Escaño Peak, 2106m 27-Marzo-2010 (C.Cantabrica)

This year I hadn´t gone to the east-south part of Cantabrican mountains yet. I watched a recent illustrated feature of this zone on internet. Finally, we decided to do this peak. In fact, last year I had already though about going to this peak, but I went to other nearby peak (Coriscao).

Noel picked me up at Llevinco, and we got it through San isidro and Señales pass (If I had gone from Aviles, I would have gone by Tarna pass). We left the car in a bend near to Pandetrave pass. We started walking at 11am.

The track is pretty beautiful. In its begining It runs through tipical Cantabrican forest.

After two km, the forest began to finish. Beyond it, we can look the high part of the small valley. The valley is sorrounded by mountains, and the highest is the Escaño peak.

In the picture below doesn´t appear the Escaño peak, which is a bit more to the left. We choosen a different way to get it. Once finished the forest, we turned right over the first summit that appears in the photo (1830m aprox).

The terrain was quite hard.

We had a little problem to get over the last meters. Those meters were very vertical, and Noel hadn´t got piolet and grampones. The snow wasn´t hard, but the snowshoe didn´t hold. A rocks helped me. I put the grampones, and I helped him to pass the rocks.

In the picture below you can see him, still in the rocks.

It isn´t the summit, but there were very wonderful views of Picos de Europa.

The rest of our track ran over the wide ridge as far as Escaño peak.

Vallines peak.

Me in a photogenic part of the ridge.

Escaño peak in the middle with its perfect slope waiting for us. The easy track runs over there. but as you can see we choosen the ridge.

And summit! Escaño peak, 2106m with the Picos de Europa at the background.

From the summit, the sights westwards. You can also see the track over we ascended.

The slope was fantastic, with a fast spring-snow.

Noel with the main slope behind him.

Come on!

Noel and our sprint of ascend. You can see the final part more exposed.

And the last meters of descent as far as the woods.

Later we ate something into the placid forest.

The route lasted 5 hours, and was wonderful, in spite of being a quite unknown zone.

The weather for next days doesn´t get better...