25-07-2013
When I
reached the foot of the Glaciar de la Maladeta (2620m) N42.65896 E0.64658 there
were quite a lot of people putting on their crampons. I walked past them to
find a more solitary point on some rocks further along the glacier. For some
reason I seem to be quicker at putting on crampons than other people, because
once again I was ready and off before anyone. At 2844m, N42.65475 E0.64415 it is
necessary to take off the crampons climb over an intervening ridge from Pico de
Maladeta and then drop down through the Portillon Superior onto the Glaciar de
Aneto (2860m) N42.65405 E0.64648.
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| Portillon Superior |
Ahead of me on the path there were a lot of
people who clearly must have set off from the refugio at the same time or
earlier than the time I had left La Besurta. Some of them were moving painfully
slowly. It is long way across that glacier and there are several points where
it is bare rock – do you keep the crampons on or not, I kept them on and
skittered across the stones.
 |
Towards the end of the glacier it gets steeper and several parties had roped themselves together, which meant overtaking them was quite hazardous with loose coils everywhere. Finally the gradient eases off at Collado de Coronas (3284m) N42.63330 E0.65516 – thankfully as it enough effort to cope with the thinner atmosphere. The snow ended at N42.63185 E0.65639 (3361m) and then there is a steep short exposed ridge scramble to the summit at N42.63113 E0.65668.
However, the
summit was rather crowded so I waited a while and chatted with a group of
Portuguese people, an Austrian couple and two Czechs whilst we waited for the
summiteers to return.  |
| Puppets on a string |
I am not a
rock climber, however, I know enough about the art to know that that the way
people were using their ropes was worse than useless. Loose coils of rope; the
rope passed through karabiners but not tied on; everyone moving at the same
time and no-one taking up a stance; ropes held in hands; seemed to be the norm.
One falls and they all fall – getting away with nice rope burns if they are
lucky. It made me wonder how many of them knew how to use the ice axes they
were carrying on the glaciers – most of them walking like Quasimodo with a
short axe in one hand and a walking pole in the other (nobody used a strap on
their axes, so likely to lose them anyway if they should slip).
The
Austrians and I had the summit to ourselves for a while until another couple of
roped groups invaded. We scuttled back over the ridge as quick as we could – by
the way, despite the exposure and the scrambling needed it is very nice grippy
rock, so don't bother with a rope.
By time I
got back to the glacier it was beginning to soften in the sunshine. It was
possible to slide past the ‘Quasimodo’ impersonators down to where it levels
off at about 3180m N42.63504 E0.65388. I decided to abandon the ascent route
and use the alternative one marked on the map. There was a trace of others
having used it. As I slid down the glacier I realised that about twenty people
were following me – I began to worry that if I were wrong that I would be held
responsible for them. It was a quick and efficient way to go, no rocky outcrops
to deal with until a thousand metres lower at 2180m N42.66530 E0.65914 looking
down at the glacial lake Ibon del Salterillo. As I was removing my crampons the
people following me started to arrive – I was asked several times did I know
where the camino went. When I replied I had no idea, they repeated the question
in English and I replied by saying that I had understood what they were asking
in Spanish, but my answer was the same.
Two Spanish
women and myself set off at the same time and between us we found a way down to
the glacial lake and then found and lost several times the path that traverses .....
At N42.66590 E0.65914 (2194m) we met a woman coming down a path from the
refugio who assured us that the path going down to the Cascada d’Aiguallut was
the best way rather than continuing to traverse.
This path is
marked on the map as crossing the river above the cascades.
As we approached
Aiguallut we could see and hear the bells of a couple of hundred cows in the
valley and across the water probably about one hundred tourists. When we
reached the river we could see that the water was quite deep and that the cows
were having to wade across. The two women chose to strip down to their
underwear, wrap their ponchos around their rucksacks and swim across. I decided
that considering the number of cows in the water it would not exactly be
potable and with the woman, we met from the refugio, waded across. (Later when
I hung my socks to dry on my ice axe back at the carpark they were literally
covered with flies of all different sizes and types – there must have been
something in the water to attract them). I gave the two women a wave and left
them to be gawped at by 100 tourists.
Shortly
after the cascades the river goes underground and the surface river bed is
quite dry. Question – why doesn’t the path just cross lower down? Indeed, in
the dark in the morning I recalled crossing the dry river bed lower down the
valley, on the ascent route to the refugio. With water filled boots and wet
trousers I made my way to La Besurta for a welcome ‘una canya’ (a small beer)
and a full bus back to the carpark.
19.21km
2233m total ascent
Overnight at
Vado carpark (1730m)
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