Video of the Espolón de Alcazaba, Sierra Nevada
A great scrambling route for the experienced mountaineer.
Out of my comfort zone scrambling Tozal del Cartujo
A report below from Kiersten Rowland of Spanish Highs about her recent scrambling day she had with us on the Tozal del Cartujo in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Arista Sur de La Sagra - Scrambles in Andalucia
In the north-east corner of the Granada province and half an hour to the north of Huescar, the south ridge of La Sagra is advertised as one of the best scrambling routes in Andalucía. Last week Felipe Nieto and I decided to take a look.
Summer Trekking & Scrambling Ideas in the high Sierra Nevada
With the onset of June winter relents, snow melts and the high Sierra Nevada mountains cease to be the domain of winter mountaineers. Now trekkers and scramblers can escape the heat of the baking Granada plains and costas and head for the fresh cool air of the mountains!
Ascent of the Espolón de Alcazaba, Sierra Nevada
Access to the face is most easily made from the Collado de Ciervo, near the Laguna de la Cadera and west of Mulhacén summit. A zig zag path leads down into the northern corrie of Mulhacén where sits the delightful Laguna de la Mosca. Just a short distance north of the lake a faint track trends right and then gains a sloping shelf the crosses the face of Alcazaba. This is called the Grand Vasar de Alcazaba.
Ascent of the Espolón de la Caldera, Sierra Nevada
The Espolón de la Caldera is in fact the NW ridge of the Puntal de la Caldera, found just to the west of Mulhacén's, Collado de Ciervo, in Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains. It gives a rough and sometimes loose scramble with many possibilities for making the ascent easier or tougher to suit. At it's easiest it's a Grade 2 scramble, and I guess about VD (4/4+) if the steps and pinnacles are taken direct. Difficult and dangerous to descend or escape due to the loose nature of many areas.
Scrambling & Approach Boot Group Test & Review
We took a pair of Haglofs Roc Icon GTs, some Five Ten Guide Tennies, a couple of pairs of Scarpa Crux's and some La Sportiva Ganda Guides and put them to the test. But which comes out as the best all round Scrambling and Approach boot in our review?
Scrambling & soaring with eagles Sierra de Huetor, Granada
It all began when Kiersten Rowland, our resident Spanish Highs expert twitcher, decided she wanted to tick off the Ring Ouzel. This bird seems to have a liking for hawthorn bushes and tough craggy hillsides. We thought we knew just the spot that might attract these elusive birds in an area of mountains north of Granada in the Sierra de Huetor.
Sierra Nevada Scrambling - the ridge of Puntal de la Caldera
Here is a route description of how to do it.
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.
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.
New scrambling in the Sierra de Huetor N of Granada
Approach is via Cogollas Vega just off the A92 north of Granada. We have climbed and scrambled on the Peñon de la Mata for some time now and it is our favourite rocky mountain. The summit slopes provide superb situations for confident and capable scramblers.
Birthday party on the Raspones ridges
Clive Fenn recently gave his son an incredible 18th birthday present by taking him along the Raspones ridge in Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains. We described the Raspones as the best ridge scramble in Spain and have had much fun here in the past, including some incredible winter mountaineering adventures. It is alpine in nature at or about the 3000m level.
Climbing the west ridge of the Peñón de la Mata, Andalucía
We had seen this ridge on our last visit to the Peñón de la Mata when we did a scramble on the north eastern flanks. The long whaleback shape of the west ridge looked interesting, with a somewhat difficult looking start. Trawling the internet found us a few spanish references, which gave us an idea of what was in offer. There were no english references, which suggested that we may be the first english speakers to "discover" this line.
Is the Raspones the best ridge scramble in Spain?
The Raspones emerges from the upper reaches of the Poqueira gorge, just west of the Rio Seco. It is a long shark fin of a ridge. A serrated ridge with many turrets, twists and turns. Approach is normally made from two directions:
Winter mountaineering on the longest day in southern Spain
Sometimes you need to do a bit of lateral thinking for your mountain adventures. We might be only two hours from the sun drenched beaches of the Costa del Sol, but there is still some good mountaineering sport to be found. An early alpine start is the chief requirement. The snows are still quite plentiful in the Sierra Nevada, but do become soft and slushy after about 11am. At 6am above 3000m it is hard and icy.
The highest mountains are not necessarily always the best
The highest mountains sometimes fail to live up to their status, whilst some relatively unknown peaks turn out to be lesser in height only. Here in southern Spain's Alpujarras, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, we have for some years now been enjoying the delights of an fascinating little peak called Giralda.
Scrambling the magnificent Cavall Bernat ridge, Mallorca
Report of scrambling and climbing along the wonderful Cavall Bernat ridge in Mallorca, probably the best high class ridge scramble in the med! The heat of the day necessitated a pre dawn start from Cala San Vicente. We made our way up to the first peak heading north west from the Siller Pass. The cloud cover and light showers began to disperse and the rising sun gave the sky marvellous warm tinges.
Walking and scrambling routes across the NW face of Alcazaba
Rough and narrow tracks cross steep ground but provide rapid ways between the north side of Alcazaba and Laguna de la Mosca at the foot of Mulhacens north face. This saves the long detour east round the eastern buttresses of Alcazaba and Mulhacen via Siete Lagunas.
5 best Mallorca mountain days scrambling & birdwatching
The mountains of Mallorca are beckoning and we are set to visit again in September. The week long trip will combine some amazing mountain and gorge scrambling with opportunities to see the black vultures and eleonoras falcons, rare on mainland Spain. Combined with the mountain and sea backdrops it is a potent mix.
Hidden gem of Trevenque, Cumbres Verdes mountains, Granada
Since we started visiting this fascinating walking and trekking location near Granada in 1998, we have seen a rise in the popularity of peaks such as the magnificent Trevenque (2079m). However, there is so much more than the normal routes of ascent to offer for those with an exploratory and adventurous nature.
West ridge of the Puntal de la Caldera, Sierra Nevada
The attractive peak of the Puntal de la Caldera (3223m) with the Laguna de la Caldera nestling at it's feet makes a spectacular setting. Many times in winter during Alpine Winter Skills Training courses we have sat atop it's narrow summit after ascended via it's east ridge from the Collado del Ciervo. A fine route, much better and more interesting, in my opinion, than the higher, bulky form of Mulhacen (3482m) to it's immediate east.