Rañaoriu peak, 2031m March, 24th 2012 (C.Cantabrica)

Last weekend I went back real home to see family and friends.

Among other things to do I wanted some "little" adventure with my snowboard. Unfortunatly snow covered is melting one thousand times as fast as it would with average temperatures for the season. Stopping it is out of my control, what I can only do is to make the most of it while there is still something left.

Pablo and Alberto were planning which actually was a pretty good one. We headed up Black River valley (jajaja) with Alberto´s rig. We left the car at around 1100 and walked untill 1400m where we started tracking up with the skins tracks. We had to cross some stone bridge.


Just after some meadows the path turned out to be a bit rocky and some other small water streams coming all the way down from the melting snow must be crossed.

It was a beatiful place. The sprint on the snow reminded me of the countless days in Alps with deep snow.

The landscape changed as we went higher. The end of the valley, with is the natural boundier between Asturias and Leon was full of snow. The diference between the green grass from the bottom part and the snowy upper part was notorious and pretty characteristic of the last days of the season, this year earlier than others.

Since the last part of the Estorbin de Valverde was very icy, I was straight to do some peak so I went to a closer peak which showed a better looking. They went to the Estorbin and took me some pics while I was doing the last meter through the wide ridge till the white and rounded summit.

Finally I got there and could enjoy those lonely moments with privileged views.

The descent was relative steep in some parts as it is not usually be in these mountains if you dont look for it. It was good definetely a good one, not as short as I though.

I didnt take any pic during it untill I stopped to re meet them and do the rest together.

Untill white inevitably turned into green.

So we said goodbye to winter...

...and welcome the bright and colourful spring coming.

Twenty min more to the car through some beatiful trees, cabins and rivers.

Eventually, we took some beers in such a hot day.

La Padiorna, 2319m March, 17th 2012

After a sunny week, weather was going to be bad in the weekend. My plans were doomed to failure. Personally, I though weather was going to give us a chance untill midday on Saturday. Now, with just 2 off- days I cannot wait for the perfect weather conditions otherwise I wouldnt do anything most of the times.

We took the risk and went to Fuente De. It´s really close from Torrelavega. It was strange as I am used to spend a lot of gas when I went there. I did not only spend less time going there than Aviles-San Isidro but I also spent less gas.

There we went onto Canal de San Luis. It was cloudy, but not foggy at our height.

Some skiers going up towards La Colladina de las Nieves.

As we went higher the base part of the clouds reached some summits as the one we were going. It was pretty windy, so clouds moved fast.

There were also around 5cm of recent snow from 2100m fallen that night.

Contrary to what did other skiers we went on. There were just 100m left to the summit from the coll.

When we got the summit on foot, because the snow ended 10-15m below the summit, the weather gave us the best moment of the day and the sky cleared up (although there were clouds around)....

Sun even shone, lucky us! The beatiful first slope towards the coll with firm snow and 5cm of new snow where the wind hadnt blown them away...jaja

The second part was the best one in terms of recent snow. Wind had acumulated it in that face.

Getting closer to the end.

We had to put the track skins again to go back to El Cable. Blue sky in Liebana valley thank to the mountains which work as barriers against clouds.

By the time we took the cableway, it started snowing a bit. Then, we left Fuente De raining.

Basically, we couldnt have made the most of the day. We standed a slim possibility of skiing on Saturday with good weather conditions, and we finally had it.

Castro Valnera, 1718m...the secret of Burgos! March, 11 2012

I keep making the most of my new position. I went again to Lunada this time to climb Castro Valnera. The amount of snow is still amazing in spite of its height and last warm days. It´s completely true here snows.

When I arrived at 11 the zone was still foggy. Rapidly, the sky cleared up as it was waiting for me. Actually I came across with one arriving to the car again and complaining about the shitty weather and how unworthly was for him to get up early in the morning. Fortunately I slept as much as I wanted and left Torrelavega around 10.

The first part took place in a beatiful forest.


When I though the forest had been finished, it still had a surprise for me with a brief last part.

A wide coll is reached after those forest and the upper part of the valley, which by the way is quite beatiful and made the descent special. Normally, there is no forest where go up through or ride down.

A moderate steep and quite narrow slope at the right of the coll took me to a sort of plain but steep enough to ride it down after.

Castro Valnera is the right rocky ridge.

I left the skis at the bottom part of the ridge and walked the last 20m on foot. Pasiego valleys from the highest summit of all those valleys. Cloud were still around towards north.

The first part was that plain with spring snow which let me go fast. Then the steepest part with good snow too.

Once I descended that part I just had to enjoy the views while skiing the upper valley before woods.

Althoug I stopped the forest was not too close, so I could go through that just snowboarding. I ended up in abandoned hut close to the car.

Definetely, I accomplished my goal of coming here this seasson and I did it with good weather and good snow conditions.

Pico La Miel, 1565m March, 3, 2012

We changed our plans due to the coming bad weather. First option was to go to Fuente De, but at the end we figured out that the best choice was doing something as eastward as possible.

We finally went to Lunada. We though about doing both La Miel and Castro Valnera but the last one was not possible. It was a surprise the amount of snow there given its small height.

The road going up Lunada pass. Cantabria has beatiful valleys and quite isolated.

In the summit, with Castro Valnera behind us.

Cesar riding down at 1400m. Quite a good descend knowing that we have just gone up for 300m.

I hope snow covered still remains in that place next weekend as it was this to climb Castro Valnera which offers a good descend through a tube. I really keen to track up that mountain before snow goes out due to the scarcely height. Unfortunatly weather forecast is not good for that forecasting high temperatures and even some rainfalls...