The first sunny day during this Pyrenees trip! The track starts near the mountain refuge Hospice de France close to the French/Spanish border at the French side some 40km drive from Vielha.
The path zigzags steeply uphill from the very beginning. About an hour we are in the shadow of the hill, then the path takes us out in the sun.
We climb uphill to the first lake and the mountain hut, then follow by the lake to the mountain pass Port de Benasque on the French/Spanish border. The pass is a gap in the rocks (like Breche de Roland albeit smaller). The clear sight from here to the Maladeta mountain range and Aneto – the highest mountain of the Pyrenees. We proceed by the Spanish side to the Pic de Sauvegarde.
From the Sauvegarde summit by the mountain ridge we follow the borderline to thee Pic de Escalets. We spot a swarm of vultures obviously gathering around the quarry. New ones appear gradually – we wonder how they get the message 🙂 We proceed to descend.
