A Gentle Stroll in the Hills !!

Tuesday 11th May 2010 Up bright and early, packed Wally tight for the Road, and off to Fuente De...about 15 miles and 20 miuntes drive away. I arrived about 9-30 a.m., before the cable car had started for the day, although there were lots of the workers milling around, changed and was ready to go !! What a day ahead, if only I'd known .... I decided that as I hadn't really been too high so far, and not knowing whether there was much snow higher up, I would do a relatively (I thought) route of around 4 hours... up and around the Vega de Liordes, from Puente De, circling the tops, and returning back into Fuente de.. http://www.picoseuropa.net/liordes/liordes.php So off I went, a reasonable start up wide tracks, and going ever higher, not seeing anyone on the trail...and a ple3asant day in prospect- I'd started at 1078 mts, so the going, at times was straight up...and me wishing I'd brought my walking poles, or as it later transpired ice axes and mountain boots... still I tell the tale too early...I was dressed for a cool summer day, although I had decided to wear my long pants,not shorts !! After a couple of hours, I had climbed up towards the 2,000 mts mark, and had found myself in deeper and deeper snow, which normally wouldn't have been a great problem, but, I didn't really have the right equipment, and the snow was becoming deeper, and deeper, and was very wet and slushy, and I had a few minor bumps and scrapes...clinging onto the Mountain to stop me sliding down rather quickly !!... I was trying to get up a couloir towards Pedabejo, at 2169 mts, but with the increasingly difficult terrain, the snow ( yes, it was snowing , in May!) and the final straw was when I saw that my route actually went up the area that had obviously avalanched a few times before, the debris lying all over my route, I decided to go back lower, and try around the other side...Although the mountain Chamois had managed to run across the Mountain in front of me.. I managed to retrace my steps by the simple method of sitting down and sliding at some speed back towards a mountain refuge hut...where I stopped a short time, wrung out my socks/boots...and started again. I found another route towards the Vega de Liordes, and at first things went well..and I quickly gained most of my lost ground, until it wended it's way back towards the route I had not been able to get up.. i hoped to be able to circumnavigate the worst of the snow, and if I could get to the top, I would be able to complete my route ( I thought ) Once again around 2000 mts I was unable to climb further up the mushy,soft snow, although the sun had broken out ( a bit), so I decided to call it a day and return back the way I'd come... It had alreday taken me four hours, and that was supposed to be the days route time... I then wandered back down through the snow, past the Refuge hut, again wringing out me socks, and wended my way back down to Fuente De, but not before I had chance to send a special message for ??.... Watch this !!

Not many people will have had this sent to them from this location--

I arrived back in Fuente De around 3-30 p.m., 5 1/2 hours, for a 4 hour route, and not completed...always another day ( with the right gear !)- and not met a single person on the Mountain or trails.

and...I only ended up with a hole in my goretex jacket on the elbow...and a bleeding scar beneath...

So I celebrated when I got back to the campsite...with a hot shower ( Oh, for a bath..) and an ice cold bottle (or two) of Budweiser...just before the Rain thundered in...heater on, and watching the world go by.

Oh, nearly forgot...almost a disaster - no bottle opener - the 'multi tool' they got me from work on Retirement came in useful,it has one - Saved !!

Happy Days

Wonder what tomorrow will bring ??...

and will there be a Government back home in the U.K. ??