Punta Llerga and a packet of crisps

21-07-2013

From P Montanesa - it's the one behind

Punta Llerga, Iberian prominence number 93, 2269m P739, Major 

N4254389 E0.23083

There is a large car park in the village of Saravillo N42.55429 E0.25660 (1048m) or you can pay a toll of three Euros and drive up the unpaved pista to the unguarded and unlocked Refugio de Santa Isabel at a collado N42.53661 E0025262 (1521m).








I had a look inside and it is just like a small Scottish bothy with a fireplace, a sleeping bench for one/two people and a table and seat.

As seen from the refugio

From here Punta Llerga looks quite formidable with a wide steep vertical face and not going to be as ‘facil’ as JMH describes it. An area of trees has been recently cleared, I assume to provide grazing for cattle. There are no waymarks or cairns – however, if you walk up to the summit of the meadow and down the other side to N42.53762 E0.24637 ((1607m) there is a distinct path through the trees that leads across base of the previously mentioned steep face and exits at N42.54146 E0.24572 (1653m).

Stream crossing

Llerga lurker

The path crosses a dry stream bed in a barranco at N42.54256 E0.24264 (1770m) and then zigzags through rocks and bushes up to a steep meadow topped by a narrow ridge. There are several ways up this steep meadow – on the ascent I went across to the end of the ridge at N42.54552 E0.24107 (1897m) and there was some mild scrambling along the ridge for a while until it broadens out and meets a more well used path than the one I used (on descent, this well used path quickly deteriorated into a range of options that people have taken, with no clear favourite).

The ridge eventually gives out onto a large mainly grassy Cairngorms like round lumps. The Balsa Lierga marked as a lake was, despite the heavy thunderstorms, a muddy patch. 

Spain's Tarn Hows? A muddy patch

I followed a line that took me to the left and then swung around the back of an intervening minor summit/lump to the base of the twin summitted high ground. According to my GPS both summits gave the same height – however, as the northerly one has a trig point I counted that as the tick on the list – and if I am proved wrong I am covered as I visited them both.

Twin summit

Summit view

Way below me I could see down to the Camping Los Vives where I was planning to stay for a day’s rest, laundry and blog writing.

My route of descent varied by making more direct and steeper descent to the dried up lake and missing out the scramble on the ridge end. And, I would agree with JMH, this one is fairly ‘facil’.

9.58km 1093m total ascent