| El Taillon in the Mist Album |
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| El Taillon in the Mist   | 
| Page Type: Album Image Type(s): Alpine Climbing | Page By: ojo Created/Edited: Sep 23, 2010 / Oct 6, 2011 Object ID: 664382 Hits: 717 Loading... Page Score: 86.75% - 5 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
El Taillon or Punta Negra, from the Refuge “Goriz” – summer ascent
El Tailon is often sited as “one of the most accesible and most frequently climbed of the three thousand metre Pyrenean peaks”. This usually refers to the ascent from France (Gavarnie) - a short 1h 45m from the Sarradets refuge and 560m of ascent. A route which can be extremely busy at any time of year.
From the Spanish side, via the Ordesa valley & the Góriz refuge it’s longer and less frequented. Ascent 1,100m and minimum 4 hours to the summit (we took somewhat longer). For us, doing the route in mid-summer, there were two main advantages to the “classic” approach: We had the route virtually to ourselves, and we didn’t have the horrendous six snakey-mountain-road-hours drive to Gavarnie in France.Day One.
Day One: Home - Torla - La Pradera – Cola de Caballo waterfall - Goríz Refuge.
Bus from Torla to La Pradera. Walk into Valley. 3 hours to the hut. 860m ascent. Light rain during the ascent. Very heavy rain just as we step over the threshold. Very heavy rain all night long.Day Two
Day Two: Goríz – Brecha de Roldan – Taillon – Goríz – La Pradera – Torla – Home. Ascent: 1,100m. Descent (to la Pradera) 1,960m. Our timing: 11h 30m.
Starting late (9pm) thanks to the rain, the ascent is shrouded in mist for most of the morning. Crossing the river behind the hut after all the night-before’s rain is our first challenge. Then easy tracks towards el Llano (“the flat”) and continue westward to circle the Plana de San Fertús. Our aim is the Cuello or Shoulder del Descargador at 2,488m. From there, our path turns N and climbs over (wet) rock to gain a rock outcrop. First views of the stunning Brecha de Rolando, el Casco and, to the left, our peak. From here, we found it difficult to follow the cairned route but we get to the next point of reference: La Gruta Helada de Casteret (2,680m). Finding ourselves on a scree slope – and very behind schedule already – we don’t detour to visit this infamous cave.
Avoiding the route NE towards the col - Collata os Sarrios (for El Casco/Coral Ziego) - we had planned to take the higher route passing the protected (cable) section - Clavejas de os Sarrios - but when wet, not advisable. We manage to drop down on to the lower scree path below the Brecha just as more mist rolls in. From the Brecha to Taillon – 1 hour. We nearly don’t continue, thanks to the mist. Passing El Dedo pinacle is best done on the French side (somewhat exposed, though we saw nothing but mist below us). No summit shots, just white-out. A long, long way home, including returning to La Pradera and just missing the last (10pm) bus out of the park. A kind park ranger rescued us at 11pm. Then, only a two hour drive home. Images
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Cirque de Gavarnie > Taillon > El Taillon in the Mist
