing heat of the lower Alpujarras and we had the cool of the morning for the ascent.

Veleta and Cerro de los Machos, upper Rio Chico

No snow affects the old dirt track at the moment and progress was rapid up to the Mirador de Trevelez where we stopped for breakfast and to admire the views down to Trevelez. The bus from Capileira arrived during breakfast break unfortunately and disgorged a number of unsuitably clad walkers dressed in beachwear looking for Mulhacen!

Then it was a slow plod up the south ridge, enlivened by the clear views over to Veleta and the Tajos de los Machos range and also by a couple of Griffon Vultures who graced us with their presence.

Griffon Vultures above Mulhacen south ridge

As we rested by the summit cairn not a breath of wind blew. Up above a couple of booted eagles played in the thermals. The heat lower down meant that distant views were hazy but the whole range of the Sierra Nevada was laid bare. As it was a bank holiday in Spain there were a few other walkers around.

At this point the 3 of us who were continuing on (Iris Bogaerts, James Jackson and myself) said our farewells to our 5 companions, who descended via the west flank, returning to the fiestas in Lanjaron. We skirted round the east ridge and dropped down to our overnight camp at Cañada de Siete Lagunas.

Camp at Siete Lagunas

No matter how many times I have been here I am always startled by the majesty of the place. Lovely cold icy lakes and lush grasses make it an ideal overnight stop. With less weight and a bit more energy we would have moved up to Laguna Alta, the quietest place to stay in a magnificent glacial cirque. Instead we opted for Laguna Hondera at the entrance to the valley.

On previous visits we had been plagued by foxes intent on plundering our meagre food stocks. This time we had no issues although we did try a anti-fox beacon as a deterrent. Maybe it worked or maybe the dogs camping around there with their owners put off  ”los Ladrones“!

Next morning we ascended the valley to the glacial cirque at the head. Blue skies, sun and dramatic backdrops made this a beautiful setting. Ice still covered some of the lakes. We ascended via a steep scree slope and then a slanting rake to find our way through the upper crags of Alcazaba and broke out onto the upper plateau.

The icy Laguna Alta at Siete Lagunas

Now it was an easy walk round to the summit of Alcazaba (the Fortress). This is well named. The mountain is surrounded on most sides by cliffs and there are few escape routes, usually to the SE. We sat for an hour on the summit admiring the view north towards the Puntal de Vacares and south west to the main ridge of the Sierras. Alpine Swifts weaved between the summit rocks. Northern Wheatears and Alpine Accentors hunted for leftover crumbs from our sandwiches.

Mulhacen from near the summit of Alcazaba

Clouds began to form from the east so it was down to the south east exit from the plateau. There is a way north to break through the Alcazaba cliffs if you are heading towards Vacares but it is steep loose and a certain amount of scrambling is required. We made it back to our camping site in good time. Not another sole had been seen on our trip to Alcazaba.

The ridge north to Puntal de Vacares

The weather was changing and bad weather was forecast for that evening. We decided to drop a bit lower and make a possible retreat much easier. Below the spectacular waterfall of Chorreras Negras the infantile Rio Culo del Perro (Dogs Arse River!) plunges down to a green area known as El Vertedero. Here we set up camp aside the stream. As night fell we realised we had made a mistake. This area is used as a base for a herd of cows! Worse still, they all have loud bells round their necks, alpine style!

During the night the sound of bells was soon drowned out by the sound of heavy rainfall accompanied by spectacular lightning displays. At this point I realised that my faithful old North Face Gore Tex bivvy bag was not as faithful as I had thought. It leaked from numerous seams. In the morning, during a lull in the rain, we packed up hastily and retreated to the Refugio de Campiñuela for breakfast.

Shelter at the Campiñuela ruins

Then it was a short 2 hour walk down to Trevelez, reputed to be the highest village in Spain, for a welcome beer and a return to civilisation.

Spanish Highs Mountain Guides run multi day treks in the Sierra Nevada on a regular basis on demand throughout the summer.

Full Photo Gallery from the trip

Spanish Highs Mountain Guides have recently added the “Gran Vasar de Alcazaba” and the “Vasar de Mulhacen” to their high level trekking holiday itineraries.

Vasar de Mulhacen

The key entry point to this path lies 100m uphill and eastwards from the Col de Ciervo on Mulhacen’s west ridge. At the next obvious break in the ridge lies a small cairn with a red circle on the nearby rocks. This marks the start of the path. The photo to the right is taken just below the starting point.

At this point take a deep breath! The way looks very scary indeed, A narrow path winds it’s way along a natural shelf or rake running halfway up the north face. There is vertical ground above and below. The path is loose so take care. Those passing this way will need a head for heights but their is no real scrambling of note.

We always wear helmets here as the whole of the north face is shattered and there might be a slight risk of stonefall. Half way along the shelf the way broadens but the going is hardly less dramatic. A rise up the screes at the end leads us to the Puntal de Siete Lagunas. Here we can access either the valley of Siete Lagunas itself or contour round and climb the scree couloir to gain the plateau leading to the summit of Alcazaba.

Needless to say, don’t do this in winter, if iced up, in mist or in bad weather, unless you are suitably experienced and have the necessary equipment and knowledge of how to use it.

Gran Vasar de Alcazaba

This is of similar vein to the Vasar de Mulhacen. A shelf leads from near the Puntal de El Goteron rightwards. This too leads over steep ground, but the exposure is not felt as much as that on Mulhacen. The route leads to the Laguna de la Mosca, where a short climb brings one out at the Col de Ciervo.

This is an easier route and much used in winter by climbers accessing the climbs on Alcazaba NW face.

Access Locations:
(1) Hoya de la Mora (2500m). Follow the ski road from Granada to the ski town. Follow the signs left for œVeleta above the town and reach a car park at the road end. Good quick access for Veleta, Los Machos and Catujo sectors. Cariguela hut is 3hrs from here.

(2) Cortijuela (1700m). Follow the road through La Zubia towards the Cumbres Verdes. Continue on past Fuente del Hervidero to the Cortijuela. Good for access to Dilar and Cartujo sectors.

(3) Fuente Fria (Dehesa de Durcal) (2150m). Follow the rough track above Niguelas going up the gorge. Keep going until the Cortijos de Echevaria are reached. Continue traversing NE on poor track until the road end at Fuente Fria. 4WD only. Good for Caballo and Cartujo access from the west.

(4) Ventura trailhead (2100m). Follow the track up the side of El Frenazo restaurant in Lanjaron. Signs lead in 45 mins to the Ventura trailhead. 15 mins to ruined Ventura hut. 3hrs to hut at Laguna de Caballo. At times 4WD necessary.

(5) Puente Palo (1750m). Above the village of Ca±ar and accessible from either Orgiva or Lanjaron (40 mins). Rough track but 4WD not necessary. Start point for Tajos de los Machos. 2 hours to Cebollar hut from here. Elorrieta is 5 hours and 1500m ascent!

(6) Casa Forestal La Pluca (2225m). East side of Las Alegas above the western flank of the Poqueira Gorge. Access from Soportujar (30 mins) on rough track. High access to Tajos de los Machos and Elorrieta hut (4hrs).

(7) Centro Electrico Cebadilla (1500m). Main sheltered route to Poqueira Hut in winter if snow low down. Just a 15 min drive above Capileira. Hut is 3 hours from here.

(8 ) Hoya de Portillo (2150m). A rough track above Capileira leads in 25 mins to the road end at a barrier by a ranger station. 4WD not normally necessary. Track upwards through the forest leads either to the Poqueira hut (3hrs) or the south ridge of Mulhacen. 2.5hrs to the Poqueira Hut. 5 hours to the Cariguela hut.

(9) Trevelez (1600m). The town is good for access to Alcazaba via Siete Lagunas (2900m).

(10) Jerez de Marsquesado. Normally start or end point for Los Tres Miles full ridge traverse. Long unrelenting ascent is necessary from here!

(11) Verada de Estrella. Via the town of Guejar Sierra. Follow the road through the town and via a series of road tunnels either side of the Genil river. Finally you arrive at the road end when there is ample car space available. Access the N and NW sides of Mulhacen, Alcazaba, Puntal de la Caldera from here. Also the Lanchar ridge can be started from here. 2hrs to the Cueva Sectreta bivouac site.

There is a panorama close up view below which labels all the major peaks.

panorama of the Sierra Nevada mountains

[iframe http://www.spanishhighs.co.uk/photos10/panorama-sierra-nevada.jpg 600 300]

Jakub on the summit of Mulhacen

This new path does’t exist in any english or spanish guidebook publications to date. Last Friday we walked the route for the first time (to my knowledge, the first ingleses to do so?). Leaving Alcazaba head down into the Meseta de las Borregas, the shallow valley SE of the summit. Make for the lowest point of the valley, marked by patches of green shrub. Just before the lowest point at the cliff edge you will meet a red marker (plastic circle tied to a rock)  and also a cairn. This indicates the start of the descent route.

Initial descent route through the upper crags of Alcazaba (taken in winter)

Initially trend rightwards then back left. Then follow a sloping rake going down rightwards. This whole area has loose scree and rocks and some care should be taken as there are drops below. Do not let this put you off as, surprisingly, there is little exposure. At the end of the sloping rake there is a short section of easy scrambling that takes you below the higher crags and onto safe ground.

The next section is not particularly pleasant. A few cairns mark the way which leads steeply down some 100m and then trends left to follow a horizontal trail between cliffs. The trail keeps level so if the track is faint or lost just keep traversing at the same height. Eventually a corner is reached and the final slopes leading to the base of the Puntal de El Goteron can be seen.

The final section between the cliffs and scree slopes

The character of the route changes here as we follow a good path between overhanging rock above and vertical cliffs below. Exposure is minimal though. Within 5 minutes you are back onto a rising scree traverse that leads to the main Sierra Nevada ridgeline.

This is a welcome addition to the trekking routes in the high Sierra Nevada, saving about 300m of re ascent and much time (we reckoned about 1.5hrs).

Chiz Dakin is an award-winning professional photographer and guidebook writer, who specialises in landscape, outdoors adventure and travel photography

Sat 27th June

Having sorted my final problem from the epic (returning the hire car to Granada, then me to Lanjaron) we can finally set out..Having a car’s been really great during the last couple of weeks, but retrieving it and returning it had become a real millstone. But I make it back with just time for a quick stop at the apartment and call Mike, my guide from Spanish Highs Mountain Guides.

He’s managed to arrange a lift part-way up the mountains at 2pm from the Gecko Bar. He suggests I leave my rucksac at the apartment and we collect it on the way past. Great I say “ that means I can leave my walking boots off til then too! He must have been wondering what kind of wuss he was leading out onto the hills for 5 days hard scrambling “ not even wanting to wear my boots for an extra 15mins! Little did he know that at that moment in time I was really wishing that I had at least an extra œrest day, and that I really wasn’t at all sure I wanted to do the route now – especially if it went near what I now now is called œScary Ridge! My feet were more blister than foot, and that’s not ideal at the start of a route like this!

But the lift all the way up to the Ventura trail head was extremely welcome, saving us 1500m of ascent in 35C heat, especially with our rucksacks at their heaviest. (It’s surprising how much 5 days food and the first days water can weigh – and as Mike says œYou can never have too much food!). It probably saved my well-plastered feet too! On the way our driver Sue (a local cortijo owner) tells us about the sheer variety of flowers and plants she’s seeing this year after the heavy winter snows. She runs guided flora and fauna walks and on the last one they found 15 species that she’s never seen before “ and has sent off to one of the top botanical University’s for identification. We can already see that the broome is being fantastic this year – the  hills between 1500-2500m are covered in a bright yellow carpet.

Arriving at the Ventura trail head we don sunhat and shades, 50+ sunscreen (25 is not enough, even on a good English base tan!) and spf-lippy and pick up our heavy packs. I am astonished (and secretly delighted!) that Mike’s rucksac is even bigger and a bit heavier than mine! I’d thought my camera gear would outweigh any extra safety/spare gear Mike would carry, but it looks like I’ve got the smaller rucksac!

We slowly wend our way up the path, which gets very indistinct early on through a patch of conifers. I begin to see why Richard, of Spanish Highs, suggests trousers rather than shorts now – aside from the savings in not having to sun-gunge the legs, those conifer needles are spiky! Fortunately we soon pass through them and regain a reasonably distinct route past the Ventura hut. We take the whole path slowly and steadily – it’s still an 800m ascent in 20+C warmth from the trail head. The path soon gets rocky underfoot and its a welcome sight to see Cerro del Caballo (the peak of the Horse Rider) looming above. As we cross a small ridge shortly before the Caballo Hut I pause to gather my thoughts – there’s a snow slope ahead, and I’m really not keen about them right now. I stop for a drink as a good excuse to get my act together, only to find myself saying all sorts of unprintable things as a rocket jet of water shoots up my nose and everywhere around me! I’m reusing one of those sports type bottles for my water (for the first time in the mountains) – and it seems the altitude has caused a serious amount of pressure to build up in it – releasing a vertical pressure jet once the bit valve opens! Not a good start!

I get myself over the snow slope slowly, one foot at a time, but we can already see before we drop down to the Caballo hut (where we’d hoped to spend the night) that not only is it full, but it also looks like all the cairned flat tent spots are taken too! Mike has never seen it this busy before.

We spend a while looking for a spot that is flat enough, not soaking with melt-water and not too likely to be in the fall-line for any rocks. Its quite late, so we make a quick dinner with glacial lake meltwater (boiled just in case, due to the number of animals and people around) and I get my first taste of Richard’s dehydrated pasta. Aside from taking a LOT more water than I’d initially estimated (I didn’t want soup!) it lived up to its claims – dehydrated food that tastes like real food (probably because it is!).

Just before heading into bed I set up the tripod for a shot I’ve been wanting for a long while – that of a tent lit at dusk by a lake in the mountains. Its a bit darker than ideal, and the autofocus won’t work in the darkness, so I have to guess on manual focus. But the shot on the back of the camera looks pretty good – I hope it lives up to expectations back on the computer at home!

Sun 28th June

A late start this morning – we don’t wake up til 9am – which I’m glad of. I slept really badly last night. Partly it was the cold (it froze overnight, and my 1 season sleepy was only expecting to handle 5-10C overnight) but mostly it was the fear of the dreaded fox. Every movement outside, every rustle of the wind on the tent fabric, a group of cabra (local mountain goat/ibex) coming down to drink at the lake, or those [****] dogs belonging to another group howling at œsomething – they all had every sense on instant alert for a fox attack on the tent. Eventually I got up for the loo at 4am, saw the Milky Way  in all its glory (light pollution is non-existent here – even so close to Granada) and also saw that the dogs weren’t growling at something right outside my tent (as it had seemed inside). I decided that any fox could take its chances now – I really needed sleep.

Needless to say the fox didn’t arrive – and although I knew that the presence of the other group’s dogs would scare it away, getting my head to believe that after hearing so many rumours of ripped tents was another matter!

We made a leisurely start after breakfast and climbed the scree slopes behind our tents up to the col above Laguna de Caballo. Dropping our rucksacs there, we summitted the first of many 3000m peaks of the trip, and took the obligatory photos. It was quite amazing being able to see all the way down to Granada and the very flat plain it sits in. In my Paramo Aspira top and Asacha trousers, I was pleasantly warm in a temperature that was probably in the high teens. It made us smile thinking of Granada already being in 30+C heat.

Collecting the rucksacs we then made our way along the Tajos Altos, a rocky but easy ridge that crosses a couple of 3000m peaks that don’t even have names. (To have so many peaks above 3000m that you can’t name them all – what a place!) Water is not plentiful at all on this part of the trek – a complete contrast to the 1-2 day trips I’d been doing between Trevelez and Veleta in the previous week. So when we found an accessible patch of snow near the route, it was time to discover the joys of melting snow for water. It takes a lot longer than Id have imagined – at least 10-15mins for a 1-1.5l pan, and it reduces a lot in volume too – so you have to keep topping it up during the process. As this was for drinking water during the day we boil it for 5mins just to be safe, although its really about as fresh as can be.

Water-bottles topped up, we then continue along the ridgeline, taking the odd detour for some fun scrambling. At El Cartujo I introduce Mike to the fun of geocaching, and am very surprised to be the first to find the cache this year! Obviously it’s not as popular a past-time here as back in the UK. And then we continue with finding a few more boulders to scramble over. I’m glad for anything that takes my mind off the fact we’re heading towards the Elorietta hut – the scene of a bit of an epic a few days ago that lead to my blistered feet and wussyness about snow slopes. I’d been stopping at the Carihuela hut in an attempt to get fit and partially acclimsatised. But that turned into a bigger adventure than I’d anticipated when I’d set out on what looked like a gentle ridge-line scramble towards the Elorietta. Only to discover that I couldn’t cross Scary Ridge (Of course, I didn’t know it was called scary ridge then, nor that it was one of those œpaths that aren’t paths on the map). And so it was with a great deal of trepidation that I was returning to the Elorietta hut – I’d last got within 50m of it before being forced into a retreat the wrong side of the mountain…

Mike gains another free photography lesson today as we pass some blue flowers that look rather like Alpine Gentians. His puzzlement at me lying on the ground soon turns to understanding when he sees the difference that getting down to the level of the flower makes to the photograph. We’re unsure what exactly the flowers are, but their shade of blue is very intense.

We reach a couple of snow patches later today, and I’m still decidedly nervous of them. I cross them very cautiously, planting my poles underneath each foot as it takes my weight – just in case it slides off downslope.  I think Mike finds the difference in my speed over rock and snow amusing – but I’m concentrating too hard on not sliding off the slope to watch him as he sits down to wait at the far side.

You can see remnants of a marble tiled floor at the Elorietta, and it was clearly once a fairly posh place – according to Mike it used to be an old TB recovery hospital. But now many of the tunnels are filled with snow, the wind howls through open gaps in some of the walls, and the only beds that remain is one set of metal mesh bunks. However, there is a section that has all its walls and roof intact, and now sports a couple of red crash mats from the ski-slopes – these make a great comfy mattress and being able to shut the door on any potential fox is a great benefit. Despite my fear of returning to the hut I couldn’t quite reach, it’s a welcome haven and I think I might actually sleep well tonight. Especially after being treated to a fantastic sunset – amazing shaped clouds and gorgeous colours – there was even a small rainbow at one point hovering near Veleta.

Mon 29 June

I was right – I did sleep well in that hut. No fear of foxes there with the door shut! Its cold in the morning and neither of us are keen to leave the warmth of our sleeping bags. Somehow we get onto all sorts of heavy topics of conversation including whether other countries should follow Amsterdam’s example and legalise drugs! Far too serious for before breakfast, but setting the world to rights means we get an extra few minutes in the warmth of our sleeping bags!

It’s another lovely sunny day again today too – I’ve been really lucky with the weather on this route so far. Today we set out along the route I should have taken (rather than Scary Ridge) along the Tajos de la Virgen. In doing so we miss out no less than 7 unnamed 3000m+ peaks! But I’m not going near that ridge again – and apparently the Los Tres Miles rarely goes over that route – it’s just too hard (hindsight is a wonderful thing – now can I have it in advance please?!!).

We follow a fairly easy-going path around the mountain, with no scrambling detours as yet today. Shortly after the ski centre comes into full view below us, the path heads steeply downhill over a steep snowfield. This is the one that I’d previously seen from a distance and decided wasn’t clever without an ice axe – and so opted for Scary ridge instead! So obviously I was really looking forward to this crossing!!! We actually managed to avoid the very steepest first bit with some judicious scree scrambling – including one particularly awkward step down. (It would have been fine with just a small pack – but the full packs had a tendency to try and throw us off balance awkwardly). Then it was slowly and cautiously across the snow – I was glad when there became a small ridge between us and the steep slope – only 3inches of foot-trodden snow – but it made all the difference psychologically.

When almost at the low point of this route I comment that I don’t recognise this part of the trail. Mike suddenly realises that we’ve ben so busy chatting that we’re now just following some random bootprints in the snow, rather than the correct path. He heads off left to rejoin the path, but I reckon that there’s a good way out following the prints that might involve a small bit of easy scrambling. 5 minutes later we rejoin each other on the main path – me grinning as my route worked out and did indeed have some good scrambling. Mike debates whether to boil some more snow – we’re both running low on water as there’s been none flowing since our snow-melt yesterday – but we find a small trickle coming out of the snowfield that tastes wonderful. That’ll do for the climb up to the Carihuela hut!

It’s not really long, but it’s fairly dry and dusty – with only a few small snowfields to break the well-worn trail through the scree. I’m amused to see that my footsteps of four days earlier have well and truly disappeared – no wonder I’d been puzzled at the lack of footprints generally over the snow – it seems they don’t last long before the wind smooths them over. We arrive at the hut in time for lunch, it’s almost deserted except for one young Italian lad writing in the hut journal. Time for some more malt loaf and dried apricots for me – I’m beginning to get slightly jealous of Mike’s hot lunches (basically the same ingredients as dinner again) – and today’s is smelling particularly enticing. I’d not gone for hot lunches to save on the amount of gas being used and the weight. I  don’t normally bother on day trips anyhow – but the effort we were putting into this trip, it began to seem a very sensible and welcome idea!

After lunch its an easy descent and contour along the old summit road towards the Caldera Hut. Descending the short snowfield below the Carihuela hut I’m amazed to see how much the snow has melted even in four days. But the waterfall that provided such good drinking water last time I walked this road is still flowing well – I get soaked filling my bottle again, but it’s only 5 minutes before my Paramo trousers are bone-dry again in this arid heat – they really are quick-dry!

Stopping to take a photo I forget my poles – and only notice nearly a km later. Doh! Back to get them, Mike laughingly asking me to look for my head on the way too! Further down the track we stop to see inside the Loma Pela hut. It looks a useful bivvy hut – just 8 sleeping spaces and a table, but would be very useful for an emergency. Apparently it’s warmer than the Caldera when windy, but the roof leaks! It provides a very welcome stop to re-plaster some of my blisters though – Mike seems a little worried that my feet may not make the rest of the trip, but I assure him that they just need a little more padding!

All too soon we’re up by the Caldera hut, and the start of the long slow slog up the scree track to the summit of Mulhacen. The highest mountain in mainland Spain (only Mt Teide in the Canary Isles is taller), it’s a little over an hour’s slog to gain the final 400m of ascent from the Caldera Hut. And this time (being late on a Sunday) we’ve just about got the mountain to ourselves – a complete contrast from the previous Saturday afternoon when I climbed it œon my own (in reality – with 50-60 other folks on the summit ascent) from the Poquiera Hut. The light is pretty good, but I’m aware that its still a long descent to Siete Lagunas and its already nearly 7pm.

Following the ridge line towards the second summit of Mulhacen, we turn left by a natural stone circle – the white rock at it’s centre looking rather like a trig point. We hug the edge of the crag-line above Siete Lagunas for a long way, then finally descend near to the largest of the seven lakes – Laguna Hondera. This is to be our campsite for the night, and we set about making dinner – we’re starving! But I’m temporarily stumped – half way through rehydrating my bag of pasta I think the stove has gone out in a gust of wind. Unfortunately it was worse than that – the snow melting has used up far more gas than we’d expected, and far from doing 4 nights cooking with ease, my gas canister is already empty! This is rather worrying as Mike was concerned at the start that he’d be running low on petrol for his MSR stove by the end of the trip – and now we’d both be relying on just his stove. It seems 250g of gas just isn’t enough – no matter how quick your evening meal cooking is!

A short while later, Mike has a few choice words to say in the direction of a pale white cow, complete with clanging bell, that starts to descend from the cliffs above – he’s not impressed with the idea of a clink-clank herd clanging away overnight. But fortunately it’s friend doesn’t yet want to descend the slopes so his thoughts of a peaceful night’s sleep get a reprieve for now.

Having slept so badly when camping the first night I resolve to lay out my new fox deterrent. I’d heard that they were particularly troublesome at this campsite before leaving home, and did some research as to what animals in general, and foxes (and cats and dogs) in particular, don’t like. I discovered that diesel oil, pepper and camphor (mothballs) were particularly disliked. Diesel oil was a non-starter for backpacking, but ground black pepper is easy to get hold of in any supermarket, and is light, biodegradable and easy to carry in a ziploc plastic bag. Camphor oil was harder – but I had an inspired thought – there’s one particular brand of ear-drops that has a very pungent smell – and it turns out this is based mostly on camphor oil. Spreading a trail of pepper around the tent with 8-9 drops of ear-oil should keep that fox at bay!

Stopping up late to try and get another lake-side dusk photo, I am startled to see a dog-sized shape slink past me. The fox! I shout at it, and it scuttles away. Contrary to reports I’d heard earlier, it’s incredibly timid, but better still – despite an open door and food inside, it has ignored my tent completely! A shout a few seconds later confirms its tried Mike’s tent, and been sent packing very quickly. Greatly reassured by both the apparent success of my deterrent, and the timidness of the creature, I have a suspicion that we’ll not have any more trouble with it tonight. In fact the only animal trouble we get is a return of the clink-clank herd coming to drink from the lake early in the morning.

Tues 30 June

After another leisurely breakfast, we pack up and head round the lake towards the scree slopes at the far side. We’re now heading into much more remote territory, with Alcazaba being our first mission of the day. Alcazaba is apparently one of the most talked about mountains of the Sierra Nevada –  it’s the one most people would like to climb, but surprisingly few folks actually do. Mike thinks this is because it absolutely can’t be done in just one day – no matter how long – and the fact that people have to camp out for a night puts a lot of people off. Which is both a shame (for them) and a bonus (for us!). We climb up easy scree on the Lomo de Culo Perro, and drop our bags once we gain the ridge. Despite being marked on the map, there is definitely no way off the far (NE) ridge of Alcazaba and we’ll need to return the same way.

Pockets stuffed with a drink and snack, and camera round the neck, we set off again. Its much easier going than I expect, having read about evil scree chutes that have serious objective danger (ie risk of stonefall) from above. This doesn’t seem to be the case here – perhaps that only applies to the southern-most flank. Aside from being hard work due to the altitude and uneven ground, its really not that difficult an ascent – Mulhacen was far worse in terms of scree-slog! – and we reach the summit almost before I realise it. But despite being late morning, we have the summit to ourselves, and the region now really begins to feel quite remote.

We drop quickly back down the scree-slope to our bags, and set out on what looks like a long detour around the Loma de Alcazaba. Below us we can soon see a couple of waterfalls and very green grass in a deep valley besides them. It looks a long way below, but we have to descend that far to escape the northern side of Alcazaba. Descending is painful on the blistered feet, but the thought of fresh stream-fed glacial meltwater at our lunch stop spurs me on. We stop by the Barranco del Goteron, and Mike’s hot dinner once again smells so good that I want to pinch it!

Leaving our lunch spot, I ask if we’re following the stream uphill. We are, so I decide to delay filling my water bottle just yet – planning on filling it a bit further uphill, and saving the weight on the first bit of the climb. Mike doesn’t promise that water will be available further up, so I make sure I have a good drink before we leave, but if we’re following the stream it should be obvious when it runs out… or so I thought. Some distance uphill, about where the gradient eases, I start to get a bit antsy about whether were going to see the stream again. Mike thinks we will, but I’m getting worried. Shortly after this, before the next steep ascent up the side of the valley bowl, I go in search of water – only to discover its now all locked up in snow – and the trickle I can hear is just an echo from the crags above. Damn – I should have filled up from the dinner-time stream. As Mike keeps saying œNever skimp on water… I have just over a litre, and I’m very well hydrated after lunch, so we decide to press on rather than going back (its just a bit too far downhill to return now).

At the top of the scree slope we pause to look back at the view – Alcazaba looks impregnable from this angle – and how any map-maker could think there’s a path off its north-east ridge seems beyond comprehension! Now the fun starts – the scree turns to boulders, and as they get bigger, so does the enjoyment and challenge. The next km or so may be short in distance, but its full-on serious scrambling – grade 2 or even harder if you wish in places – and the full pack doesn’t make it easier! One bit causes a moment’s hard thought, as we descend just before the summit of Puntal de las Calderetas. But removing my rucksac and dropping it down the 1.5m awkward step in front of me soon solves the problem. We each take our own path across this section, both of us grinning from ear to ear as we picked our way across boulders up to the size of a small bungalow.

Laguna de Vacares is our planned destination for the night, but this end of the trip is new territory for Mike. Although he’s done bits of it before, he’s never done this final section as part of the Tres Miles before, (I squeak briefly just to confirm my guinea pig status here!) and having looked at the map, Mike wants to get a little bit further tonight if we can. He’s concerned that tomorrow could still be a very long day. Scrambling around the Puntal de Vacares, we have a good challenge route finding – including one part where we have to thread the needle! Mike briefly wonders if he should find an alternative route for a group he has on this trip the following week – he doesn’t yet have any information as to how good their scrambling skills are, and is concerned that if they are too new to scrambling, it might not be ideal to take them this way.

The following section on the east side of the ridge is also quite tricky ground – and we are surprised to see a few flat and stone-walled bivvy spots along the route – the first sign that others have passed this way before us in nearly the entire day. Peering down at the part-frozen lake below, it looks amazingly blue – very inviting if deeply cold. Mike has bivvied on the west side of the ridge before, and we spot a good flat area with plenty of snow to melt – but decide to carry on for another hour or so – just to get a bit of a head-start on the following day. But just in case we don’t see any water ahead, we stop briefly for a quick snow-melt to give us both drinking water.

The way ahead now becomes somewhat easier ground. Somewhat as instead of big fun-scrambling boulders, we now have lots of small stones that make for awkward footing on a moderately steep hillside. The way ahead looks very barren, rocky, and slopey, with only spiky grass as a hint of œcomfort for the night ahead. I now begin to get tired, and my feet are decidedly whinging at the effort – I probably asked a bit much of the blisters today. As the hillside drops down into a side-valley at the Collado de las Buitreras, I gain a burst of speed. My feet, shoulders, back, nay – all of me – has had enough for the day, and getting to flat ground below and chucking the tent up is the over-riding priority now.

We camp by an incongruous solar-powered weather-station – it looks very out of place in such a remote uninhabited area, but I guess that’s where they’re needed! Flat ground is at an extreme premium, and although there’s a spring nearby, its barely a trickle, and is surrounded by cow-pats. We’re very glad of our previously melted snow!

Tent up, its time to cook, and Mike congratulates me on a big day œby anyone’s standards. Even he admits to being fairly knackered, and more than ready for food. I’d been worrying slightly that the last water we gained may not have been too good – my stomach hadn’t been feeling too good for the last hour of the route. Mike makes a surprising suggestion – it may just be that I’m starving and my body is trying to signal that its out of fuel! Having eaten dinner, I have to concede he may be right – I feel a lot better for food, and if the water (the usual first suspect) was dodgy, then Mike should be feeling ill too. Which he isn’t, and drinking more of the same water overnight doesn’t cause problems, so a new lesson is learned – dodgy stomachs can sometimes be cured by eating!!

Wed 01 July

This morning we try and make a determinedly earlier start. We have some success – we’re both awake by 0730, and Mike is very quickly packed up and heading off up the slope to melt some snow and have breakfast. I’m a lot slower – before I can do anything I’ve got blisters to deal with. I’m actually fairly surprised I’ve managed to keep the feet going as well as they have so far – but they’re not happy today, and are making it felt. I’m also running very low on plasters of all descriptions too – when you’ve got blisters under your toes as well as on top, you have to start getting very creative with the plaster padding!

Eventually I set out, and it feels hard work heading back up the slope to the ridge line. Its not really very far, but for some reason the uphill feels harder work today than the previous four days. I can’t see Mike anywhere, and wonder if he’s gone to suss out a bit more of the route ahead – but no, he was just sheltering from a slight breeze up on the ridge while waiting for me.

We are in two minds as to which route to take in a few places today – we’ve just decided to climb up to the Pico de la Justicia and go round the ridge (sans water-filling opportunities) as opposed to dropping further down the valley and up through the corrie where there are lots of streams and a lake or two. We’d already decided last night that we had enough gas for a snow-melt, so the more interesting ridge-line route wins, but the jury was still out on later decisions such as whether we’d be able to get down the steep east slope off Picon de Jerez. Time would tell!

Although it seems to have taken a long time to pack up this morning, in reality we’re still two hours ahead of any other day, and with yesterday’s extra hour have a good head start on previous days. Though of course it’s now time for that enduring debate of whether we saved one hour or two today, with getting an hour ahead yesterday! I’m sticking to just one, but Mike’s not entirely convinced, and the debate provides a welcome distraction from the uphill task.

We’ve got a good crop of 3000m+ peaks today – 6 in total, and some more that don’t even manage a name. The going is much easier today though – just small stones on a fairly broad ridge, although like many parts of this route its very lacking in water. We stop for a break at Puntal de los Cuartos and admire the view. We can see right down into Guejar Sierra, and spend a while looking at the map sussing out which peak is which. Picon de Jerez still seems a long way away – its a good thing we started earlier today!Beyond this final 3000m summit, a further 3km away, there’s still more than 10km to the end of the trail.

It’s getting a little windy now, but the breeze is actually quite welcome – pleasantly cooling on this last part of the ridge. Surprisingly Picon de Jerez is not the highest point on that ridge, but a good 25m below the high point (which has no name!)

Mike goes to see what he can see of the eastern path which we’d like to take as there’s much more water on the route down this way, but the slope is convex and we can’t tell if its possible to cross the snow patch at the top. While we stop at the top ,a whooshing sound rushes up the hillside. Just briefly a whirl-wind touches down on the summit, kicking up dust in a spiralling corkscrew. Two seconds later and its gone. Its an amazing sight and another reminder of the awesome power of nature.

We set out own the east slope – there’s a way just to the left of the snow slope that looks hopeful. We can’t see if it goes all the way, but the slopes steepest at the start, so we decide to take the chance. It’s quite steep, and the best path is in the smaller scree – its almost possible to scree run down this. We lose height quickly, and the navigation isn’t as hard as we thought it might have been. Before long we’re at a wonderful lush green hollow – a wonderful mountain spring. We joke how much we could sell this water for in London – and then realise how much it would cost us to ship it there! But it tastes fantastic – even though we’ve some snow-melt left, it gets ditched here – there’s no comparison to the cool and clear spring water.

The next section seems to take forever, and yet is over too soon. I don’t want to be leaving these mountains just yet, but my blisters really need a rest! Eventually we get down to the Refugio Postero Alto. It’s apparently only open at weekends, so not today (Wednesday) but is the most luxurious œrefugio I’ve ever seen – more like a 4* country retreat than mountain hostel. Even the beds in the winter emergency room look very comfortable and new – it seems very strange that it doesn’t get more use – but I guess it’s œonly at 2000m and is still a long way from the nearest 3000m peak.

Shortly below the hut, we get a very welcome lift from Richard and Kiersten. The track’s too rough for them to get right to the hut, but we only have to walk a further km or so. I’m sad to be leaving the wilderness behind for a while again, but it’s heating up fast as we descend, and the trail is very long, hot and dusty – a lift back to Lanjaron from here was the perfect end to the trip!

Have a look at his excellent photos too at http://picasaweb.google.nl/volkerkrans/Andalusie2009.
They are not only of the Sierra Nevada mountains but include all of his andalucian adventures. Great images!

Hi there!

We had a wonderful time in the Sierra Nevada! It really is a beautiful piece of rock. Almost immediately after you dropped us off we encountered mountain goats. The whole route was full of them!

We took the first day very easy, heading just for the caballo lake. I made it harder for myself by dropping my rucksack from a cliff, and had to retrieve it from a couple of hundreds meters down. A minor sitback with no further consequences.

The second day started of with a cup of coffee being surrounded by a group of goats again. We decided to walk below the ridge, along the eastern flanks. After some klettersteig we encountered a large stretch of icy snow. Too steep to traverse this part, we went back a bit to climb up to the ridge again. From there the route to Elorietta was very nice and some skill was needed. We didn’t traverse the Tajos de la Virgen (which I regret now) but took the less daring route where we cooked us a meal. From the Veleta to the Poquiera hut was quite an easy but beautiful strolll. Especially descending the valley towards Poquiera was nice with life becoming more and more pronounced.

The third day started of with breakfast at Poquiera after sleeping at a camping-site nearby. We said goodbye to some newly made friends and headed straight for the Mulhacen. After some non-stop ascending we got to the summit. Perfect. Far better than I expected and a very silent experience. Just when we took of again some other people arrived to make us a picture.

After a nice lunch at Siete Lagunas (perfect spot!) we headed for the slopes of the Alcazaba. The lower route ended just north of the Alcazaba. Very dramatic summit to see from there. The whole ridge towards Vacares Lake was interesting with the evening sun shining through the daring peaks.

Although I slept like a baby, my partner in crime Jan had a midnight battle over his rucksack with a fox. Jan won, but his tent was torn a bit.

The last day was a long stretch all the way down to Jerez del Marquesado. It started off with some interesting rocks to climb. From the Picon de Jerez towards the town itself was foremost a long walk, but we still encountered some nice wildlife and the wide views were amazing still. After a very hot walk through the forest we arrived completely satisfied at the only hotel in Jerez. We didn’t go to Granada the same evening but decided to stay and relax. A very nice and kind hotel I must say.

We had a great time. Thanks for the ride up.

I made some pictures. They’re in a big bunch along with other parts of our vacation on http://picasaweb.google.nl/volkerkrans/Andalusie2009.

Greetings,

Volker