Pico Canal Roya, 2345m...Getting started after a long dry spell! November, 29th 15

Tuc de Lluça, 2.777m ...a combination of perfect things May, 4th 14

Sunday was my last opportunity to get fit before leaving to the Alps in 2 weeks from that day. It was also a perfect sunny day after some snowy weather on Saturday. I set out at 10am in a cold morning to be May after driving quite a long time to get to the end of this dirty road that enters itself into Colomers valley.

Up here there are many options, in fact it is quite a good place for tour skiing, especially late in the season when its possible to reduce considerably the long piste which ends in the dam. Even in May I had to leave the car at around 1850m.

As always in the surroundings of this national park is a pleasure to skin up across the woods, streams...

Refugi Colomers.

Ahead I had 600m left to be ascended. Some good slopes which made the descent a great one.

The highest peaks of this area from the summit.

Getting ready for the descent. It was somewhat steep in its first part in which the snow was also a little bit hard so I tended to my left when the wind had blown the recent snow. Just opposite me was the Tuc Nord de Travessani where some skiers had gone too. We were 5 people there that day, and all of them went to that one.

The first slope which was already good, but the best parts were yet to come!!

The descent was just gorgeous! A number of slopes with perfect snow and steep enough to hop in and enjoy!

I chilled out and laid against that rock for some time. I was at 2250m of height after enjoying the best 500m of the day.

Some flat terrain by the dam but very short.

I put my board again once I crossed the dam to enjoy the last 2 hundred meters this time through the forest.

When I took the piste again I splitted my board again and slided down to the car. Summing up, that day came to be one of the best of all this season. I definetely keep a good memory of that day! There is nothing like be in the right place at the right moment. That always pays off!!

Portarro de Espot, 2450m ...solo exploring around Lac Sant Maurici May, 1st 14

I couldnt let this year goes away without going to this area of the National Park. Its in my opinion one of the most beautiful spots in the Pyrenees. Although I had planned to make a visit to Amitges in real winter, I fear that will have to wait until next winter. Nevertheless in the north side of the lake there are 3 valleys: Monestero, Subeneix and Portarro. These 3 valleys keep the snow until May, and despite the 1h trek up to the point the snow starts, they are totally worth doing.

That strange man walking through the forest is me.

Lake, falls, trees...gorgeous  place to skin up. I went over the summer track which luckily had snow except for some sections right before turning left to Portarro.

At some point the track messed up but still good enough.

I decided to go to the furthest valley: Portarro. Maybe not the clevest option given that I was going with an splitboard but on the other hand was the only valley which had a coll in which I could stop if I didnt want to go higher (the other ones reach the Monestero peak with almost 2900m and the other one the Subeneix almost the 3000m). 

I went on with my splitboard over the vally slittle by little. 

The coll at the background.

Once here I could have gone on and hike the Pic de Portarro but to be honest I wasnt unwilling to go up on foot just to get to the summit as the last weekend. And the other thing was I was totally alone and 3h from the nearest place I could find someone. And another one was that from 13pm there were chances of storms. Anyways, I really stop and think about these things. Coming here alone is already taking risk. Coming alone is algo a reason why I am so demanding with weather conditions.

Soo after some meters above the coll I started the descent.

Good spring snow unlike that snow in Soum des Salettes.

Beautiful tube. I  was really enjoying this descent.

At 2100 I made the decision of going down and complete the tube given its great conditions. The downside was that I couldnt take track of the ascent, because the tube ended in a forest very close to the shore of the lake.

And I got here at 1950m. For the next 30min I was trying to find a way to the shore, since I couldnt go down ad much as I though. It was a combination of crossing streams, orienting myself with the map and walking. The forest was so close than even bein so near to the shore it was impossible to see it.

As a explorer in the Far West I managed to get out of the forest and suddenly my view opened up.

I chilled out by the shore with the amazing views. Then I took the summer path that surrounds the lake, but in this case in the opposite side so it was with no snow.

So beautiful this place is!

And after around 7.5h I got the car again. What an adventure in a gorgeous scnenary! It was just what I was looking for! If I had wanted just a great descent I would have gone elsewhere. In numbers was slightly more of +1000m and I covered quite a large distance.

Pic de L´Aiguillette, 2508m...one of the 2 options in the north side of Bielsa tunnel April 13rd 14

Sunday posed perfect weather conditions but terrible snow. And this is quite a pity because with such a certainty of good weather it would have been one of those days when one attempts to long -in time and lenght- trails. Since that wasnt a clever choice because of the snow and tried to at least look for where the better snow was. The result was this summit in the north side of the tunnel between Aragnout (France) and Bielsa (Spain).

I woke up quite early -in this sense was good to have slept in that picnic area- and started tracking up at half past eight. The snowpack was hard but Sun was already shinning in the main slope of the descent. By the way, the trail was easy and fast. It reminded me of many days in the Cantabrican mountains where many times you just see the peak from the car.

I skip more pictures from the valley, since it´s easy to picture where I went over. I had to do on foot the last meters of the ridge.

No big views from the summit except for this rocky walls. I think Its the Tromouse area. One of the valleys which lies paralell to Gavarnie. Its amazin how close I was both days to Gavarnie but how far it is by car. It would have taken 2h If I had wanted to go there .

As many places on intertet says: short but good and fast descent. The first slope was fast and steep and still with not as bad  snow as the previous day.

After this 200m-lenght slope, more good slopes was still to come. Good turns actually, I felt satisfied!

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What it was left after the good slopes! The car was just down there waiting for me.

Somewhat bitter weekend.... Definetely the snow was not the best to enoy the descent especially on Saturday, just on Sunday I really catched "good" snow but too short slightly below 800m of vertical drop. Let´s see if May comes with greater ski days! But still, having  meal in Pineta valley was totally worthy!!

Soum des Salettes, 2976m ...a "classique" in a disappointing day... April, 12nd 14

I closely followed the weather forecasts during the week. There were chances that a whole sunny weekend was thrown down the drain due to the storms...Finally it wasnt that bad, and just on Saturday there was some probability of cloudy weather but not storms in any case.

I decided to get to know this central area of the Pyrenees in the french region of Hautes Pyrenees. My idea was to go as far as Gavarnie, but I prefered to leave it for when I ll go to Vignemale first. So Soum des Salettes posed the best ascent for April around Saint Lary and still close to Spain.

This summit is all a classic in this part of the Pyrenees. Its almost a 3000, has good slopes for the descent and the access by car is easy thanks to the ski resort. Despite it let me say that the place is quite awful and the ascent pretty boring.

The summit at the background can be seen from the parking.

After having gone over the valley I turned right to reach the coll of Campbiel. It was pretty hot and this was the hardest part especially with the Sun working on your back...Good I was determinant to come here (and was easy to skin up :P). But my surprise came next...

Yes....there is no snow from the coll to the summit....and we are talking of more than 300m. How is this possible? And more important, what did it happen when I came here?? ja-ja 

Well, let´s adapt to the new situation and get opened the trekking season! So, from 2550m to the top a handful of skier and I did the rest on foot.

Come on...the last thing I needed was not to enjoy the views from up there...

Definetely this wasnt my day! ...jaja At least, yes I "was" there...

The descent wasnt bad up to the place I turned right. From that point is when you said, you wont be splitboarding again. A combination of quite flat terrain, together with shitty snow and skin´s adhesive sticked to my board led to a very bad "descent".

Back to the car after 1200m of altitude difference that is not that much and was already tough! jaja

I left France with unknown destination. There arent many options here, I went to Pineta valley, just because I liked the place. I had dinner, chill out and sleep in this spot at the side of the road. Maybe the only thing in the day that turned out being really good.

Some solitude by the river in this still quite wild place in the Pyrenees.

The following day I ended up going to one of the two summits that are usually skied in the north side of the Bielsa tunnel so I can give this zone as visited.