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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3072 |
7th March 2017 Hiking - Walking: Parque Natural De Sierra Nevada above Pampaneire Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny and warm Max Speed: Distance Covered: Tuesday 7th March – Hike ***** Parque Natural De Sierra Nevada above Pampaneire – sunny and warm:) Good night in our lay-by high up in a valley just outside Trevelez with only the odd passing car. Woke with the sun shining on the snowy covered mountains opposite but it took ages for the sun to make it to our side of the valley. Mag was brave enough to do her exercises in the shade with her fleece on in 8 degrees, stunning view though. I waited until I had washed my hair and had breakfast and the sun was on the van at about 9.30 before doing my exercises. We moved on at about eleven with the plan of going to the ski resort of Sierra Nevada via Pampaneira according to our map. We soon reached Trevelez at the end of the valley and there were Jamon (that’s huge bacon/jham legs) shops and factories everywhere which was a little strange as we haven’t seen a pig in our whole time in Spain! All the small towns we passed were pretty with a ham connection and the usual amazing scenery that the Parque Natural De Sierra Nevada is famous for. On the outskirts of Pampaneira there was a turning right to some tourist places but no mention of any ski resort so we headed into the town which was flanked by big snow covered mountains. We found a free carpark with an attendant to show us where to park. There were several coaches here and the first big campervan we had seen in our time in the mountains. We can’t believe there aren’t any as this is perfect camper touring territory. This is one of the first little Spanish towns we have stopped to explore and it was very nice, a little touristy with loads of shops selling brightly coloured locally woven rugs and ponchos. A nice little church which are always locked - unlike France. There were the usual tapis bars with lots of British tourists on a coach trip up from the coast sampling the ham and cheese. The narrow streets were interesting to explore, one even had water running down the middle and there were loads of cats and an artist painting the scene:) There is only so much culture you can take and as we couldn’t find an ordinary shop for a loaf of bread we left and headed back to the tourist route expecting it to take us to the ski resort. The road started off fine winding up and passing through another couple of white painted little towns to a Mirador (a viewing point) where the German camper we had seen in the town had parked and the tarmac road ran out!!! After a quick look at the Mirador we turned onto the dirt road and straight away saw a group of Ibex, females and young, right by the road. We watched them climb up the rocks away from us and then I braved a drive along the mountain dirt track. There were road signs and two options to Recreational Areas (that’s picnic spot to you and me) one 3 km and the other 6.5 km and as the longer one seemed to be heading more towards the snow we took that one and hoped Mag’s nerves would survive the journey. It was a well-used track and for the most part dry if a bit rutted in places but 6.5 km is a long way to bounce up a mountain. The views were top class and you had to pinch yourselves that you were up there! Then after 5.5 km our luck ran out or we thought it had as we reached a shady part where the road was covered in ice and snow, luckily, we had just passed the first spot you could actually park, a flattish area with great views of the snowy mountains one side and down to the Med the other. The only car we had seen up here was in this car park but was just leaving as we reversed down from the snowy part. We soon found a brilliant spot to park in full sunshine, up on the blocks level, and having ham sandwiches for lunch. We relaxed in the warm sunshine for an hour or so before deciding it was time to explore. Snacks packed, gps on we left the van at 2.30 and decided to walk up the road to the actual car park for the picnic area 1 km away to see if it was any better up there. We came across a couple of vehicles parked up the side of the road and as we turned the corner we saw why as the road was nearly completely blocked with snow, 4x4 required here so we definitely couldn’t have got through and a small car had been abandoned in the snow, stuck or just broken down we were not sure but it had been there a few days! We continued through the lovely smelling pines woods and reached the picnic area and small carpark, it had been built completely surrounded by trees with no views of the mountains all around. So who knows why - perhaps it was in the shade to escape the heat of the summer? This was the end of the road which was barriered off with a gate house to let people through in the summer when the snow has melted. We spotted a sign for a walk to another Mirador 1.8 km straight up through the trees following yellow and white markers which we decided to do. It was a job to follow as the path disappeared under snow in places and they were a little sparring with their paint and the markers were few and far between:( We made it out of the trees and were treated to brilliant blue skies with a snowy mountain backdrop. We found a big rock to sit on for a snack. Then we could return down a steep path by the edge of the trees past old stone walled cattle enclosures and some large rocks. We were back at the van after 2hrs 10 mins covering 2.65 miles, starting at an altitude of 6735 and climbing to 7518 and only saw one other young lady hiker. The van was still in the warm 20-degree sunshine so enjoyed the views and were treated to our best sunset of the trip, brilliant firey skies which made the Med sparkle even more and we could see mountains far out to sea which must be Africa! So, another top day – we are sooooo lucky to be able to do this! We found another terrible English radio station (very Alan Partridge) – Central - broadcasting from a ship out to sea near Gibralter apparently, who told as we have several more days of hot weather to come – so fingers crossed. Photo Gallery Here Wednesday 8th March – Relax, travel, shop and walk – sunny and warm :) Fantastic spot to spend the night ten miles up from Pampaneira with not a soul anywhere near, I was a little chilly in the night but put long johns and roll neck on and was fine. Another brilliant day with wall to wall sunshine with the sun getting onto the van at about 9 so I was doing my exercises at ten:) The only sound was the birds and the pine cones popping open in the sun :) Our peace and quiet was eventually broken by a succession of 3 cars bringing hikers up and when they realised the road was blocked with snow, parked in our carpark:( Trouble with Spanish hikers is they talk about it for ages and take about an hour to sort out their rucksacks. The second car in was a couple of young lads who were going to walk up Spain’s largest mountain – Mulhacen 3478m which is just behind us but we thought they had left it late to start not arriving until midday! Then three Spanish hikers arrived with all the gear including ice picks and took absolutely ages to get ready, in the end we got fed up of watching them faff so we packed up and left for Granada looking for a Lidl. The bumpy dirt track was five miles long but it was worth it as the time spent here was brilliant and according to our new Spanish map you can get right through to Sierra Nevada and beyond in the summer when the snow has gone. The scenery remained amazing as we headed down and out of the mountains and we must have passed where I paraglided here in 1998! We soon joined the motorway and whizzed to the outskirts of Granada where we saw a Lidl as we drove past an exit off the motorway but we returned at the next junction and spent 74 Euro’s! We then saw to sign to Spain’s furthest ski resort south Sierra Nevada and headed up the windy dead-end to the resort which looked OK from a distance when we first saw it. As expected the snow is thin on the ground and that funny colour red but all the lifts seemed to be working so we set about looking for somewhere to park. The main town has very little parking, residents only or a large underground carpark but after trying several roads we went up the road which must link to where we were last night and after reaching the no entry sign returned a little way down to the start of the six man Virgen de las Neives lift with a big carpark and fantastic views over the whole resort with several campervans already parked. We found a nice spot as usual away from the crowd and had a late lunch early dinner of Lidl bread and a pate mixture with a red pepper which was very yummy while watching the ski action below:) Revitalised we decided to walk down to the town which was miles downhill to check where to buy lift passes and how much. We soon discovered that the 2017 Sierra Nevada FIS World Championships (freestyleski/snowboard) was in full swing! The resort had looked OK from a distance but now looked decidedly run down on closer inspection with some awful apartment blocks, the usual Spanish graffiti and dog poo everywhere:( That said the pedestrian area at the very bottom was quite nice but was heaving with a lot of young mainly snowboarders in the bars with their tapas. They had a big stage set up and we watched a band do a few numbers but moved off as we were going deaf, must be getting old!!! We found a ticket office in the end and were shocked at the price sadly about 90 Euros for two and that is with a senior discount!!:( We will wait until tomorrow to get one just in case the weather goes but it’s looking good even if the skiing doesn’t look brilliant. We think it’s going to be too busy for us with crazy young snowboarders flying everywhere! Then we saw the largest paella being cooked in a massive pan in the town square and it was free so joined the queue. It was delicious and came with a bottle of local mineral water:) We then had the long walk back to the van as the sun set over the mountains but we were given free Red Bull (one of the sponsors of the event) by two young girls to give us wings:) The whole resort was lit up for night skiing and practise sessions for the competitors on the half-pipe and big air ramp. So, we could sit in our lovely van and watch the action far below with binoculars with a cuppa and finishing off the chocolate biscuits:) We are parked at well over 2000 metres, probably our highest ever! |
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