Kev Reynolds - Walks and Climbs in the Pyrenees: Walks, Climbs and Multi-day Treks

WALKS AND CLIMBS IN THE PYRENEES

by
Kev Reynolds

2 POLICE SQUARE MILNTHORPE CUMBRIA LA7 7PY
www.cicerone.co.uk

About the Author

Kev Reynolds is a freelance writer, photojournalist and lecturer who lives in the Kent countryside when not trekking or climbing in distant mountain regions. A prolific compiler of guidebooks, Walks and Climbs in the Pyrenees was his first title for Cicerone Press, and his enthusiasm for these mountains now spans 40 years and dozens of visits, a number of which feature in A Walk in the Clouds , a collection of short stories celebrating his life among the mountains. He has also trekked in many other mountain regions of Europe, Africa, Asia and South America, and produced a number of guides to the Alps and Himalaya, as well as to his home territory of southern England. A member of the Alpine Club, Austrian Alpine Club and Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild, he was the first Honorary Member of the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML). Most winters find Kev travelling around Britain sharing his love of wild places through his lectures. Check him out on www.kevreynolds.co.uk.

100 Hut Walks in the Alps

A Walk in the Clouds

Alpine Pass Route

Alpine Points of View

Central Switzerland

Chamonix to Zermatt, the Walkers Haute Route

crins National Park

Everest: A Trekkers Guide

Langtang, Helambu & Gosainkund: A Trekkers Guide

Manaslu: A Trekkers Guide

The Bernese Alps

The Cotswold Way

The North Downs Way

The Pyrenees

The South Downs Way

The Swiss Alps

Tour of Mont Blanc

Tour of the Jungfrau Region

Tour of the Oisans

Tour of the Vanoise

Trekking in the Alps

Trekking in the Himalaya

Trekking in the Silvretta & Rtikon Alps

Walking in Austria

Walking in Kent

Walking in Sussex

Walking in the Alps

Walking in the Valais

Walking in Ticino Switzerland

Walks in the Engadine

Walks in the South Downs National Park

Kev Reynolds 1978, 1983, 1993, 2001, 2008, 2015

Sixth edition 2015

ISBN-13: 978 1 85284 781 4

First edition 1978

Second edition 1983

Third edition 1993

Fourth edition 2001

Fifth edition 2008

ISBN-13: 978 1 85284 470 7

Reprinted 2010 (with updates)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Dedication

This book is for Jean and Pierre Ravier the ultimate Pyrnistes to mark 25 years of co-operation and friendship.

Updates to this Guide

Readers are advised that, while every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Please check the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk) for any updates before planning your trip. It is also advisable to check information on such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to or by post to Cicerone, 2 Police Square, Milnthorpe LA7 7PY, United Kingdom.

Front cover: Refuge de la Brche provides an almost perfect vantage point from which to study Pic du Marbor across the Cirque de Gavarnie (Routes 7178)

Every mountain walk has its dangers, and those described in this guidebook are no exception. All who walk or climb in the Pyrenees should recognise this and take responsibility for themselves and their companions along the way. The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information contained herein was correct when the guide went to press, but they cannot accept responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by any person using this book.

International Distress Signal

(To be used in emergency only)

Six blasts on a whistle (and flashes with a torch after dark) spaced evenly for one minute, followed by a minutes pause. Repeat until an answer is received. The response is three signals per minute followed by a minutes pause.

The following signals are used to communicate with a helicopter:

Note: Mountain rescue can be very expensive be adequately insured.

Emergency telephone numbers

France: 112 or

Arige: 05 61 64 22 58

Haute-Garonne: 05 61 89 31 31

Hautes-Pyrnes: 05 62 92 41 41

Pyrnes Atlantiques: 05 59 10 02 50

Pyrnes Orientales: 04 68 30 30 57

Spain:

Aragon: 112

Catalonia: 085

Navarre: 112

Val dAran: 73 64 00 04

Andorra: 112

Lac de Rius, on the eastern side of Port de Rius (Route 153)

PREFACE TO THE SIXTH EDITION

Since the first slender edition of this guide appeared in 1978 the Pyrenees (mountains, valleys, huts and villages) have changed enormously, and the huge increase in the number of active walkers and climbers has brought about a boom in tourist infrastructure undreamed of three decades and more ago. Nowadays the fleas that tease in the high Pyrenees are a rarity in hotels and refuges that no longer welcome guests with straw mattresses, while signed and waymarked paths, and better cartography, has had the effect of unravelling the mystery of so many back-of-beyond valleys.

Not least of all the changes is the transformation of the high Pyrenean landscape that once dazzled with modest glaciers and small snowfields on the loftiest of summits. Thanks to climate change, the few remaining glaciers are shrinking at an alarming rate, and it cannot be long before there are no more icefields left, and once winter snow has melted, the white-capped summits will remain only in memory. But for all this change the Pyrenees remains a wonderland for all who are attracted by wildly romantic scenery and a taste for adventure, and even the most dedicated of aficionados will find that a single lifetime is not enough to explore it all.