9th to 11th June 2013

Ordesa National Park

Goriz Hut Route

With the weather having gone bad in Ariege we set off for sunny Spain. The GPS sent us on a strange Z shaped route which takes you across the Pyrenees through a long timed tunnel (Bielsa Tunnel near Araganuet). The traffic lights change every 10 minutes to let cars through from each side. Very impressive and our first experience of the high Pyrenees and snow… which Tom proceeded to walk on in his flaps.

It was great fun to be on the twisty roads and getting a change of scenary. Even a stop at a French MacDonalds didnt detract from the journey (free Wi Fi you see). As we dropped down the Spanish side, past flooded villages from hydroelectric projects (it’s the Spanish way – just drown the occupants) the temperatures started to rise a little, but there still seemed to be an alarmingly large amount of snow about.

Once into Spain proper, everything became crispy and the lush green forests turned to brown scorched mediterranean type scrub. We started to make the most of our air conned CashCow (I like these BTW – nice cars). This warmth was giving us a false sense of security as it happened for what was coming at Ordesa.

Torla is a stunning village, nestled in a valley leading up to the main gorge. With a church perched on a granite pillar it is striking. After some searching for a campsite which was open; we seemed to be about two or three weeks ahead of the season in both France and Spain, we had a chat with some locals at the outdoor shop. We should have guessed really by the amount of snow present on the gorge tops, but all the high routes at Ordesa were shut because of too much snow and avalanche risks brought on by the suddenly warming weather. Once again about a week too early.

Undaunted we spent the evening discussing our alternatives. The snow line was at around 1800-1900 metres, very low and they had had 100cm of snow during the preceding week on the tops. We wernt equipped for this so suddenly our plans for Pic Du Midi and Perdido went out the window. We settled on a recon walk the next day up the gorge to check conditions.

It was a good plan because in the end we exceeded our expectations and made The Goriz Hut which we had been led to believe was under a metre of snow. There was snow but not so bad we couldnt negotiate it.  The walk turned out to be amazing.

Ordesa is so beautiful. The river was in full flood because of melt water so the waterfalls really turned it on.

It was baking hot as well so a few tea breaks using the trangia made for a chilled but energising walk through ever cahnging scenary. On reaching the head of the valley we saw a couple descending from the higharea towards Goriz. ‘Whats the worst that could happen?’ echo’d around the team and we set off traversing high on the wall of the canyon and crossing snow fields as we passed through Marmot territory (they’re a lot bigger than you realise)

We got back to the car as it was getting dark and treated ourselves to a few beers in Torla that night at a bar tucked away in one of the may cobbled streets. We had a choice of more walks in the local area, although they would have to be low level, or heading of for some Spanish sport climbing. The latter one out and the next day we headed for Cavaliers.

This proved to be a dodgy choice actually as we were advised by the most helpful tourist assistant I’ve ever met in Vielha that Cavaliers was still covered in snow!

And what were we doing in Vielha anyway ?????  Magellan in the front seat had navigated us over a mountain pass and 30 miles past our turning in true form. So the decision was made to return to Ariege where hopefully the weather had improved (it had). The drive back this time was truly spectacular. Twisty winding roads across the Col du Menthe and Col de Portet made for a real adventure and the car was put to the sword.

Our arrivalback at the campsite was greeted with deathly silence. It seemed to have shut again but we eventually roused our very laid back site warden and settled in for the duration. A great trip to Spain and next time maybe we’ll pend a lot more time there. Its worth a trip in its own right.