Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Pyrenees GR11 2003 - Day 20 : August 28th
Thursday 28th August
It was clear by first light, but there was 90% cloud cover by the time I left at 8.30am.
There followed a 2½-hour walk up a pista to the Puente de Coronas. This used to be
accessible by car, but now a minibus service operates instead. Puente de Coronas is an
unmanned Refuge and marks the end of the steep wooded gorge and the beginning of the
broader mountain valley. At 1980m it is still lightly wooded pasture. This is a popular spot
since the easiest path up the Pic Aneto, at 3404m, the highest peak in the Pyrenees,
leaves from here. By now there was some sun and I took the opportunity to wash all of
my clothes.
The climb from Puente de Coronas follows the stream through a wild landscape of
granite boulders and slabs. I stopped for a break at Ibon Inferior de Vallibierna, a small
glacial lake at 2440m, before setting out for the 2710m Collado de Vallibierna. The going
was very rough, with no path, just a waymarked route. Much of the ascent was on “leg-
breaker” boulder fields where great care has to be used. There were spots of rain as I
approached the col and very black clouds to the west. There were more boulderfields on
the descent and I was lucky to find a spot big enough for one tent by a small stream at
2490m and I managed to camp before the worst of the storm arrived. There were storms
throughout the evening.
It was clear by first light, but there was 90% cloud cover by the time I left at 8.30am.
There followed a 2½-hour walk up a pista to the Puente de Coronas. This used to be
accessible by car, but now a minibus service operates instead. Puente de Coronas is an
unmanned Refuge and marks the end of the steep wooded gorge and the beginning of the
broader mountain valley. At 1980m it is still lightly wooded pasture. This is a popular spot
since the easiest path up the Pic Aneto, at 3404m, the highest peak in the Pyrenees,
leaves from here. By now there was some sun and I took the opportunity to wash all of
my clothes.
The climb from Puente de Coronas follows the stream through a wild landscape of
granite boulders and slabs. I stopped for a break at Ibon Inferior de Vallibierna, a small
glacial lake at 2440m, before setting out for the 2710m Collado de Vallibierna. The going
was very rough, with no path, just a waymarked route. Much of the ascent was on “leg-
breaker” boulder fields where great care has to be used. There were spots of rain as I
approached the col and very black clouds to the west. There were more boulderfields on
the descent and I was lucky to find a spot big enough for one tent by a small stream at
2490m and I managed to camp before the worst of the storm arrived. There were storms
throughout the evening.
 |  |
| |
Tuca de la Solano
de Llauset
de Llauset
Ibon Inferiorde
Vallibierna
Vallibierna