Puntal de la Caldera

Overview

This nice peak is an interesting climb between Veleta (3396m) and Mulhacén (3482m), the two big mountains of Sierra Nevada. The peak is very near of Mulhacén and for this reason it's a good idea the climb of both mountains in the same day. It’s a good option also to visit Sierra Nevada, but the peak is less high as the others arroud and it's not the first option. The collado del ciervo o de la Mosca (3110m) is between Puntal de la Caldera (3219m) and Mulhacén (3482m) and for this reason it's not very long to reach the summit before the climb of Mulhacén, specially if you spend the night at Refugio de Poqueira (2490m).

Routes:
-West ridge: F.
-East ridge: F.
The two routes are possibles from the same trailhead, and even you can climb across one using the other to descend.

West ridge

East ridge

Secondary three-thousands
-At West: Puntal de la Caldera antecima W. (3155m), Cerro Boto (3187m), Loma Pelá (3188m), Crestones de Río Seco (3128m), Raspones de Río Seco (3144m).
-At East: Puntal de la Caldera antecima E. (3184m), Puntal S. del Juego de Bolos (3033m), Juego de Bolos (3021m).

East face

South face

Getting There

The Sierra Nevada is situated in the South of Spain in the province of Granada. The cities of Malaga, Sevilla and Granada have flights from major European cities and as well from Madrid or Barcelona.

From Granada it's easy to reach by car following the A-395 leads you directly into the Sierra Nevada. The best approach to this peak is from the South, entering to village of Capileira driving to Hoya del Portillo where's the barrier of the park. From this place you need 1 hour of walk to Refugio de Poqueira.

Normally the people climb Puntal de la Caldera directly from Capileira-Hoya del Portillo or from Refugio de Poqueira, if you reached the hut the previous day from Hoya del Portillo, or even it's possible to climb the peak from Hoya del Portillo descending to car or spend the night in the hut descending the next day.

If you want more information you can read the page of Sierra Nevada

Red Tape

The peak is in the natural park of Sierra Nevada with rules about wildlife, camping,...

On Summer and Eastern you can take the bus from Hoya del Portillo to Mirador de Trevelez, starting the route at 2100m.

Camping

-Refugio de Poqueira
-Free Hut of Laguna de la Caldera: overcrowed in spring and summer.

External Links

Mendikat.net: text in Spanish about the route with pictures.

Images

View Puntal de la Caldera Image Gallery - 13 Images