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Adventurous Pyrenees Walking Holidays

An adventurous hiking holiday is a week of guided walking in the highest and most inaccessible parts of the Haute Pyrenees. A typical week will take in some of the 3000m peaks, some scrambles and high ridges that are exposed but not technically difficult. Some of the walking will be "off path", allowing us to see some of the wilder places where very few people visit. This area of the Pyrenees is the highest and most dramatic part of the chain, and there are numerous large peaks readily accessible to walkers. As part of an adventurous hiking week there is the option to spend one or more nights out in a high mountain refuge. Manned refuges have live-in guardians and provide basic accommodation and simple but filling meals. Un-manned refuges are a bit more of an adventure – often set in spectacularly wild places where we fend for ourselves - carrying food and equipment for cooking. The high refuges are a great opportunity to get to the most remote mountain areas without extremely long days, and you’ll never forget waking up to see the sun rising behind distant peaks.

An adventurous walking holiday is a week of challenges; on the way to discovering the highest and wildest places in the Pyrenees

While our “adventurous walks” tend to be longer and more challenging than our other walking holidays, they are accessible to most people who have a reasonable level of fitness and stamina, and a good head for heights or just a desire to get off the beaten track. You will always be with a qualified International Mountain Leader, and emphasis is on walking - we do not use the techniques of Alpinism (with climbing equipment or crampons/ice axes) but there may be some short sections of route protected by a rope. If you would like to try some technical climbing or glacier routes, it is possible to hire a local high mountain guide through us.

We recommend some physical preparation before your trip so that you can get the most out of your walking holiday – regular swimming, jogging or walking (aerobic exercise) would be ideal. A typical day might be 8-10 hours in length, with an ascent of 800-1500m.

"Adventurous" level Pyrenees walking holiday dates for 2010:

An example week’s itinerary – Adventurous Walking Holiday

Saturday – free afternoon
Arrive late afternoon. We suggest a leisurely stroll to the creperie at St Justin where you can enjoy a traditional French snack in the sunshine. The restaurant is on an isolated promontory looking out onto the lovely Bastan valley, the village of Barèges and the towering mountains on every side - it can only be accessed on foot.

Sunday - Pène det Pouri (2587m)
An interesting introductory walk from the village, giving us a chance to get to know the area and view the week’s destinations from a prominent peak.

Leaving from the house (1250m), we cross the Bastan river and attack the horizon which dominates the view from our patio. A zig-zag path through mixed woodland takes us to the meadows of the Transarrious plateau. From here we take the Montagne Fleuri path, ascend to a rounded ridge and look down into a hidden cirque, strewn with ancient cabins and bergers’ paths. We continue up the ridge, enjoying the growing views of Barèges and the Col de Tourmalet, then climb into the cirque through wildflower-filled grassland to our lunch-spot below the peak. If we’re lucky, we might catch sight of an ‘isard’ (Pyrenean Chamois) while we eat. After lunch we make our final ascent to the summit of Pène det Pouri (2587m). The views from the peak are truly spectacular – look North beyond Lac Bleu, the deepest natural lake in the Pyrenees, to the plains, East to the observatory and the Pic du Midi, West across the Atlantic Pyrenees and South to the Spanish frontier and the Brèche de Roland. For the return, we retrace our steps to Barèges for a well-earned drink.

Monday – Col de Madamète (2509m)/Pic de Madamète (2657m)
We trek into the Néouvielle nature reserve and the National Park – a dramatic contrast to yesterday in this wild landscape of scattered granite boulders and miniature pine trees.

Starting from our own valley, we drive for five minutes to the Pont de la Gaubie (1538m). Our morning’s ascent follows the GR10 and ascends the beautiful Aygues-Cluses valley. The path climbs gently under gnarled pine trees, then across pasture to the Lacs de Madamète – a good place for a snack before we climb up to the Col de Madamète (2509m), and an optional ascent to the Pic de Madamète (2657m) for the more energetic walker. After a leisurely lunch, we make our way past a series of lovely lakes dotted about a huge valley filled with granite boulders. The landscape here in the Néouvielle Natural Park is very wild and rugged, with few signs of human passage. From the Lac dets Coubous (2041m) we make our descent back to the Pont de La Gaubie on a good path, keeping an eye out for marmots on our way down. This is our favourite place for marmot-spotting.

Tuesday – Le Taillon (3144m)
A challenging ascent of an airy frontier peak at the imposing Spanish frontier. The landscape is one of towering cliffs and waterfalls, in the spectacular natural amphitheatre of the Cirque de Gavarnie.

We drive South through dramatic scenery, to the Cirque de Gavarnie– an incredible wall of cliffs forming a crucible into which falls Europes highest freehanging waterfall.s. Starting at 2200m, we walk towards and through the Breche de Roland passing over the remains of the Glacier du Breche on the way. We then follow the cliff wall around on the Spanish side to the airy ridge which takes us up to the summit at 3144m. The route requires some easy climbing, and is quite exposed – with spectacular views into Spain. The descent is by the same route.

Wednesday – DAY OFF
Your free day to use as you please. We suggest you try out the thermal spa in the village of Barèges, visit the Pic du Midi observatory or take the bus to the pretty towns of Luz-St Sauveur or Argelès-Gazost. Here you can stock up on the delicious local sheep’ cheeses and ‘saucissons sec’ (knobbly French salamis). The pilgrimage town of Lourdes is also accessible by public transport (about 1hr by bus). For those who can’t get enough exercise, there are plenty of trails to be explored on foot from Barèges, and we can arrange activities including paragliding, caving, white water rafting, pony trekking, mountain biking, canyoning etc.

Thursday – Expedition Day 1: Pont d’Espagne (1496m) - Oulettes de Gaube Refuge (2151m)
A wild walk abandoning the tourist trail to discover a secret hanging valley and high lakes, ending at the foot of the mighty Pic du Vignemale - the highest peak in the French Pyrenees.

360' View from the Vignemale

We drive via the deep gorges of Pierrefitte and Cauterets, through the grand spa town of Cauterets and up to the Pont d’Espagne, passing several lovely waterfalls on the way. At the Pont d’Espagne, we follow the main trail of the Vallee du Marcadau, which is very beautiful early in the morning. Soon we leave the main path to climb steeply into a hanging valley – the Vallon du Pouey Trénous. In this wonderfully secluded valley, you can’t help but feel that you are in a true mountain wilderness. Our route climbs gently beside a rushing stream, before ascending the left of the valley, to a small cirque and a dried glacial lake bed. Now we pick our way over huge granite boulders, to a narrow col below the Pic Peyrot (2703m). From here we have a wonderful view across to the Vignemale and down to the Lac du Chabarrou. Our descent takes us steeply down a grassy hillside to the lakes (a great spot for a refreshing dip), where we rejoin a narrow path into the Vallée de Gaube. The valley bottom is a well-travelled route, and we finish our day with an easy walk to the Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube – which we can be almost certain that noone else has reached taking our path. The Oulettes refuge sits on the outwash plain of the North face glacier of the Vignemale – the highest peak in the French Pyrenees and is an awe-inspiring place to spend the night.

Friday – Expedition Day 2: Oulettes de Gaube Refuge (2151m) – Gavarnie (1365m)
An ascent of the Petit Vignemale and a stunning day’s descent past the Vignemale glacier, finishing at the infamous Cirque de Gavarnie; a UNESCO world heritage site.

We leave the refuge early, while the valley bottom is deep in shade and the high peaks are touched by sunlight. This is a great time of day for spotting the elusive isards (Pyrenean chamois) and marmots. Our first climb is a good warm-up, taking us to the Hourquette d’Ossoue (2734m), where we look down to the Baysellance refuge. Here we have an optional ascent of the Petit Vignemale – another high peak at 3032m. The rest of the day is spent descending gently – across the foot of the glacier d’Ossoue on the East side of the Vignemale, and into a steep-sided valley with a lovely still lake. At the barrage, we take the HRP (Haute Route Pyrenean) path along a grassy valley and into the village of Gavarnie for our pick-up.

Saturday – Free morning

Free morning to pick up some souvenirs and get your postcards sent off. There’s plenty of time for a rejuvenating dip in the thermal spa or a short local walk and lunch in a village restaurant. We depart for the airport around 1pm.

Refuges

	There are many choices of route for a refuge trek. One of our favourites goes into the stunning Neouvielle nature reserve (the Pyrenean lake district), where we stay the night in the heart of the park at a little-known, friendly refuge nestled between two lakes - the refuge Bastan or Bastanet. To book the refuge Bastan yourself, Tel: 0033 (0)5 62 98 48 80 - you will need to speak French, and be able to find it! You should expect very basic accommodation at refuges, with communal sleeping in mixed dormitories. There are no showers, but some refuges have cold-water wash basins. The facilities are variable, often with "interesting" toilet arrangements, but the standard of the food is excellent, and there is almost always a lovely mountain lake close-by for a refreshing evening dip!

Our Pyrenees walking holidays are based from our newly-renovated house in the mountain village of Barèges. The accommodation is of a very high standard, and guests have access to our heated equipment room, sauna, dining room and large lounge with a wood burning stove, bar, music centre and computer with DVD player. Prices start at €695, which includes seven nights accommodation in a twin en-suite room, continental breakfasts, picnic lunches, afternoon tea and three course evening meals with after dinner coffee. Also included are five days guided walking and all local minibus transfers. Nights out in manned refuges are paid for by yourselves directly to the guardian (arond 40 euros for each night).

Due to the altitude of the peaks and ridges in this area, adventurous hiking holidays are not recommended before mid July, as there is a lot of lying snow in the Spring. Most of the peaks are then accessible until October. A typical day might be 8 hours in length (maximum 10), with an ascent of 800-1500m.

WALKING HOLIDAYS, PYRENEES - SOME OTHER IDEAS

	Relax and explore … gentle walking holidays Pyrenees An introduction to walking in the Pyrenees, with short walks of 3-5 hours and ascents of up to 500m (often much less). Take the opportunity to explore the beautiful mountain villages of the Pyrenees, visit the rural pastures and catch a glimpse of the traditional local farming methods. Follow a berger as he tends his flock of Bareges-Gavarnie sheep and describes his homeland and way of life. Don’t miss the chance to sample the unique Pyrenean sheep’ cheese, the unusual mountain salamis and, of course, the booze.
	Wandering high and low … intermediate walking holidays Pyrenees Explore the Pyrenees, on our most varied walking itinerary, with 5-8 hour days and 500-1000m of ascent. Discover idyllic flower-filled meadows, shimmering lakes, ridges and peaks with breathtaking views. Stand beneath the towering cliffs of the frontier cirques and dip your toes in an icy mountain stream (keeping an eye out for nibbling trout!). An unforgettable week amongst some of the most beautiful scenery in the Pyrenees.
	“With a knapsack on my back”....trekking on the HRP Intermediate to advanced level walking, with 5-8 hour day length and 1000m+ ascending. Follow the Pyrenean Haute Route in 1- or 2-week stages, overnighting in mountain refuges. Hut-to-hut trekking on the highest and most remote trails of the Pyrenees.

We have a large selection of photos from some of our Pyrenees walking holidays in the Photo Gallery.

Prices and dates for Walking Pyrenees: Please contact us for more information.

Those looking for independent Pyrenees walking are also welcome at our accommodation in Barèges, and we are always happy to pass on our local knowledge and suggest walking routes.

Further information and booking forms