mardi 3 juillet 2012

Col de Craberous

A day in the mountains. A bit of a late start from the Col de la Core (I left the car at 9.20) but made rapid progress reaching the cabane subera in 1 hour 10 mins. From here I followed the chemin de la liberte (the route taken by locals who guided 782 allied servicemen and women across the border to Spain during WWII). I was undecided whether to climb Pic de Caries (2506m) or to cross the Col de Craberous (2382m) but decided on the later.
Pic de Caries (left) and Pic de Pomebrunet (middle)

On the way I passed the wreckage of a RAF Halifax bomber which crashed here in 1945 killing all on board (it was on a routine training mission but navigation errors and poor visibility led to the catastrophic crash - they thought they were descending to land in Bordeaux).
A winter route I've been eyeing up for some time

The push to the col was steep and I felt unfit but 3 hours 30 mins after leaving the car I was there and it was time for some lunch. The weather was hot and amazingly clear.
The last few metres to the col
Retrospective from the col
Wild flowers on the col

From here I opted to descend on the Milouga side, steeply at first but on a good path before leaving it to traverse under Tuc de la Messe to reach the Col de Crouzette (2237m). An easy descent past the Cabane d'Eychelle and back to Col de la Core. In all 5 hours 45 mins. Tough enough!
Sheep under Tuc de la Messe
Algae in one pool but not the other
Cabane d'Eychelle

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