4/5/6 July 2014 Weekend in the Sierra Nevada

This weekend was our biggest Limper event ever. We went on a walking weekend in the high Sierras, staying 2 nights at the Porqueira refugio. With eleven of us booked to go on the weekend we needed 3 cars for the drive up to Hoya del Portillo, above Capileira, the highest point to which you can drive.

Everything went well on the drive until we hit the dirt road above Capileira. Once again my Suzuki proved it was not up for the job and died. We abandoned it by the side of the road and squashed ourselves into 2 cars, fortunately Cees had a deck chair in the back of his van and I was able to ride in style in the back. We just need to cut some windows in the side and we have the perfect transport, enough room for us all.

 From the carpark you have to walk to the refugio, some 8km away. The walk also involves a 500 metre climb up to 2500 metres, so it made a good warm up session for the main event of the weekend, Alcazaba.

The refugio is not the typical hut you find dotted about the hillsides. This is a fully manned,  open 365 days a year, up- market affair, even if the sleeping arrangements are a little unconventional! The bedrooms are split into a series of dormitories, each with a bunk bed in it. The big difference over normal bunk beds is that each bed sleeps 6 people. For a long time Rene has wanted a group bonding weekend, and guess where Rene is? Yes, Australia, so while we were bonding , like Sardines in a tin, Rene is sunning herself on the beach in Melbourne.

We had booked an evening meal for the two nights we were staying there and it was a great way to round off the day.  

To try and preserve a bit of modesty amongst us the 5 boys voted for the 6 girls to have the top bunk. What we had not realised was that they would allocate the spare bed to a stranger. Conchi was a bit taken aback on our return from supper to discover a man in her bed. I tried to explain to him he was sleeping in the girls bed, which did not concern him, When I said it was Conchi’s bed he quickly decided to move down to the lower level with the boys. In the morning Cees was awarded the prize for loudest snorer.

After breakfast on Saturday morning we set off for Alcazaba. At 3364 metres this is the 3rd highest mountain in the Sierra Nevada range, and one that neither I, or anyone else in the group, have been to before. We were all looking forward to the challenge.

The walk starts by following the route to Mulhacen and then heads off to the Siete Lagunas, the only problem is that you lose 200 metres of altitude going down to the lagunas, which you have to climb back up on your return.

There are two routes to Alcazaba from the Lagunas, one very steep, the other, while indistinct in parts, is not difficult, we chose the later. 100 metres from the summit 3 of the group ran out of power, so leaving them to recover the rest of us proceeded to the top and the stunning views. I don’t know whether it was because we were seeing the mountains from a new angle or what, but the views were superb.

With the team now split into two groups it was decided that I would return and take the ones waiting below back the way we had come, the others would go back via the steep descent and see all 7 of the lagunas.

We met up again where the paths merged for the steep climb out of the valley. It was so steep Dave offered to carry anyone who was struggling,Conchi, who had accused me of trying to kill her with all the climbing, took him up on the offer. We arrived back at the refugio tired and hungry after completing a walk of 21.8 km with 1352 metres of climbing. We had another excellent meal before we all retired to bed early for a few hours sleep.

Another walk was planned for Sunday to the Laguna de la Caldera. While on Saturday we had been able to leave some things back at the refugio today we had to take everything with us. This increased the amount of weight we were carrying so we split the group into two again, with some preferring to head downhill to Capileira and the rest heading uphill.

Both routes followed the fast flowing rio Mulhacen as it tumbles down the steep valley. We went uphill, arriving at the Caldera after a stiff climb. You could imagine this was once an extinct volcano, but I am now reliably informed that it was once a glacier that shaped this spectacular valley.

The Laguna now has icebergs floating in it. We stopped here for lunch and we were amazed when 2 guys stripped off and went for a swim, unbelievable, the water was freezing. My heart nearly stopped when I just rinsed my hands in it.

After lunch we followed the old Capileira/ Granada mountain road the 11 km back to the cars. What a spectacular trip this must have been back in days when you could catch a bus from Capileira to Granada on this, the highest bus route in Europe.

We walked 16.7 km and climbed 612 metres.

On our way back through Capileira we stopped and picked my Suzuki up, I was tempted just to leave it there. A radiator hose had sprung a leak so we stopped off at every fuente on the way home to fill it up.

  

We returned home, tired but well satisfied after a great weekend, in total we walked 38.5 km and climbed 2465 metres.