Trek from Lanjarón to Trevélez over the roof of Spain
The trek started as normal from the south near the Ventura trailhead above the spa town of Lanjarón in the Alpujarras (4WD required). First night was camp was by the superbly situated Refugio de Caballo alongside the laguna of the same name. A spectacular sunrise was followed by a short ascent to the summit of the Cerro de Caballo (3009m), the Sierra Nevada's most southerly 3000m peak.
Origins of the Refugio Caballo Restoration Project
In August 2011 Refugio Caballo at 3000m in the Sierra Nevada. The aim was to clean the refuge and repair the door and window
An ascent of Tozal del Cartujo via the north-west ridge
Back in May 2012 I walked the ridge from Cerro del Caballo to Tozal del Cartujo, crossed over to the Refugio Elorrieta for the night and then returned to the Ventura trailhead the next day via the Río Lanjarón valley. I had stood on the Tozal del Cartujo admiring its impressive ridge stretching away to the north-west. A few months later, I read an account by a group of Spanish mountaineers of their traverse of the ridge and I knew it just had to be done.
Wet weather & foxes on the ridges of the Sierra Nevada
After an inauspicious start due to bad weather, leaky refuges and foxes the remainder of the trip was completed in glorious mountain weather.
Los Tres Miles 3 Day Traverse in Spain’s Sierra Nevada
‘Inspiring The Adventure’, proclaims Spanish Highs’ blog. And it was reading some of their recent trip reports and looking at photographs on their website that inspired MY latest adventure: a traverse of Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountains taking in as many as possible of the 3,000+ metre peaks (Tres Miles) that I hadn’t already climbed.
Trek along the northern flanks of the Sierra Nevada
The start of the track is on the northern flanks of Veleta above the Sierra Nevada ski station, at "Los Posiciones del Veleta". This can be reached by short walk from the Veleta Chairlift (July and August only) or by autobus from Hoya de la Mora (Albergue de Granada). Of course you could always walk, in which case the ascent from Hoya de la Mora to Posiciones will take 1.5 hours and rise you up 600m to 3100m.
Anti Fox Deterrents in the Sierra Nevada
Foxes are becoming more and more of a nuisance here. Increased incidence of tents being ripped and food being stolen. For background to some of the problems read our previous reports over the past few years
Escape the spanish summer heat on a Group Walking Holiday!
We had a request for a Group Walking Holiday itinerary. In Spain? In summer? This took some working out as the only place to enjoy the hiking would be in the cool and pleasant air above 2000m. This in turn meant that the Sierra Nevada in Andalucia would be the only realistic location, with over 20 peaks topping 3000m in height.
The Spanish 3000s trek - crossing Los Tres Miles
This year however, due to the amount of winter snows still remaining, the trek is even more of a challenge.
Escape the rat race by high level trekking, Sierra Nevada
William and Jolanda wanted to escape civilisation, people, phones and busy jobs. With plenty of snow still remaining an 8 day trek in the Sierra Nevada seemed as good a way as any. To avoid the busy (relatively speaking) areas around Mulhacén and Veleta we split the 8 days into 2 treks of 4 days each.
Moderate hiking route over Las Alegas to Puente Palo
As it is linear it does need the benefit of a friendly driver to help with the transport. It utilises a high vehicle track and a direct climb to gain height rapidly. Then comes a delightful descent down through pine trees and crossing streams before meeting a forest track above Puente Palo.
Spanish Highs feature in Trail Magazine July 2013
What could we show them in just 2.5 days in the Sierra Nevada though? We didn't want to show them the usual busy slopes of Mulhacén or Veleta. Wild and remote, with plenty of variety seemed to fit the bill. We decided and completed the following itinerary.