Snow affected access tracks meant we only had a thin ribbon of snow in the gully to ascend and descend the mountain but it turned out to be a superb ski tour in wild and quiet surroundings in a little known area of the Sierra Nevada. Not sure it has ever been skied before either?
Skiing up the Barranco
Our original plan had been to ski the Cerro de Caballo, Europe's most westerly 3,000m mountain peak. But, due to the access tracks to Cortijos de Echeverria and Rinconada being blocked by snow and ice, we had to come up with a different plan. The south side had little snow for skiing and was a long walk in to carry skis. On the SW side of the peak below the sub summit of Morra Alta, we found a gully named on the map as Barranco de Haza de Cardenas. From a distance this looked to have fairly continuous snow right up to the summit.
Managing to park at the 2,000m level and about half a kilometre from the start of the valley, it was only a short walk to the start. The initial gully is quite steep and was full of hard snow/ice. Donning crampons we set off upwards carrying skis in "A" frame fashion on our packs.
There are about 5 or 6 small dams crossing the gully. Each had to be surmounted and by passed (these are there to assist with the devastating effects of flash floods). The top of this initial section was short lived and the valley opened out giving some superb snowfields. We put on boots, skis and skins and began to climb.
Nearing the end of the valley and reaching the ridge line
Breaking out onto the slopes of the summit ridge we had great views north to the reigning peak, Cerro de Caballo and southwards to the Mediterranean sea and the coastal hills of Morocco.
A short break and then we took off the skins, tightened boots and bindings and headed down. The snow was in excellent condition as we skied silently down the valley sides always on the lookout for alternative routes. One of our party, Ed, was using a Telemarking setup which looks such an elegant way to ski.
The final slopes to the finish
Lower down we had to make some tight turns to avoid some vegetation and rocks. We skied through narrow ribbons of snow and steep banking before swooping down to within a few hundred metres of the car. A short walk and then a drive down for a beer in the village of Nigüelas.
I have checked the internet and it seems quite likely that we may have been the first ski tourers to have skied the Barranco de Haza de Cardenas? I hope so!
Below a short video