Chilling out by the Laguna Cuadrada

How did this come about?

We live in Lanjaron in the Alpujarras. For many local people the mountain lakes of the upper Lanjaron valley are the “Shangri-La”, a mystical place that provides year round water to the lower levels of the Alpujarras. For them to visit it becomes almost a pilgrimage. I have been privileged to accompany local people many times on their annual trip to the “source”.

Cool running waters!

Our walks are designed to take in the best these lakes have to offer. Much of the walking is above 3000m on rough but well tracked paths. Some steep sections are met but generally the trekking is relaxed and easy. We allow plenty of opportunity to swim or relax by the lakes. The upper Rio Lanjaron valley is lush and green and has the delightful rio constantly sending it’s waters south towards the populated Alpujarras. It is a special place!

We believe we are the first to offer such walking here in the Sierra Nevada. We have 3 tours of differing difficulty so that families as well as hardened trekking types can visit these lovely lakes

(1) Easiest.

Hoya de la Mora (2500m), above ski centre above Granada. From here we have a 7/8 hour return trip climbing 800m. During July and August we can make use of ski lift access to give a shorter day (5-6 hours / 400m ascent). Chill out by the Laguna de Lanjaron and enjoy the cool waters! Visting….. Embalse de Las Yeguas (2900m), Lagunillas de la Virgen (2960m), Laguna de Lanjaron (2980m)

(2) Medium.

The upper Rio Lanjaron

Ski lift access in July and August followed by a walk up to the Elorietta hut and a long descent of the gentle Rio Lanjaron to waiting 4WD transport by the Ventura hut (8 hours / 500m ascent). The upper Lanjaron valley is stunning! Visiting….. Embalse de Las Yeguas (2900m), Lagunillas de la Virgen(2960m), Laguna de Lanjaron (2980m), Laguna Charca Pala (2950m)

(3) Hardest.

By taking 4WD transport to the Ventua trailhead in the south we can walk up towards the Cerro de Caballo. From the Cerro de Caballo refugio by the Laguna de Caballo we head north along the “Verada Cortada”, passing the Laguna Cuadrada before reaching the Laguna de Lanjaron. Then its back down the valley and out via an acequia to the waiting transport. A beautiful walk! (10 hours / 1000m ascent). Visiting….. Laguina de Caballo (2850m),Laguna Cuadrada (2930m), Laguna Charca Pala (2950m), Laguna de Lanjaron (2980m).

More information and reservations

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Upper Rio Lanjaron in mid summer

The waters gather at high lakes at the head of the Rio Lanjaron, just below the Elorietta refugio. The Laguna de Lanjaron, Laguna Cuadrada and countless smaller lakes are buried under winter snows for over 6 months of the year and this provides the key. Much water is filtered through the mountainsides on its long journey downhill before finally appearing as natural springs.

The Rio gathers water from the slopes of  Tajos de los Machos and the long western mountain limb culminating in the Cerro de Caballo. At times, especially in early winter, there is a raging torrent that threatens bridges and fields. In late summer the Rio can become a simple trickle of water.

Local man, Pepe Badaje, has installed the webcam at his cortijo alongside the river. Visit his website.

Watch live video from pepebadaje on Justin.tv

Late summer at the Laguna Cuadrada

The upper Rio Lanjaron in May 2010!

Report from Jens Foell
All photos courtesy of Stephen and Bethany Lovell

On the Tajos de la Virgen ridge

As the weather forecast promised a marked drop in temperatures we went up to the Poqueira hut the next day. The night in the hut wasn’t that cold but as we approached the Caldera refuge the next morning a cold wind provided a chill of somewhere around -10C.

We climbed the beautiful ridge to the Puntal de Caldera, but with Stephen and Beth being experienced clients we also did some top roping on the North face and carried on past the summit; there a sudden drop of the ridge calls for slightly more demanding climbing. During the crux section on the Northern face we had strong, freezing-cold winds blasting icy snow in our faces! And just after coming off the ridge the clouds came in and we walked back to the hut in a total white-out.

North face of Puntal de la Caldera

After returning to Lanjaron the same day, followed by a rest day, temperatures had steadily dropped further (-16 above 3000m, according to the forecasts) so conditions were right for the next trip: we started with a morning of top-rope protected ice climbing at the Cascada de los Militares near the ski station and then went up to the Carihuela refuge, at 3200m the highest place to stay in the Sierra.

A massive cornice is currently blocking access from the Eastern side (i.e. from the Poqueira hut or Mulhacen), its edge being located just 5m from the front door of the refuge. But our objective lay to the South: crossing over the Sierra via the exposed Tajos de la Virgin ridge, a route that depending on conditions can be anything from an easy scramble to a Grade 3 winter climb.

Refugio Cebollar

We did find a lot of snow and ice on the ridge so both crux sections had to be overcome by fully protected, pitched climbing. Nobody had come this way since the last snow falls almost 2 weeks before, except for one creature: a big mountain cat’s paw prints lead the way (Lynx?), all the way along the ridge, with tiny yellow marks marking it’s territory every 100-200m.

Ice climbing Cascadas de los Militares

We were lucky with the weather. The morning had been mostly clear but in the afternoon the clouds came in. And although we’d spent a whole hour digging out the door of the Elorietta refuge we decided to continue along the ridge to the Pico del Tajo de los Machos and down to the Cebollar hut. That decision was less motivated by the incoming weather as by Beth’s feeling that the Elorietta, a former TB hospital and very dark and abandoned looking inside, had an ‘eerie’ feeling to it. And although this made the day a long one as we had to continue with our big packs, arriving at the Cebollar in yet another white out, it turned out to be a wise decision indeed.

The next morning not only the weather deteriorated further (strong snow falls and low visibility) but also Stephen’s health: he woke up with sciatica induced pains, his mobility impaired. So instead of doing some fun climbing on the Las Alegas peak we now had to worry about how to get us and all the gear safely down to Puente Palo.

And thanks to a group effort involving Kiersten and Andy from the Spanish Highs back up team we made it down allright: we just about managed to drive down to Lanjaron before the track became totally blocked by all the new snow. On arrival in town it even snowed there, not a common occurrence at 700m in March. And compare that to the hot, sunny weather a week earlier- in the Sierra Nevada you really can have 4 seasons packed into 1 week!

In the Alpujarras forests above Puente Palo

There are three options when travelling between the Cariguela and Elorietta huts in Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountains:

(1) The ridge of Tajos de la Virgen. Mild scrambling (grade 1) in summer and in winter conditions we have found it to be anything between Scottish grade 1 and 3 (Alpine PD approx), depending on snow and ice conditions. At times the ridge has been very hard going in deep powder with double cornices lining the ridge, exciting stuff. Other times it has been a fantastic winter walk.

There are 2 crux’s in summer and winter. These are marked YELLOW on the photos. Travelling from the Cariguela the first is obvious when a wall confronts you. This is bypassed on the right over an area of exposed sloping slabs, before regaining the main ridgeline. After passing the isolated pinnacle of the Fraile (monk) the second obstacle is met where a rising ramp from bottom left to top right found. Easy in summer but variations may have to be found in a hard winter.

(2) From the Cariguela drop down to the Lagunillas via the Olimpica ski run (marked). Traverse round to the left and pick up a track that rises across the slope to the Elorietta hut. This is a simple option in summer but dangerous in winter as the slopes regularly avalanche after fresh snow and there have been accidents here. If in doubt use option 3 below. The RED line on the photos shows the traverse path and the BLUE crosses indicate avalanche terrain.  This is steeper than the photo suggest and the path crosses above steepening covex slopes. Use of axe and/or crampons advised if snow covered.

(3) Drop down further and contour round into the bowl NW of the Pico del Cartujo. Easy moderate slopes with no avalanche danger follow up to the W ridge of the Cartujo wich then can be easily followed to the top. A short ridge with an exposed step lead to easier ground and the Elorietta. Much longer but a safer in winter.

Some high level traverses of “Los Tres Miles Integral” some 4  years ago suggested problems were mounting. We had breakfasts stolen overnight and were disturbed by noisy packs.

One guy even had his expensive tent ruined by a fox that ripped through the outer and inner at 6 in the morning. It grabbed his food bag that lay by his feet. The strange thing was that the fox wasn’t put off by the client’s shouts and gesticulations and managed to escape with the food. Another client had a washbag stolen for some strange reason, presumably to brush it’s teeth and moisturise it’s delicate skin!

Next encounter was when I joined a spanish mate of mine, on his night-shift, in his Pistebasher preparing the ski pistes of the Sierra Nevada. There seemed to be foxes everywhere, illuminated in the powerful headlights of the Piste Machine. Therein lies the answer? The deserted ski slopes in winter, especially around the Borreguilles area at 2500m where the restaurants are, are rich pickings for hungry foxes. They make there way down at night and feast on the leftovers. They have become “humanised” in that they are starting to rely less on their own hunting and foraging and at the same time are getting less and less afraid of human intervention.

Latest harrassment occurred  2 nights ago at 3am, near the Laguna de Lanjaron, when 2 self guided clients had problems. Yvonne Holland awoke with pressure from outside the tent against her face. It was a fox. It then broke through the tent fabric at the foot of the tent and took all the hill food and breakfasts. An unnerving experience to say the least!

The areas where you will encounter problems are around the ski centre area, the Elorietta hut, Laguna de Lanjaron, Col de Cariguela and the laguna and hut at the Caballo. Be warned!

I have never had a problem at Siete Lagunas or elsewhere in the Sierras, presumably because it is some distance from the ski centre area. The foxes here are still rather shy and timid.