Luz St Sauveur to the Mont Perdu: 15th March, 2008

Remote skiing along an uncharted route heading due south from Luz St Sauveur to Mont Perdu

Long climbs and tough skiing staying at unguarded huts

This challenging tour takes you on a radical north to south crossing of the Haute Pyrenees from the mountain town of Luz St.Sauveur to the summit of the Mont Perdu just over the border in Spain.

The route is complex, remote and wild. You are unlikely to meet a single other skier let alone find other people’s tracks. The skiing takes you to the Pic Longue, the Cirque of Troumouse, the Cirque of Estaubé and the Col du Tuquerouye before you cross the border to Spain and head to the summit of the Mont Perdu - the third highest summit in the Pyrenees.

There are few guarded huts on this route. Most nights are spent in small ‘cabines’ some of which we will have supplied with food and fuel before you arrive. For others you will need to carry your share of food. The skiing is steep and narrow in places (up to 40 degrees)- so this tour is only suitable for experienced ski tourers with a good level of fitness.

“you could tell that I was enjoying myself by the Cheshire cat grin I had”
- Lynne Badger

OUTLINE ITINERARY

DAY 1 - Fly to Pau Pyrenees
The best way to get to the Pyrenees is on a Ryanair schedule to Pau. We pick you up from there in our minibus and drive you to Luz St Sauveur. You collect your hired gear and meet up with your guide in the evening for a drink and a briefing.

DAY 2 - Luz St Sauveur to the Packe Refuge
The trip starts with a short landrover ride up to the old farms at l'Estibe (1500 m). Then we start to climb up to the Col de Pierrefite (2466m) on skis. About 1000 metres of ascent depending on conditions. After a short descent we climb again for a few hundred metres up to the Refuge de Packe (2509m). There, we'll leave the material and climb up to the Pic de la Coume de l'Ours (2800m) for good views and a nice ski back to the hut.

DAY 3 - Refuge de Packe to the Cabane du Sausset
From Refuge de Packe (2509m) to the Bugarret lake we have to cross a steep col (2614m) and ski down to the huge Cap de Long lake (frozen this time of year). There we'll put the skins on and climb up to the Hourquette de Cap de Long (2900m) from where we ski down to the Caban du Sausset (1900m).

DAY 4 – Cabane du Sausset to Auberge de Héas
From the Cabane du Sausset (1900m), we'll climb up to Port du Campbiel (2596m), and further to the summit of Soum des Salettes (2976m). Then we have to walk down to the Col of the Hourquette de Héas (2608m) before skiing down to Héas and the small Auberge where we spend the night.

DAY 5 – Auberge du Héas to the Refuge de Tuquerouye
From the Héas auberge, where we will have re-supplied with food and provisions, we'll climb up to Maillet Hotel and Grand Gabiétou mountain to arrive at 2800m. Then we'll ski down to the Cirque d'Estaubé (1800m) and we'll climb up again to the spectacular Refuge de Tuquerouye (2660m) with stunning veiws of the north face of Mont Perdu. Hard day!

DAY 6 - Tuquerouye to the Mont Perdu and the Goriz hut
We climb to the summit of the famous Lost Mountain of the Pyrenees. This is a classic day of ski mountaineering. From Tuquerouye (2660m) we climb up to Col du Cylindre (3000m), and then Mont Perdu (3355m). After that, we'll ski down to the Refugio de Goriz (2100m). There is a guardian and food at this hut.

DAY 7 – Goriz to the Brèche de Roland and Gavarnie
From refuge de Goriz, we'll have to climb up to the Brèche de Roland (2800m) and ski down to Gavarnie (1400m) The Breche de Roland is a spectacular gap in a sheer rock wall that forms a natural 40 metre by 150 metre 'doorway' to Spain. This is a place of history and legend and rates among the most dramatic ski tours in the world. The Breche itself is said to have been created by the desperate attempts of the dying Count Roland, the rear-guard commander of Charlemagne’s troops in the 8th century battle, to break his magic sword so that it could not be taken from him and used by his enemies. Once through the Breche we head on down through the Pouey Aspe valley to Gavarnie and the end of our ski tour.

DAY 8 - Fly back to London
You are transferred back to Pau Airport or Lourdes SNCF to connect with transport back home.

Please Note: This itinerary may be altered if conditions, weather forecasts or the overall fitness of the group are judged to put the safety of the group at risk. Pyrenean Mountain Tour Guides reserve the right to make changes to the itinerary without notice. These changes will be explained to the group as and when they occur.

EQUIPMENT AND CLOTHING NEEDED FOR THIS TREK
We recommend that people joining this trek are equipped with the following:

Technical equipment
Ski Touring Skis with Touring Bindings
Ski Poles
Skins (with good glue!)
Ski Crampons
Crampons
Ice Axe
Ski Strap (for tying top of the skis together when carrying on rucksack)
Four Season Sleeping Bag

Clothing suggestions
Thermal underwear- 1 set as a base layer
Fleece
Waterproof jacket
Waterproof overtrousers
Warm hat
Warm gloves
Warm walking socks
Sun hat or peaked cap
Sunglasses/Goggles

Unguarded hut gear
Sleeping bag
Plastic mug
Plastic plate (or similar)
Knife, fork and spoon
Karrimat
Toilet roll (please try to get bio-degradable paper)

Other useful items
40-60 litre rucksack (needs side straps so that you can carry skis)
Head torch and batteries
Sun block for face and lips
Personal First Aid kit (plasters,compede, paracetamol)
Water bottle or Platypus
Penknife

Optional items
Change of clothing to include: underwear,tracksuit bottoms/ long-johns,dry shirt, spare socks.
Camera and film
Paperback novel
Maps
Ear plugs (there is always one snorer)
Snack bars/dried fruit/chocolate

Ski Touring Equipment Hire
Pyrenean Mountain Tours offer a full equipment hire pack. You can hire everything you need for this tour or individual items at the costs shown in the table below. We are unable to provide equipment "last minute" so you need to book what you need well in advance.

Please remember to carry as little gear as possible. A heavy rucksack will make the trip hard work and less fun.