Climbing at Cavallers - Placa Xalmat

We tried in vain to find a path up to the sector called 'Formigaz' this morning up al Cavallers.  Like a few of the places in the Pyrenees, I don't think many climbers are visiting certain areas. However, there are plenty of cliffs at Cavallers that are easy to get to, so we changed plans and continued on to the big granite slab called Placa Xalmat. It's about 80m high, so the views up the valley from the stances were great.

It was a different (for the better) style of climbing here. Lots of small edges and crimps to stand on and even a few crack line to hand jam your way up. 

It's shady until lunchtime and also a lot more sheltered from the strong winds that blow up the valley. Perfect climbing temperatures and well bolted, interesting climbs. 

Cavallers - Placa Xalmat:

- Arfonzopenco, 6a**

- Afrohouse, 5b

- Continiaćion, 5b**

- Mjelva, 5c

- Chapa jom, 6a+**

Granite Slabs at Cavallers

Back on the rock again today and despite the rest, we were still pretty achy to start with. The Val de Boí is home to the granite cliffs of Cavallers. In one direction is a wide open valley...

...and in the other, there's an enormous dam! It actually felt a bit spooky walking underneath it.

Our chosen crag turned out to be a smooth slab. It tested out our stiff calf muscles as much as our nerves.

Some routes had plenty of bolts.

Others were harrowingly run out! We has to adopt a cat like padding techniques as some pitches literally had no hand holds at all! It became a test of nerve more than strength. 

We got on a few steeper routes as at least they had hand holds!

The granite had 'nobbles' in places that you had to tie slings around if there were no bolts.

By late afternoon our fingers were sore and our nerves shredded. It's going to take a day to get used to the style of climbing - basically trusting that your feet will stick to the rock. We got back to camp for brews, food and showers. Tired and happy...

Cavallers - Sector Kanalla Rechts, Escaleras:

- Vamos a Llevarnos Bien, 4c

- Entrampao, 5c

- Peruvian los Palotes, 5b

- Camarón, 6a+

- Armando Bronca, 4c

- Don Manuel, 4b

- Enrampao, 5a**

- Vilma, 6c**

Valley Heat

After our recent adventures in the mountains, we needed a bit of time to rest and recover. We've stayed a couple of nights in the town of Sabiñánigo (for no other reason than there was a cheap hotel there!). Using it as a base, we went up for a gentle look around the town of Biescas (thanks Andy for the beta), and then up to the Ordesa Valley which is super scenic. We'd thought a gentle hike near Mt Perdu would be a good rest day activity, but this involved getting a bus up to the end of the valley (€4.50) from the village of Torla, as the road is closed to the public during the summer season. 

Despite good intentions, heat induced lethargy got the better of us and we settled for some ice water on a shady cafe terrace looking up the valley instead.

At 40°C, it was so hot we could barley think. We got back to the pad and took a swim instead, which helped greatly. We had to wait until sunset for it to be cool enough to even think about cooking or eating. Such a temperature difference compared to up in the mountains! 

A beautiful (but slow and winding) drive east across country, along the deep gorge of the Rio Esera, got us back up to an altitude where the climate was much more agreeable. Thank goodness for the air-con in the van - how did we ever manage in the Escort Van?!

The village of Taüll is at about 1500m above sea level and close to the rock climbing area of Cavallers. It also has a really nice, quiet and friendly campsite, where we emptied out of the van and did some kit sorting in the shade.

The campsite owner even did some (well overdue) washing for us! 

The area is a UNESCO world heritage site as there are loads of old churches in the valley. We stretched our legs after the drive to go and have a look at a few. Amazing that this was built in the 1100s!

Made the most of the van comforts in the evening - watching a movie while lying on the sofa! Such luxury!

The Ascent of Picos del Infierno (Day 2)

It was cold during the night. The thermometer read 5°C when I woke, which was just under the 'recommended comfort zone' of my sleeping bag - I agreed! We watched as the sun tracked across the cliff towards us.

I reached over and got the stove purring for a morning brew while we waited.

The sun was soon on us and the temperature soared instantly.

It was tempting to stay put and relax where we were, but there was still a long way to go. A final check of the route (up the skyline from right to left - over the white limestone band) and we were off. 

To save weight and energy, we stashed our bivi kit under a big boulder as we planned to return the same way later. This meant that we could make quick progress in the cool of the morning getting up to the first col on the GR11 long distance footpath.

It felt super remote with no one else around.

As we'd found on our previous excursions in the Pyrenees - the glaciers are almost gone.

From the Collado de Tebarray, we left the GR11 trek and started up the north ridge of the Picos del Infierno.

After a short scramble we got to the top of the first in a series of summits.

Looking down, we could see our bivi camp down by the lakes.

The views were brilliant. The weather was set perfectly for us!

Down on the other side of the mountain were the colourful lakes of the Lago Alto de Pecico.

Getting up to the NW summit, looked improbable and we almost decided to turn back. It looked very steep and we had no rope with us. Little by little we ventured further and found that it was much easier than it looked face on. Phew! From the top, I scrambled along the knife edge ridge that links the main summits.

The summit of the central peak is 3083m and the views were fantastic. I'd expected to find a cross or a madonna statue, but instead there was a cairn and some Buddhist prayer flags marking the high point.

There must be a geology lesson up here too as you literally cross the boarders between many rock types.

Next thing to do was carefully retrace our steps back along the ridge.

Down by the bivi camp, we took shelter in the shade under a huge overhanging boulder and packed our extra kit that we'd left there earlier. 

And had a quick snooze after looking up at where we'd been.

It felt like a long way back to the Refugio, but we made the detour again for a much needed cold drink. We ate the last of our food there before continuing down.

Even though we were now tired and 'running on empty', we still found the energy to cool off at a picturesque plunge pool.

Total bliss and so refreshing...

The last half hour felt much easier after that!

Thanks to Clare's efficient pre-planning, and in anticipation of feeling totally exhausted, we had a hotel room booked a short drive away. We indulged in pizza and cold beers out on the street after a well needed shower. Sleep came easily...

The Ascent of Picos del Infierno (Day 1)

As well as being lucky enough to know some good friends in good places, we also have a good network of friends who go to exciting places - and usually places that are off the beaten track. Our friend Alex had given us a tip off about a good peak to climb, having been mountaineering in the area recently. 'It's like a mega version of Snowdon's Crib Goch' she said 'and over multi-coloured rock bands'. It sounded good to us, so after stopping to purchase the necessary map and supplies in Panticosa (a cool little town), we drove up to the end of the road to Balneario de Panticosa. We found a patch of shade and began sorting the kit we'd need for a few days in the wild.

It was late in the afternoon by the time we set off and the sun was beating down relentlessly as we began the steep climb. The valley was a beauty though. Pine trees provided shade and a crystal clear river tumbled down over smooth granite crags.

It took one and three quarter hours to reach the the Bachimana Reservoir, where we took a short detour to purchase an ice cold drink at the Refugio de los Ibones de Bachimana. We sat on the terrace and looked down at where we'd come from - it was well worth the extra few steps for the sit down and re-fresh.

Before we got too comfy, we crossed back over the dam and traversed around the western side of the reservoir.

Energy levels started to lag as we climbed up to the 'Os Azules' lakes. We were temped to stop at the first one, but pushed onto the second, which turned out to be a great decision.

There are a couple of small glaciers feeding the lakes, so the temperature of the water was 'bracing' to say the least, but we were both super keen for a dip to freshen up before the sun hit the horizon - we had to be quick!

Feeling cooler and fresher, we then scouted around to find a place to spend the night. There was a super flat area by the lake, but two tents were already up, so we went up onto a little hummock to the west for some solitude and found the perfect bivi spot. Comfy thick grass, behind a boulder meant that it was sheltered from the wind and someone had also built a little wall around it too! As we unpacked our rucksacks a flying saucer passed through the valley!

Then just to top it all off, a herd of about 20 chamois that were grazing up the valley, ran right past us and up the hillside. Amazing. We got straight into our sleeping bags to warm up from the swim as the shadows soon crept across the lakes and the temperature began to drop.

Once again, we had the lightest and most technical bivi kit available (mostly thanks to Rab Equipment - ta!), but in the absence of any lightweight cups, had to carry up a porcelain mug from the van kitchen! Recognise it Dudley?!

Dinner was a delicious feast of fresh veggies (chopped and prepared in the valley) and hot cous-cous (great bivi grub as it's super quick to cook and requires only a little water and fuel). As darkness fell, we studied the multi coloured mountain above us and wondered 'would it go?'. It looked miles away still!

Looking at the GPS data, we noticed that we'd climbed over 1000m since leaving the van. No wonder we felt so tired after eating.

The stars came out one by one and when I woke in the night, I stayed awake for a while to study the skies. There were so many stars and so bright, that I could barely make out the normal constalations. The Milky Way was like a cloud above us and shooting star burst out here and there. I also counted over fifteen satellites pass overhead, one of which was incredibly bright - a space station perhaps?...