| OUTLINE
ITINERARY
DAY 1 -
Fly to Lourdes
The best way to get to the Pyrenees is
on a Ryanair schedule to Lourdes. We pick you up from there
in our minibus and drive you to the Hospital de Benasque refuge
up at the snow line. You collect your hire gear and meet up
with your guide in the evening for a drink and a briefing.
DAY
2 - Pico
Paderna
We leave the Hopital de Benasque and climb up to the Renclusa
refuge where we will spend two nights. We leave our gear at
the hut and travel with light bags to the Pico Paderna and
a first descent back to the hut.
DAY
3 -
Renclusa
hut to the Aneto
The Aneto is the highest peak in the Pyrenees. We leave the
hut early and head up steep slopes to the Portillo Superior.
A short abseil brings us down onto the wide glacier slopes
that lead across to the Coll de Coronas. From there we cross
the rocky arrette (known as Mohamed's Stairway) to the final
summit of the Aneto (3403m) itself. Then we ski 1100 metres
down the broad slopes to the Plan del Aigualluts before climbing
to a small ridge to ski back to the Renclusa hut.
DAY
4 –
Renclusa - Pic Alba
From the Renclusa we head due west to the pinnacle Peak d'Alba.
The final summit is climbed on crampons. From the peak we
ski steeper north facing slopes down through the Valle de
Alba and back to the Hopital de Benasque.
DAY
5 –
Hopital de Benasque to the Estos Refuge
We ski or hike along the GR11 trail to the Valle de Lliterola
and then skin up along the Barranco de Remune to the Ibon
Blanc at 2848 metres.Then we ski down to the Cabana del Turmo
before skiing up to the Estos Refuge.
DAY
6 - Estos to the Angel Orus hut
The route from the Estos to the Angel Orus hut takes us through
dramatic and remote mountains as we cross the Collado Montediego
and ski down through the Valle d'es Ibons. For those who have
energy to spare there are numerous options to climb the odd
peak on the way.
DAY
7 –
Angel
Orus hut to the Posets
The last day of the trip takes us to the summit of the Posets
(3369m) via the Valle de Llardaneta and the Diente de Llardana.
The climb ends on steep slopes but it is possible to get to
the summit on skis. From the top we ski down great slopes
on the west face of the mountain to the tiny farming hamlet
of Viados and a rendezvous with our Landrover pick up. We
drive from there back to our base in the French village of
Luz St Sauveur ready for the trip home the next day.
DAY
8 - Fly back to London
You are transferred back to LourdesAirport 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)
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
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
Sheet sleeping bag (if you can be bothered)
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.
| Items |
Description |
Costs |
| Ski
Touring Pack |
includes:
skis, skins, ski crampons, poles, ski touring boots |
£140 |
| With
Own Boots |
includes:
all of the above but no boots |
£110 |
| Avalanche
Transceiver |
|
£40 |
| Snow
Shovel |
|
free |
| Climbing
Harness |
not
required for this tour |
|
| Boot
Crampons |
to fit ski touring boots |
£40 |
Please
remember to carry as little gear as possible. A heavy rucksack
will make the trip hard work and less fun.
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Ski trips and more throughout Europe and beyond
Don’t let our name fool you: as well as Pyrenees
trips, we can take you to the Alps, South Tyrol, Dolomites,
Tatra Mountains and even further. In France, Spain,
Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Poland, Slovenia…even
Mongolia.
Downhill skiing, alpine skiing, off piste, telemark
skiing, ski tours, ski touring snowshoeing, trekking,
mountaineering, expedition training, motorcycle tours,
expedition training, walking, activity holidays, canyoning,
mountain biking, white water rafting, road touring,
cultural tours and study – chances are we have
just what you’re looking for. We can also arrange
all accommodation, from a hotel or B&B to a self-catering
apartment or gite.
Can’t see what you’re after? We’d
be happy to arrange a bespoke trip for you.
Pyrenean
Mountain Tours
2 Rectory
Cottages, Rectory Lane, Wolverton,Hants,
RG26 5RS, UK
tel and fax: (0044)(0)1635 297209, web: www.pyrenees.co.uk
(Pyrenean
Mountain Tours is a trading name of European Mountain
Holidays Ltd.)
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| .....background
preparation |
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Maps
and Guidebooks
Your guide will carry all the maps
that the group needs but you may want to plan
or record your journey on your own copy. The best
maps are:
“Aneto
- Posets", , 1/50,000, Institute National
Geographic sheet number '23.Pyrenees'.
Alternatively
two Spanish Editorial Alpina maps are needed:
“Editorial
Alpina", “Posets / Maladeta”,
1/40,000.
“Editorial Alpina", “Aneto”,
1/40,000.)
The
best general guidebook for this area of the Pyrenees,
even though it doesn't cover ski touring, is:
Walking in the Pyrenees, by Kev Reynolds,
(published by Cicerone Press)
But
also very useful are the Rough Guide to
the Pyrenees (published by the Rough Guides
Series) and Trekking in the Pyrenees
(published by Trailblazer)
For
a specific ski touring book read John
Harding's Pyrenean High Route, published
by Tiercel Publishing.
You
can order maps and books online at: www.mapsworldwide.co.uk,
www.amazon.com,
or buy them at Stanford books in London.
Fitness and Skiing Standard
This tour requires that you should
be able to walk uphill for up to 5 hours gaining
an average of 1200 metres. On one day as much
as 1600 metres is climbed. Ski descents are generally
quite wide with plenty of space. You will need
to walk on crampons on two or three days to reach
summits.
Group
Size: 1 groups of 7 people.
DAF Scale:D2:A2:F2
Questions
about this tour ? Email Simon
for help.
Mountain Guides and
Leaders
This tour is being led by Remi Laborde.
Our guides are experienced leaders with several
years experience of the Pyrenees. They are experts
on local Flora and Fauna as well as mountain craft
and leadership.
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| .....travel
details & costs |
| Departure
Dates & Flight Details
We recommend
that you use the following flights:
Depart 6th March, 2010
Sat 6th March, FR2356, at 09.50 from London Stansted
to Pau; returning on Sat 13th March, FR2357, at
14.00 from London to London Stansted
Go
to www.ryanair.com to book your flights.
What
your Holiday Will Cost
£850
per person
£70 single supplement (payable
if you want a single room for the first and last
nights in a hotel)
Is
this your first ski tour ?
This year we are trialing
a new discount scheme for people trying ski touring
for the first time. If you book an Introduction
to Ski Touring course and a ski tour in the
same year we will reduce your overall bill by
£80.
Toured
with us Before ?
If
you have been ski touring with us twice or more
before you are entitled to a £30
discount. Please
remind us when you book!
The Diary Discount
We
know that lots of you keep diaries of your ski
tours and we want to publish some of them ! Our
aim is to have a link on each of our ski touring
itinerary pages to a previous years diary of the
trip. If we publish yours we'll pay you £15
(in the form of a discount on a PMT trip of course)
for your trouble.
Transfer
Arrangements
We
collect you in our minibus free of charge if you
arrive on the flights we have recommended
above. If you choose a different flight you will
be responsible for your own transfer to the start
and from the end of the tour.
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| .....more
details |
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Accommodation
Quick List
Day
one: Hospital de Benasque
Day two: Renclusa
hut
Day three: Renclusa
hut
Day four:
Hopital de Benasque
Day
five: Estos
hut
Day six: Angel
Orus hut
Day seven: Hotel Cimes
Please note: accommodation changes may have to
be made if weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances
make it necessary. We try to ensure that hotel rooms
are twin bedded with en suite facilities but this is
not always possible. If you pay a single supplement
but do not receive a single room, then your money will
be refunded on your return to the UK.
Included
in the Price
- 2 nights half board
in hotels
-
5 nights full board accommodation in mountain huts
-mountain guiding fees and expenses
Not
Included in the Price
-International air
travel to France
-Hiring of equipment from the equipment list specified
for this trip
- Drinks and snacks at huts and hotels
- packed lunch for day 1 of the ski tour
Spending
Money
Please
bring all money in local currency (Euros), as there
will be no opportunity to go to a bank en route. |
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