Accommodation

This week is based from 3-star B&B chalet or hotel in the traditional French mountain villages, with a high standard of amenities to help you relax after your day’s walking. During the mini-trek, accommodation is in communal dormitories at a mountain refuge. Manned refuges are fully catered, so there is no need to carry bulky cooking or camping gear.

Saturday – Arrival and settling in

We suggest a stroll round the village before dinner and your Welcome Talk, where we’ll go over details about what we’ll do over the week.

During your Welcome Talk you’ll meet your guide for the week. You’ll have a chance to find out about the week ahead, discuss logistics for it, and ask questions about where you are going and what you’ll be doing.

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.

After a five minute drive to the Pont de la Gaubie (1538m), we begin our morning’s ascent along the GR10 and through the beautiful Aygues-Cluses valley. The path climbs gently under gnarled pine trees, then across pastures to the Lacs de Madamète – a good place for a snack before we climb up to the Col de Madamète (2509m).

You then have 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. This Cirque is an incredible wall of cliffs forming a crucible into which falls Europe’s highest freehanging waterfall. Starting at 2200m, we walk towards and then 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 – Free day

This is your free day to use as you please.

There are a range of options for your free day. You could visit Barèges’ thermal spa, the highest in France, or perhaps take a trip to the Pic du Midi observatory.

It’s also possible to take the bus to Luz St-Sauveur or the pretty spa town of Argelès-Gazost. Here you can stock up on the delicious local sheep’s cheeses and ‘saucisson 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, rafting, pony trekking, mountain biking, canyoning etc.

Thursday – Overnight expedition: Day 1: Pont d’Espagne (1496m) to Oulettes de Gaube Refuge (2151m)

Today we have a wild walk, abandoning the tourist trail to discover a secret hanging valley and high lakes. It ends at the foot of the mighty Pic du Vignemale – the highest peak in the French Pyrenees.

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 then climbs gently beside a rushing stream, before ascending 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 no-one else has reached taking our path.

The Oulettes refuge sits on the outwash plain of the north face glacier of the Vignemale. This is the highest peak in the French Pyrenees and an awe-inspiring place to spend the night.

Friday – Expedition Day 2: Oulettes de Gaube Refuge (2151m) to Gavarnie (1365m)

Today we do an ascent of the Petit Vignemale and a stunning day’s descent past the Vignemale glacier, finishing at the famous 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.

Saturday – Free morning

The time is yours before you leave by mid-morning to make your way home.

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 can arrange to look after your luggage if you don’t need to leave the area until later and wish to still enjoy your time in the Pyrenees.