UKC

Hi all,

A bit of a long shot but am heading to the Pyrenees in February and will spending an amazing week in a cow shed within the Cirque de Troumouse (near Heas/Luz St Saveur and Gavarnie) - I went last year and just had a great time practicing skills. I hoping to try something a bit harder this year, probably up to grade TD but really struggling to find info on any mixed routes - The main one I can find is Mounherran (http://www.camptocamp.org/routes/247244/fr/mounherran-pointe-2718m-face-e), but as its E facing the avalanche potential is somewhat daunting.

Has anyone out there climbed in this area and know any good mixed routes, ideally taking 2 days up, with 1 bivouac.

Thank you in advanced.

Rich

In reply to RichieBizzle: There is loads to go at, North face of the Munia has a couple classic lines up it, including a direct one by Gabarrou. A couple of shorter lines up a buttress lower down on the face also, TD, TD+ but cannot remember the names off the top of my head. Also lines in in Pene Blanque area, Heas. Do you read French, do a search with tromouse escalade mixte, check remi-thivel site, look for "topos en vrac" in the site of puisieux or passe murailles and find a copy of Mousel's book, where you'll find more than enough to keep you amused.

In reply to Removed User: starting point?

http://www.remi-thivel.com/pyrenees/troumouse.html

In reply to Removed User:

This forum continues to amaze me... cheers mate! Have you climbed there much? I don't read french but at the moment google translate is helping me out. Do you know if a winter ascent of the voie Ravier on la Pène Blanque de Troumouse (http://www.remi-thivel.com/photos/newsphotos/peneblanque180903/pages/penebl... is possible, if so is it a mixed route or just a cold day on the rock in sticky shoes?

I will look for those topos and see what I can work out. Thanks for your help.

Rich

In reply to RichieBizzle:
Have fun - I can't help with the lines, but the cow shed is quite a bit smarter than that - really quite well appointed if its the place just down donw from the summer refuge that I'm thinking of

We nearly got stuck there when there was a sudden very big snow fall. The rate of accumulation was alarming - in no time at all we were up to our waists and getting down was sporting


We were resigned to missing our flights, but when the snow stopped, the old boy came out of the auberge, got his tractor out and cleared the snow all the way back to the main road. It took at while at a very sedate pace.

In reply to RichieBizzle:

AFAIK it's a summer line.

Some topos here

http://passe-murailles.org/topos/vrac/02.Hautes-Pyrenees/03.Luz-Gavarnie/in...

I have only done the classic north face and attempted one of the shorter mixed lines in the Munia (were turned back by a huge plug of unconsolidated snow), aside from that, I have only climbed frozen waterfalls in the area.

I also remembered this:
http://www.camptocamp.org/routes/57327/fr/pene-blanque-de-troumouse-couloir...

But your best bet is getting a copy of Francois Mousel's book

http://www.roc-et-glace.fr/images/vignettes/livres/courses_mixtes.jpg