Mont Valier (2)

Took Sophie up Mont Valier yesterday via the Port d'Aula and Petit Valier. A beautiful hot day in Spain and cloudy and horrible in France. Fortunately, most of our walk was in Spain but the contrast of cloud one side of the frontier crest and sun the other made for some spectacular ridge walking. Unusually there was more snow on the southern spanish side than the northern french side.

From the summit there were the usual spectacular views across Spain to Pico Aneto and the Maladeta, to the north was a sea of cloud perhaps 1000ft below us.

We saw just one person during the walk but several marmots, izards and a bearded vulture.

Finding the Port d'Aula on the way back called for map and compass in the poor visibility and the descent to the car at the Col de Pause was in dense mist.

A long day (11 1/2 hours) and about 2000m of ascent.