The Plan

The iced up Refugio de Caballo

On Friday the Sierra Nevada looked stunning. Javier and Jim set out from the Ventura trailhead above Lanjarón to ascend to the Refugio de Caballo.

From there they would make for the Refugio Elorrieta for the second night,  before dropping down the Rio Lanjarón valley and a return on the Sunday evening.

The weather forecast for the Saturday was mixed with some precipitation and cloud. Sunday’s was similar.

What Happened (Javier and Jim perspective)

Contrasting panoramas - Friday, Sunday and Monday

The Friday ascent went to plan and they arrived at the refugio mid-afternoon. Overnight, it started to snow. They were not aware that on the Saturday morning AEMET had changed the forecast to an “Yellow Alert” notification, with blizzard conditions over the mountains.

On Saturday morning the conditions were not great, but deteriorating rapidly. Javier wisely chose to stay put at the refugio. They had a quick excursion up the Cerro de Caballo (3009m) in the morning to try and to obtain mobile phone reception and get some information from base. Nothing.

Saturday afternoon the blizzard worsened with heavy snowfall above 1800m. Javier and Jim made themselves as comfortable as they could. They had plenty of reserve fuel and food.

Onset of bad weather

Sunday morning the picture was, if anything, worse. The blizzard was in full swing. Again no possibility of going anywhere. Many times they both tried to send text messages and make contact with base. To no avail. On good days you can normally get some signal but in a full blizzard, very unlikely.

The blizzard blew itself out on the Sunday evening. On Monday morning Javier waited until he was sure that conditions had settled and left the refugio at 8am. They dropped down through deep, windblown snow NE into the Rio Lanjarón and then followed it south to the acequia which they took to get back to the Ventura.

They met our party at the Ventura and we all walked back to our waiting transport and a return to civilisation.

Read Jims report in full below

Download (PDF, 842.69KB)

Life in the Refugio de Caballo

Life in the refuge

We have been working with Acción Sierra Nevada to restore the Refugio de Caballo (in April 2011 there was no door or window!). At least the refugio provided basic shelter from the storm. There are a couple of points to make regarding long term stay at the hut

• The roof leaks. From 2pm to 6pm it dripped constantly. After 6pm it turned to ice and remained that way until 2pm the next afternoon
• They utilised the old door to raise the sleeping area above the floor and covered it with a tarpaulin to stop the drips
• There is very little light when the door is shut. The window has a few small holes that bring in a glimmer of light. Is this important? Normally no, but some natural light would have helped the feeling of being locked in a prison. Kindles could have been read etc
• There are still people leaving litter at the hut! Why? Thanks to Javier for bagging it all up and bringing back out with him, despite the pressure of the situation.

What happened (from our perspective)

Winter wonderland - Monday morning

When we realised that the weather was going to significantly worsen we sent a text message to the mobile phones. From late afternoon Friday until late afternoon Monday we were to receive no further communication from the group.

This was a worrying time. We were confident Javier would not risk moving location unless he was sure, but even so the lack of communication when your friends are trapped in a mountain blizzard makes you feel very helpless. We made an excursion to Tello on the Sunday in case they did return, but heavy rains and sleet drove us back.

We suspected the mobile phones were not working and kicked ourselves that we had given our Yellowbrick Satellite Communicator to another group on the Friday. All it required was one signal saying, “We are ok” and we could all relax.

As it was, on the Monday morning we left town early and went up through deep snows to the Refugio Ventura. This is where they had planned to return to. The amount of fresh snowfall staggered us, especially on eastern leeward slopes.

It was with some relief that Javier and Jim arrived Monday mid afternoon at the Refugio Ventura.

Conclusion

Yellowbrick 3

Satellite communications are absolutely essential for multi day trips in the high Sierra Nevada. You cannot rely on mobile phone reception. Our group did exactly the right thing given the circumstances, but how much easier would it have been for us at base if we had confirmation that all was ok?

With our Yellowbrick Tracker in place we can send and receive messages anywhere in the world. We could have let them know when the storm was receeding and when to leave. There would have been full backups in place.

We will be investing in a second Yellowbrick to back up all our high mountain trips in the future. In the meantime we have reactivated our Spot Messenger

The start. Options left, right or the centre gully

We had seen this ridge on our last visit to the Peñón de la Mata when we did a scramble on the north eastern flanks. The long whaleback shape of the west ridge looked interesting, with a somewhat difficult looking start. Trawling the internet found us a few spanish references, which gave us an idea of what was in offer. There were no english references, which suggested that we may be the first english speakers to “discover” this line.

The best source was “Ascensión al Peñón de la Mata por la arista oeste“. Some good photos and a report which suggested rock moves between I and II+ (about UK Mod to Diff). Perfect for what we were looking for, which was easy movement on exposed terrain with some more complex situations requiring simple ropework and protection.

Scrambling up to the start

The initial head wall was taken, in the article, via  the gully in the center, but we preferred the more open but exposed left flank. Moves of I/II required the rope as security until the angle eased and we found ourselves emerging onto the ridge proper, above the initial walls. It is possible to bypass this whole initial section by starting on the southern side and scrambling up to the main ridge and thus avoiding these difficulties.

The ridge from here became easier scrambling but with interesting steps to take either head on or bypass as desired. We headed for the aeriest line, thus were always handling rock and with superb views to the left and right.

Steep initial walls

On one section a drop down to exposed neck followed by a dodgy move up the other side required rope security.  This section was escapable but again we chose to find the most difficult line. Some massive chasms yawned close to hand, maybe snow storages from the old days?

A final steep wall beckoned ahead. The article suggested that we should choose the chimney going up, right of center (II+). Not being a lover of chimneys we tried to find a way round the wall to it’s left and came across ….. another chimney. Nothing for it but to enter into it’s gloomy depths and climb up to the top. On top and with the benefit of a rope, the remaining party came up the steep wall, which provided another exposed but enjoyable section.

We scrambled along the remaining ridge and reached the summit of the Peñón. Great views in all directions, so it came as no surprise for us to discover an old Civil War observation post camouflaged into the cliffs, now used solely for Geocaching purposes.

We dropped down the normal east ridge descent path and found a grassy clearing where we rested in the sun, ate our sandwiches and marveled at the views south to the snow clad Sierra Nevada with Mulhacen, Alcazaba and Veleta most prominent.

Amigos, montaña, sol, bocadillos, vistas increibles. Perfecto?

After lunch we climbed a short line on the steep SE side which we dedicated to an absent friend who first found the line. Now it’s called…… “Dexter”!

Within 45 minutes we were back at the car and on our way to a welcome beer at Cogollas Vega. A perfect day?

N.B If you wish to do this route as described make sure your companions all have sufficient experience of exposed scrambling using basic rope techniques for protection. We shall be adding this to our list of areas that we visit regularly as part of our Scrambles in Andalucía series.

Be careful in your choice of companions. Recently a host of Mountain Walking Leaders have emerged, who are not qualified to use ropes on alpine type terrain. Some have the necessary experience, but most do not.

More photos and a video from the day below:

All welcome. This is an exploratory trip and as such is non commercial. Pay your own costs.

If coming from northern Europe best to fly to Marrakech. If from Spain travel with us overland as outlined below, or pay Ryanair’s exorbitant and outrageous charges and fly out of Sevilla!

Emily Burrows of Wild Morocco will be organising things from the Morocco side for us. She says

We much prefer you to see our favourite parts of the Sahara, not simply the region that is “most convenient” by car because it’s not remote!!!! This also means you’ll enjoy our favourite route south. Please don’t be put off by the driving times, this is quite usual in Morocco (we don’t have motorways south of Marrakech! and the driving over the mountains is necessarily slow-going) and the road journey itself is part of the experience, especially with such dramatic scenery along the entire way and lots of photo stops!!!

Proposed Itinerary

Day 1 – pick up from Casablanca bus station or Marrakech bus station (or airport) and transfer to overnight hotel or riad in Marrakech.

Day 2 – drive from Marrakech to Erg Chegaga, Sahara Desert. approx 9hrs drive. Overnight in private or berber camp.

Day 3 – trek from Erg Chegaga to Erg Smar, with camel caravan, overnight camping in desert. Approx. 5-6hrs trek. (or a day to chill-out and stay near the camp, explore the dunes, short camel ride, picnic lunch, day trek etc….)

Day 4 – trek from Erg Smar eastwards, with camel caravan. Option to overnight camp in desert or guest-house (i.e. be met by 4×4 and driven out to the guest-house). If you camp in the desert, you will be driven out by 4×4 the next morning early.

Day 5 – Transfer from Sahara northwards to south-side of Atlas Mountains, the valley of roses. overnight in guest house. approx. 6-7hrs drive, depending on where you spend the previous night!!

Days 6-8 – 3 day trek to summit Jebel Mgoun (4068m) from the south-side, a 3 day circuit finishing at our overnight base as on night 5.

Day 9 – transfer from valley of roses to Marrakech (approx. 5.5-6hrs drive). Overnight in Marrakech (for people flying, we can get them to the airport for an evening departure!)

Day 10 – bus or train to Tangiers and onwards… – it is possible to get to Algeciras in a day from Marrakech, i researched this for myself. will entail an early start but there is a choice of evening ferry departures!

Let me know if you are interested.

Sometimes an opportunity presents itself. After a poor snow year with little quality ski touring the ski lifts at the Sierra Nevada decided it was time to close. Bad decision in hindsight, as the weekend of the closure brought a metre of fresh snowfall to the pistes.

Ski tour to Veleta, Sierra Nevada

So Monday morning we met early in Lanjarón and took the horu long drive to the Hoya de la Mora above the ski town of Pradallano int he Sierra Nevada.

A relaxed 3 hour long skin up the broad northern ridges of Veleta saw us well above the ski pistes below us. A very hot sun and not a breath of wind made it seem like summer as we chewed on our bocadillos. The sun glinted off the snows.

Then it was a mad dash, crazy descent of some 1300m down the deserted ski pistes to the base station where we had a second car waiting. The pistes were a bit lumpy and made for some tricky but interesting skiing. A great day out.

There may be more skiing available for the next few weeks. More Details

Video of the tour from Ian Tupman below

The 5 of us parked as close to the peak as we could get, which left us an easy 45 minute amble to the start of the rocks. Away to the south of the col the Sierra Nevada gleamed white after the fresh snowfall of the past days.

Long rock scrambling routes

Not knowing exactly what we were in for we donned helmets and harnesses.  Although we were all experienced scramblers and used to exposed terrain a rope was packed away, but handy.

We picked a line on the NE side which gave continuous scrambling for some 300m. All on good clean limestone. Perfect!

Sections could be by-passed or taken as required. Three of us decided on some exciting lines that gave some entertaining and very exposed moves (we named our route “Los Tres Amigos”!). On one occasion the situation warranted the use of the rope to protect the crossing of a gap. The others preferred more relaxed fare and eventually joined us at the summit having made their own way. And I guess that is what scrambling is all about? Finding a rocky route to a fine summit at whatever grade you feel relaxed at.

Grade? Between 1 to 3(S) scrambling with some moderate rock climbing thrown in if desired.

After lunch it was off round on a tour of the peak before returning to the cars, Cogollos Vega, Alfacar and eventually back for some welcome beers in Lanjarón. A great mountain day.

We shall be running regular day tours to scramble on Peñon de la Mata. Let us know if you are interested?

Photos and videos below.

Read this in English

Refugio de Caballo

A todos vosotros que vais a la montaña y leéis esto, ¡os lo pido de corazón! Cuando os quedéis en algún refugio no guardado de Sierra Nevada, ¿seríais tan amables de hacer lo siguiente?

1. Por favor, llevaos toda vuestra basura. Esto es bien sencillo. Entonces, ¿por qué coño seguimos encontrándonos por ahí montones de basura? Si de verdad queréis ayudar, llevaos una bolsa de plástico al refugio y ayudad a sacar la basura.
2. No defequéis ni orinéis en los alrededores del refugio y, sobre todo, no dentro del refugio (sí, ¡es cierto!). Alejaos bastante del refugio, bien lejos de las fuentes de agua, cavad un agujero y haced ahí vuestras cosas. Cubridlo con piedras y rocas. Supongo que incluso podríais llevároslo. Andy Bissaker se encontró recientemente un mojón congelado en una habitación adyacente a la sala principal del Elorrieta. Menos mal que sacó el desagradable elemento e hizo lo propio con él. Zach Arnold estaba indignado por la defecación que habían dejado congelada sobre la nieve cerca del refugio de La Carihuela. ¿Qué nos está pasando? ¡Un poco de respeto, por favor!
3. No dejéis cartones de vino medio vacíos ni comida para el próximo visitante (esto puede crear cierta polémica). Sí, ya sé que puede ser un gesto simpático y de agradecer, PERO, en el verano, cuando ayudé a restaurar el refugio del Caballo con Acción Sierra Nevada, nos encontramos cartones de estos medio vacíos y os puedo asegurar que no sentí el más mínimo deseo de beber un trago de vino. ¡La comida estaba que podía echar a andar ella sola! ¿Cuál fue el resultado? Tuvimos que llevárnoslo todo. No era más que basura. Y yo digo: seamos cada uno responsable de nuestras acciones.
4. Apoyad a Acción Sierra Nevada. Esta iniciativa está obteniendo cada vez más apoyo. El refugio del Cerro del Caballo mejoró notablemente con el trabajo que realizaron el verano pasado. Ahora lo tenemos limpio, ordenado y con puerta. Es casi impermeable y un lugar fantástico para pasar una noche en la montaña. Para este próximo verano, hay en marcha una iniciativa para restaurar el refugio Elorrieta. Es un proyecto de mucha más envergadura que requiere mucho dinero y trabajo para conseguir el objetivo. Si amáis la sierra, por favor, ayudad con alguna donación o con mano de obra. Visitad el sitio web de Acción Sierra Nevada.
5. Acampada libre en el parque. Aprovecho la ocasión para recordar la normativa oficial sobre acampada libre en el Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada. La Consejería de Medio Ambiente de Andalucía establece lo siguiente respecto a la acampada libre en el Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada: Se permite el vivaqueo o acampada nocturna en cualquier zona del parque.

Traducción: Inma Lozano

The climb will be via a northerly approach to the NE ridge and will involve much glacier travel and a complex approach. The summit (49° 19′ S; 73° 25′ W) lies almost 2000m above the icecap and some 25km south west of Paso Marconi. Anybody interested? Contact me.

The photos below were taken of the mountain from our last expedition to the Patagonian Icecap in November 2011. In the shots the range is about 25km away and 2000m above the icecap!

Cordon Mariano Moreno from the SW

Morning sun on the range from Cirque de los Altares

Our exact itinerary for the trip has yet to be finalised in full. We have a draft itinerary below

Day 1 – Arrival El Calefate airport. Transfer to El Chalten (3hrs).

Day 2 – Day in El Chalten buying food and provisions. Team meeting and discussion. Visit National Park Office. Get passports stamped and authorised by Gendarmerie. Tent erection practice in high winds!

Day 3 – Private transport to trailhead at Rio Electrico. Walk to refugio at Piedra del Fraile (Los Troncos) through fine woodland and riverside scenery. Level, sheltered and good, clean water available.

Day 4 – Move up to “La Playita” campsite by the side of Lago Electrico. Cross some small hills and then the Rio Pollone before it becomes in spate. Over an awkward section of loose terrain and a headland before dropping down to sheltered camp by lake. Great views up the Pollone valley to Fitzroy NW face and Cerro Pollone.

From near Paso Marconi

Day 5 – Big day. 1000m ascent to the Icecap via the Marconi Glacier and Paso Marconi. From camop we rise to the base of the Marconi glacier via a loose section of old moraine. Then we get onto the easy lower glacier and cvross a medial moraine before reaching the base of the Seracs. From here the ground steepens until we top out on gentler terrain leading slowly and inexorably towards the Paso Marconi. This section is mentally tough and the winds are usually strong as the Marconi pass becomes a funnel for the winds coming from the west. On reaching the slight decine onto the campo de Hielo Sur some relief is felt. We set up our snow walls and tents on the icecap.

Day 6 – West out on the icecap towards Cerro Moreno. Base camp in the valley N of summit. Long day of glacier travel.

Day 7 – Move to high camp below NE ridge

Day 8 – Summit day- up to the NE ridge and follow to summit. Return to base camp.

Day 9 – Traverse southwards on the icecap to the Cirque de los Altares. A relatively gentle day with superb views if clear. The feeling is one of being at sea and it is difficult to get a sense of scale. The views open up and the Cerro Torre group with Fitroy behind come into view. We make our campiste at the entrance to the cirque.

Day 10 – Southwards again coming off the icecap at the head of the Viedma Glacier. A difficult section follows crossing the constantly changing moraines past Laguna de Esquis. Camp at a bivouac site near to Lago Ferrari below the Paso del Viento.

Day 11 – We traverse to the base and then steeply up to the Paso del Viento. Then it’s down towards the Tunel Glacier with marvellous views northwards towards Cerro’s Grande and Solo. We cross the lower Tunel glacier and then loose moraines before eventually dropping down to a sandy campsite alongside the tranquil Lago Toro.

Day 12 – Next day walk out to El Chalten. After crossing the waist deep Rio Toro, we have a 16km walk out with a 500m ascent along the way. Great views along the way though, over to the turquoise Lago Viedma and back to Fitzroy and Cerro torre. We encounter green forests and fields of flowers, a contrast after the white of the icecap. We drop down to El chalten for a welcome return to civilisation!

Days 13 & 14 – spare days in case of bad weather. El Chalten

Day 15 – Bus to airport at El Calafate. Flights home

Sunset over Cordon Mariano Moreno

Not having done any serious hill walking in February and March, I wanted to get out and do a good leg and lung-stretcher before returning to the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Trevenque had been mentioned to me in the past by Spanish Highs and it sounded just what I was looking for.

Trevenque is located approximately 11 kms to the west north-west of Veleta and at 2,083m, it is significantly lower. It is however higher than the peaks which surround it and is an impressive looking lump of rock when approached from the west.

Below the steepening ridge below the summit

I parked the car at the Collada de Sevilla having followed the excellent directions given in this thread. The un-surfaced section of the access road is slightly rutted in places but with care, it can easily be negotiated without a 4×4 vehicle. Heading away from the car park, the signed path took me around to the south side of the ridge but I wanted to walk along the ridge itself. Just before an information board there is a feint path on the left which cuts across and then climbs to the ridge line. An alternative is to continue on the marked track which contours eastwards below the ridge and provides a more gentle ascent to the foot of the final climb to the summit.

The ridge, or Cuerda del Trevenque as it is shown on the map, is an interesting roller coaster of limestone peaks and the well-worn path is easy to follow. In some places it descends to meet the lower track and then climbs away again. After approximately 3kms, the path rises steeply up a loose, stony ridge and the lower track swings away to the south-east. The final ascent to the summit takes you through some interesting rock formations and the summit itself comprises a series of individual ‘tors’, all of which are worth exploring as each gives a different perspective of the true summit. The backdrop of the snow-covered Sierra Nevada (albeit with less snow than usual) was stunning and the 360 degree panorama is well-worth the effort required to get up there.

The descent down the east side is initially on steep and very loose limestone gravel. Care is needed and a pair of walking poles is recommended. At the Collado de Martin there is the option of turning south-west and returning to the car park via the dry river bed of the Canal de Espartera but I wanted to visit the botanical gardens shown on the map to the north-east of Trevenque. The forest road, which initially heads north, is in very good condition and passes through lovely pine forest which, I am pleased to report, appears to be free of the pine processionary caterpillar which is currently devastating forests to the east. Good news for dog walkers!

The botanical gardens were open when I got there but they have quite limited opening times and if planning a visit, I would suggest checking by telephone first.

From the gardens I continued west along the 6km of forest road to arrive back at the car park. With legs and lungs duly exercised, it was time for some throat lotion and the restaurant bar at the Cortijo del Hervidero obliged with a lovely cold pint of it.

This is a short video of the walk.

Official information sent from the Sierra Nevada Natural Park  (also thanks also to Jesús Labajo Yuste of Lokofilms for the original link on their Facebook pages). More information about this pest.

These pests are cyclical and every three or four years, reach a maximum. Processionary caterpillars eat the leaves of the pines. These parasites leave the pine caterpillars just before end it. Although affected trees may seem dry, they are in fact dying.

Why birds dont eat the caterpillars?

Because the caterpillars have a defensive system in the body. The body is covered by a poison dart (500,000 per track). These darts (hair-like) are called trichomes, measuring about 100 to 200 microns, and release them when threatened.

Pine Processionary Caterpillar Nests

How it affects us

The darts scattered by wind reach our skin and clothing are introduced into our “produciéndonos urticaria”, so that, once in the skin, the more one scratches, the more they penetrate into it. The rash usually lasts about 5 days. It affects mainly the skin and its severity depends on the exposure and the intolerance of individual toxins. The wounds caused by scratching can become infected. The trichomes may also affect the eyes and sometimes airways (causing allergic reactions such as asthma).

When it affects us and on what days

It affects us when we are near them and when there is a very high number.

The more it affects us are in the days that are in larval stage, when the come down the tree to be buried in the ground and become a chrysalis. This will be until the end of April. You should never take or touch these larvae or caterpillars.

Treatment

Therapeutic measures include the use of corticosteroids and topical antihistamines, oral or intramuscular administration in relation to the severity of the allergic reaction. Showers with cold water without subsequent drying of the affected skin, are effective in relieving pain. If it is an emergency, we must inform the doctor that we have been in the forests and processionaries are in evidence.

Processionary nests

We must not destroy their nests as doing so many trichomes dispersed into the air to be introduced by our clothes. The destruction of nests should be done by a professional in the field, and of course do not touch or step never processionary nests

Dogs and pets

These caterpillars are very dangerous for dogs. They can die if they are swallowed and cause necrosis of the tongue that can lead to partial amputations. We recommend a full muzzle if no choice but to go through areas of caterpillars with our dog. In short, do not take dogs to areas with pine processionary infected from March to June and especially do not take young children along on those dates.

We have been visiting the Sierra de Huetor since 2002. Mainly exploring and scrambling our way around the mountain ridges of Majalijar (1887m), Peñon de la Mata (1669m), Peñon Grande (1713m) and La Cruz (2027m). It is quiet and relatively unspoilt given its close access to Granada (30 mins). Sure, at weekends it can be busy and the A92 motorway lets you access the park very quickly, but once away from the main forest road there is plenty to go at. It is a great place to make for if bad weather stops you from heading for the higher hills.

It is first class walking or snowshoeing terrain with undulating forest tracks and open hillsides. The forests are open with clearings and glades. Nature is evident everywhere. On our last trip we found a great variety of birdlife including Nutchatch, Firecrest, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Short Toed Eagles, Golden Eagles and Buzzards. Overhead Griffon Vultures soared and red squirrels were in abundance in the trees. There are also Genets, Badgers, Beech Martins, Wildcats, Wild Boar and Spanish Ibex.

Red Squirrel (courtesy Kiersten Rowland)

It is not steep terrain but when you are walking through the forests it is easy to get lose ones way and direction. There are few path markings. Incredible after heavy snowfall when your snowshoes plunge through the knee deep virgin powder snow!

So where do you go? The maps that there are give are insufficient detail. We started by using Google Earth. This wonderful piece of software suggests ways through the forests rather than firm tracks. From then on it is up to you. Go and explore. That’s half the fun!

We traced suggested lines on an image taken from Google Earth and then went out and tried it. Anybody with a good sense of direction will have some fun. My latest sketch map of the route I was looking to complete is below (press to enlarge). You get the idea?

Of course you are always welcome to join us on one of our frequent walking trips or snowshoeing tours. If you want to do your own thing and require further help please contact me and I shall do my best to help. Photos from our trip today are below and give you a sense of what this wonderful and underestimated area is about.