Trip Report Northern Sierra Circuit 27th-29th Jan 2008

[Tinkerbell]

We drove up through the town of Guear-Sierra and followed the narrow road 6km up the Genil valley to the trailhead at Vegueta de Caracol. Here we took the Vereda de Estrella path on the south side of the Rio Genil until we turned off after 5km to the Puente del Burro. Up to this point the path was full off day trippers making the most of a sunny Sunday afternoon. From this point on, for us though, we would see no other person for the next 3 days! The path nicely graded path zig-zagged upwards up the steep hillside in front of us. We turned off left before the Cucharacha refugio and followed the faint track uphill. At 1900m we turned off leftwards contouring NE towards the head of the Rio Vadillo. Patches of snow and ice made the path difficult at times.

Having crossed the Rio Vadillo we had a tiring ascent of 500m up grassy slopes leading to the Pe?a Partida hut. The ascent had taken 6hrs and involved 1150m ascent.

The hut is surprisingly roomy and comfortable, one of the better unmanned ones in the Sierras. Plenty of floor space for the 7 of us. The hut got quite warm with 3 stoves constantly on the go melting snow and preparing meals. The hut is situated on a broad plateau NW of Puntal de los Cuartos. It gives fine views south to the Sierra Nevada main ridgeline.

The morning brought cold temperatures, which combined with a strong wind, meant a high windchill. We walked SE from the hut gaining height gradually up the ridge of the Loma de los Cuartos. The snow had an icy surface crust and soft powder below. At times it was very frustrating walking. Towards the top the ridge narrowed and some sections were a little precarious in the strong winds, which constantly blew spindrift into our faces. After 2.5 hours we reached the peak of Puntal de los Cuartos (3158m). This gave fine views south along the main ridge. The sense of remoteness and isolation here is quite profound.

We headed south along the entertaining and narrow crest to the Pico de la Justica (or Atalaya) 3135m and then descended very quickly on steep snow slopes to the Collado de las Buitreras 2950m. From here we contoured round the eastern side of the Pico del Cuervo to reach the ridgeline at the Collado de Vacares. Here we made camp just west of the ridgeline in a shallow dip somewhat protected from the fierce winds. The views of the north faces of Alcazaba and Mulhacen dominated the scene. During the night the winds kept up and then at midnight dropped competely. The temperatures dipped to -15 below zero as we spent a very cold night. In the morning the inside of the tents, tentpoles had frozen as had water and boots!

We set off back to "civilisation" returning back via the Prado de la Mina, Cucharacha hut, Puente del Burro and Verada del Estrella. Almost 5hrs of descent, soft snow and nearly 2000m downhill had the old legs straining. We celebrated an enjoyable trip with a "all you can eat" Chinese in Granada!

Photos can be seen at http://www.spanishhighs.co.uk/northern-s...index.html