Canigou Baby, Yeah!

When I left Estany Bleu, my home on Friday night, I climbed back onto the ridge I’d been following from the top of the Vallée d’Eyne, and carried on heading east. The guidebook suggested dropping down to Refuge Ull de Terr but I’d been advised to stick to the ridge, so I bagged a few more summits, including Bastiments at 2,881m, with some magnificent views.

I began feeling a bit low as I came along the ridge – partly because I wasn’t following the book and so had no way of guaging progress, and partly because I was worried about where to get water and where to camp that night.

Goodbye waymarks...hello HRP

One of the most impressive things we’ve seen so far is the destruction caused by avalanches. Every now and again we’ve been walking along the side of a hill and have come to a stripe down the mountain where all the trees are broken off at the stumps, while down at the bottom of the slope there’s a big pile of rocks and trees and sometimes still some snow. It’s hard to imagine seeing it happen - watching a band of trees, sometimes several hundred metres wide, being wiped out in a matter of seconds.

Decision Day Looms

In the next 36 hours, Klaas and I need decide whether we’re going to tackle the toughest 3 days of the HRP or take a diversion onto the GR11, on the grounds that the current snow levels make the HRP too dangerous. I mentioned yesterday that I was trying to convince Klaas to join me on the HRP but, after I’d written that last night, we read his guidebook. Whereas mine says the route may be dangerous in bad weather, the Véron guide suggests a rope might come in handy and isn’t very positive about the chances of survival even then.