We tried out the new Inook Odyssey Snowshoes recently on some high forest trails above the Alpujarras in Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountains. But, how did they fare? We bought a pair of these to try out from our friend Guillermo of Deportes Nomadas in Durcal. Retail price is a reasonable €115. Stated use is for [...]
Against a backdrop of adverse mountain snow conditions we had headed upwards. But what turned out was a day full of surprises as we enjoyed the mountaineering and winter potential of the Sierra Nevada. We had headed up under a hot sun from Puente Palo, bound for the ruined hut at Cebollar. A stiff 800m [...]
The Sierra Nevada makes a wonderful winter holiday destination. Most people though are only aware of the downhill skiing opportunities, based at Pradollano on the northern slopes of the range above Granada. However, during the winter months from December to May when snow is in abundance there are many more ways for you to enjoy [...]
There is no finer place to enjoy a day’s snowshoeing after recent snowfall than above Puente Palo in the pine forests of the Alpujarras. Last week we were privileged to enjoy the company of a family from the USA, as we guided them on a days snowshoeing. We parked at the recreation site at Puente Palo, above the [...]
Recollections of a hard trek to and from the Poqueira hut in Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountains. Difficult snow conditions and at times blizzard conditions made it an epic and at times very testing journey.
The accesses from the south have been difficult lately due to the heavy snows. However in the past week we have experienced high temperatures down here in Lanjaron (17 deg C). This has helped the freeze/thaw cycle and we now have a considerable amount of consolidation with the snow pack. Avalanche danger still exists though [...]
Trevenque (2079m) is an old favourite. We have known this peak in all weathers, at all times of the year. It stands isolated and proud on the outskirts of Granada in the Cumbres Verdes range of hills. It is not linked by ridges to any other peak, has the ideal mountain profile and has one [...]
Dec 032008
With few access tracks to the Sierra Nevada open we had to settle for the usual route up Veleta from above the ski town in the Sierra Nevada. The snow level was about 1500m. We parked the car at the Hota de la Mora (2500m) and set off, immediately requiring snowshoes to aid progress. We [...]
Nov 162008
Just had a 2 day ascent of Mulhacen. We began at the best start point in winter which is the Cebadilla Electric plant in the Poqueira gorge. The ascent to the Poqueira Hut took 4 hours and we encountered tiring soft snow above Cortijo Tomas at 2100m. Fortunately, overnight the temperatures plumeted to well below [...]
In the last 2 days our guide, Mike Elston, has been attempting Mulhacen with 4 clients. The heavy snowfall of the past week suggested that a certain amount of snowshoeing might be necessary. The first day on the approach to the Refugio Poqueira they found snow above Cortijo Tomas, which then became deep on approach [...]
