Pyrenees– France & Spain-January 2003
Text by Sarah Ferguson
Photos: Sarah Ferguson, Nick Parks, David Redwood.

Thanks to: Nick Parks UIAGM, Lou and Karen Marino, James Mann, Jayne Hedger, David Redwood, Simon Greenleaf, Pyrenean Mountain Tours, Marie-Helene and Thierry Bonnigal, Hotel des Cimes, Goriz Guardian.

This ski touring trip to the Pyrenees was inspired by Robin Fedden's book 'The Enchanted Mountains'. I was keen to follow in the footsteps of the eccentric Count Henri Russell-Killough who made several first ascents and with Packe explored the Central Pyrenees in the latter half of the 19thC. Russell's obsession with Vignemale (3298m) was such that not only did he rent it for 99 years but during his life he ascended it 33 times. In 1880 he had a grotto carved out of solid rock below the summit. Further grottos were added for guests whom he would entertain by spreading persian carpets and laying tables for an Arabian style banquet. Sadly, my pilgrimage to his beloved Vignemale will have to wait as our arrival in the area coincided with a dire forecast
and a small good weather window.



Simon Greenleaf of Pyrenean Mountain Tours advised us to shorten our planned 6 day traverse,grab the two fine days, starting from Gavarnie, skin up to the Breche Roland and skiinto Spain to the Goriz hut overlooking the Ordessa Gorge. From there we could climb Monte Perdido (3355m), descend through a cliff band, cross a frozen lake and return to Gavarnie via Col du Tuquerouye (2660m) a steep couloir, another col, and a ski back towards Gavarnie.

This was all discussed over pizza and wine in Luz St Sauveur after the long drive from Chamonix. I was tired and disappointed that I would not see Russsell's high grotto nor be able to pay homage to his eccentricity.

Perhaps it was something in the water, but eccentric and generous characters were not in short supply. Minutes after walking into the Hotel des Cimes and having been plied with beer, we were serenaded at length in local dialect by proprietor Marie-Helene Bonnigal. (Her hospitality both before and after our tour was exceptional and husband Thierry's cooking too.)

The next morning Simon kindly dropped us off at the small Gavarnie Ski Area. Taking a couple of lifts onto a shoulder we skinned up, traversing between cliff bands and towards the heart of the massive Cirque de Gavarnie (UNESCO World Heritage Site).
We were heading for a notch, a 40m x 140m doorway, the 'Breche de Roland' (2807m) - but from our angle the upper cliffs appeared seamless from end to end. According to legend, in the 8thC, Roland, the nephew of Charlemagne who was injured in battle, tried to smash his magic sword Durandal to prevent it falling into the hands of the Muslims. The 11thC Chanson de Roland describes
"Count Roland smites upon the marble stone; I cannot tell you how he hewed and smote: Yet neither does it break nor splinter, though groans the sword and rebounds heavenwards."

This obscure passage through the rock was our gateway to Spain and a view of mile after mile of Navarran and Huescan foothills. This is surely one of the most unpopulated views in Western Europe, but home for the Bearded 'Bone Breaker' Vulture, the Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus). What an image to use for skiing the wide open slope below and perfectly timed spring snow conditions. Free heel heaven. We were traversing towards the head of the Ordessa Gorge when out of the corner of my eye I saw a glider, a real glider. A 3m wingspan Old World vulture commuting to his nest. Not a twitch of a feather as it headed for 2 or so km deep into the gorge. What a sight.

The "No a la guerra" protest hung above the door of the Goriz Refuge (2100m). It brought me back to earth and an awareness of a hunger that the Guardian amply satisfied. One of the best 'hut' meals ever.

At first light we set off, mostly on crampons towards the summit of Monte Perdido (3355m), the 'lost mountain'. The summit was in partial cloud and the weather looked threatening so we ignored the summit and focused on the 'interesting' descent. A ski down the hanging glaciers of the north face ends at a rock band requiring a short abseil to gentle slopes and a trudge across a frozen lake. After a sort climb we were on the Col de Tuquerouye (2660m) standing above a seriously steep couloir. Would have been a doddle in powder. With deteriorating visibility and some less confident skiers in the group emotions were mixed - some high some low, some anxious, some irritated.

The day was certainly not yet over, a traverse and 400m skin over another col and evidence of one of the hugest multi avalanches I have ever seen. Debris from several different avalanches had funnelled into a major flow which had been transformed by the sun into an emminently skiable slope that just went on and on. When the snow finally ran out we shouldered our skis and walked down the forest path to the valley floor.

During the night the storm arrived, torrential rain putting an end to any further tours. Now it was time to sample the underground waters. The health giving sulphur laden hot springs have attracted visitors for millennia, Lourdes is not far from here, but the nearest Thermal Bath was in Cautarets. The perfect remedy for our weary bodies and another reason to return.