Page 45 - Wish Stream Year of 2018

When the opportunity to lead an expedition came up early on at RMAS I, being an avid mountaineer, was keen to arrange a week of alpine mountaineering.
Having been to the Aneto-Maladeta National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees before, it seemed like a good choice for all on the exped to get to grips with some good alpine mountaineer- ing in what were highly likely to be exceptional conditions.
With four of us plus an instructor, we selected the Refugio De La Renclusa, which is in the val- ley c.5km south of the highest mountain in the Pyrenees, Mount Aneto, and just across the val- ley from the French Pyrenees. Accordingly, it is in a beautiful setting surrounded by mountains of up to 3,404m with glacial mountain lakes and the Pyrenees forest in close proximity.
OCdt Snell
ing, whilst we watched a summer storm going on outside.
With the storm having cleared, day two was a day of alpine mountain skills. Hiking up to a col at some 3,100m, from which Mount Aneto could be seen straight across the glacier, we put on crampons as well as grabbing ice axe, helmet and rope before having a go on some snowfields. Without too much slipping over we headed back down before spending the after- noon learning how to tie in, self-rescue and manage the rope to facilitate crossing a glacier, very much in preparation for the following day’s ascent of Aneto. Hard work done, chill out, food and bed.
Day three was pretty much the main event and the reason we had come. A quasi alpine start (admittedly 0700hrs vs the usual 0500hrs or ear- lier), we hiked back to the col of the previous
Having landed in Barcelona we headed to Benasque, via an over- night in Lleida, where we parked the car and hiked into the moun- tains. At the hut it was a case of knot practice ready for the morn-
Hard work done, chill out, food and bed.
day before dropping onto the gla- cier. Here we put the skills we had practiced to good use whilst cross- ing the glacier, eventually ascending onto the final summit push, across Aneto’s somewhat exposed summit
Exercise PYRENEES CADET:
Alpine Mountaineering in
the Spanish Pyrenees
SANDHURST 43