Mine de Mail de Bulard from Luentein

After a couple of cloudy days better weather tempted us into the mountains again, this time to visit the mines below Mail de Bulard, nicknamed the maneater.

An exceptionally rich seam of silver bearing zinc and lead was discovered at the top of Mail de Bulard in 1868.

Nine workers were employed to build the barracks with dormortories and canteen, with the necessary materials being transported by donkey from the valley. A forge was also built on site. A further twenty-two workers constructed the 600 m of access way across the face to reach the coveted seam in the middle of the wall. A single wire acted as a handrail and each year, more than 150 miners worked the mine. Mining began in 1901. The shifts were 10 hours long with two days off a fortnight and mining was only possible from April until October.

Miraculously, only 3 people fell from the mountain including the blacksmith, but those wounded in the galleries, accidents from blasting, etc were not recorded. The extraction was done on six levels between 2500m and 2700m and the ore, first evacuated by the "Decauville" system (rails and trolleys) ended up being transported by cables and skips to Bocard d'Eylie far below at 900m. Between 1901 and 1919 more than 60,000 tons of mountain were removed. to work in the mine de Bulard, the most famous in all the Pyrenees was the best paid but also the most dangerous. Lead poisoning killed many. In August 1919, the man-eater was closed.

We started from above Luentein and after traversing through old beech forest a long series of zigzags got us above the tree line.

Looking down on the zigzags

We continued to climb more gradually and on making the Cap d'Espallau we finally emerged from the clouds.

Valier and satellites behind La Montagnette and Pic de Cornave

The climb to come with Mail de Bulard dominating the green crete de Mont Ner

A path at a comfortable gradient made pleasant work of the Crete de Mont Ner and eventually we joined the route of the cableway from the mine to Eylie, with abandoned and toppled pylons. More zig zags before traversing left into the cirque that contains some persistent snow and the mine.

Eylie far below with Pic de l'Har ane Pic de la Calabasse in the distance

The cirque with the mine

The face that was mined still festooned with cables

One of the higher mine openings at the far side of the face

After crossing the scree and reaching the old barracks we had our lunch behind the canteen. A couple of cavers had set up camp opposite and we watched them set off across the face and disappear into one of the first mines.

Starry saxifrage

The descent was hot and susie and I both got burned in the sun and wind. A grand day 1120m ascent and 15km.

telephoto shot of two walkers descending the narrow north ridge from the summit

 

Tour de Pic Nerrasol

It seemed like the rain and storms would never stop, but then suddenly the heat arrived!

A trip was planned to somewhere outside of the Couserans for a change and with an early start we headed for L'Hospitalet pres d'Andorra. As the name suggests very close to Andorra and about 90 mins from us. A beautifully hot day and all new scenery. We were glad for the early start as by the afternoon the heat was energy sapping.

Once we'd escaped the traffic noise from the road to Andorra we followed a hanging valley passing several dammed lakes which after the months of rain and despite the droughts of recent years seemed almost full. Orchids carpetted the hillsides.

We stopped for an early first lunch at Estanh de Pedorrés, where baby trout nibbled at our toes in the cool water. From here we turned southwest to make the col at Porteilla du Sisca (2440m).

Rocky bluffs below Pic de Nerrasol

Etang du Siscar overlooked by Pic d'Escobes 2746m

From the Porteilla a new view opened into the Siscar valley with Etang du Siscar below - our second lunch spot.

Pic de Regalecio dominates the Porteilla 

The Etang de Siscar has an old dam either partially completed or later demolished as it only stretches halfway.  A gentle descent through a reedy wetland eventually leads to another dammed lake before a steep descent to eventually complete the loop. 15km and about 1000m of ascent

The emblematic Pyrenean Lily

 

Tea towels all done!

 

Sommet de Bizourtouse 2001m

Poor weather (wet, cloudy or stormy) has predominated this summer so we haven't got out into the hills much at all. Sheri has a broken toe which is starting to heal, so today we looked for a shortish walk (10km and 700m height gain) in a location we hadn't been to. Port de Saleix is col that features on many of our regular hikes, but we've never ventured beyond it to the east where there is some interesting karst scenery.

Looking East from the Port de Saleix

Descending from the Port de Saleix

From the col we descended beneath some large limstone towers before rising into a hidden cirque to the east ot Girantes.

Limestone towers defending the cirque

A rising path eventually reaches a col with views to the Port de Lhers and Etange d'Arbu and on a day without low cloud Pic des Trois Seigneurs. From here a steep muddy path climbs to the rather flat and featureless top of Sommet de Bizourtouse. On a clearer day there would be good views towards Pic Rouge de Bassies.

The col with Pic des Trois Seigneurs in the cloud

East side of Girantes - the ridge on the right would make an interesting way to the summit 

Vulture

Chough

 

Hay

Last weekend Susie was away for four days running a choreography workshop and it coincided with the only three consecutive days of sunshine so far this summer. So once the rain of the previous few days had dried it was time to launch into hay making. Despite having repaired and prepared the haycutter, after 10 minutes it had broken. I rigged the same temporary repair I had made the previous year and managed to cut about half the hay before it broke again. I couldn't find a suitably sized bolt to make another repair but fortunately Nat our neighbour came to the rescue. He had suitable bolts in his workshop and helped me fashion a repair (having already cut his hay). Another couple of breakages followed but by 6pm all was cut. It may be the last year for this old equipment.

The following day was hot and I turned the hay all day. At 5pm I put it into winrows with the newly acquired andaineur (about 45 years old) then set to bailing with the notoriously tempermental 60 year old bailer. Amazingly after a few duff bails it worked faultlessly and by 8.45pm all was bailed. It had been a long day but before bed I stacked the 125 bails in little stacks of 5 or 6 to keep the worst of the dew off.

Sunday was another hot day. It took until noon for the dew to evaporate from the once again scattered bails, then most the afternoon to transport them 18 at time in a trailer from the field to the barn. Winter feed secure for another year.

Worrying noises from the tractor and it is pretty clear that I have a knackered clutch thrust/release bearing. It's a cheap part to replace but a costly install as the engine has to be separated from the clutch/gearbox. Is it too big a job to do myself? I don't have an engine hoist or a press, so maybe so.

The sheep were let loose in the big hay field for the first time this year which they seem to be enjoying. The grass in the parts which weren't cut is too high for the sheep to see over, so they stick very close together so as not to get lost.

Having managed to move the sauna in through one upstairs window, next was the job of moving the old cast iron bath out of the other upstairs window. I had found the cast iron rolltop bath in the field in front of the house when I arrived in 2005 and refinished the enamel and fashioned a cradle for it, as the old legs had been knocked off. 

It lived under the dining table on wheels for many years, then when I enlarged the house, I hoisted it onto the partially built first floor and into the new bathroom before the house was complete. 

After many years use the enamel is truly knackered and it was time to retire it. The bath weighs about 200kgs and getting down the stairs seemed fraut with difficulties and possible accidents! So the options were to hit it with a sledge hammer and remove it in parts or get it out of the bathroom window intact. The bath is useful for washing fleeces so we opted for the window extraction. 

The only way of attachment was to thread a rope through the central plughole and the overflow hole. Suspended like this the bath would hang at right angles to the rope. Unfortunately to go the window the bath had to be parallel to the rope...and this was the main cause of worry - the point at which the bath would rotate uncontrollable and exert a sudden shock load on the pulley system attached to a heavy oak door post (set into concrete during the house construction). The new bath arrived midway through the defenestration and fortunately the delivery driver was keen to help us. It was reassuring to have another set of muscles on hand, just in case. In the end all went without mishap. The new bath weighing only 45kgs and being somewhat smaller went up the stairs (once the handrails had been removed) with just Susie and I doing the grunt work.

Project tea towel

 

sheep shearing

After the successive heatwaves and droughts last summer and then a very dry and hot March and April this year we were very worried about our meadows. The clay soil was baked hard and fissured, there were too many bare patches and nothing seemed to be growing. Fortunately May and June have been incredibly wet and although things are late this year, everything seems to be doing better now. We've kept the sheep off the meadow in front of the house since March which has also helped. It's now full of the usual diversity of grasses, orchids and other wild flowers. The rattle has spread in the dry conditions, so there is a little more of that than usual.

The wet conditions have made sheep shearing less easy. The sheep have to be confined to the bergerie for 48 hours so their fleeces can dry out. Our first shearer cancelled at the very last moment so the sheep were released. Finally we found another shearer and today the 24 sheep were sheared. Our new shearer is Chrystelle from Erp who has done a fantastic job. In the afternooon she went to shear Jerome's 42 tarasconaise at La Coste and I helped as Jerome was without his usual helper. The tarasconaise are huge compared to our ouessants so all in all it was quite a physical day.

Our flock waiting for their haircuts

Volucella bombylans

Volucella bombylans or the bumblebee hoverfly...a convincing bee imitator, only on closer inspection it only has one pair of wings, its eyes are too large and its mouthparts too short.

Pic de Crabere

With thunderstorms and very heavy rain and hail every afternoon, Sheri, Michiel, Susie and I decided to try and get out and up a mountain in the morning ahead of any storms. Pic de Crabere above the Etang d 'Ayes had yet to be summited by us and seemed a suitably short day out. 

The piste forestière de Mont Ner which gives access from the Etang Bethmale is only open from the 1st of June. This greatly shortens the approach.

One of the cascades feeding the Etang d'Ayes

Looking down on the Etang d'Ayes

It's not a commonly climbed peak and there wasn't much information on the best route of ascent, certainly no paths. From most sides it's very steep grass and bilberry with rock outcrops. The north ridge looked promising so we left the GR10 just before the col and took the path leading to Etang de Bellongue. After a 100m or so we left the path and started a rising traverse looking a for a suitable place to make the North ridge. We climbed too soon and a very steep and slightly slippery slog eventually put us on the summit. Which has surprising good views.

Great views towards Pic de Barlonguère

From the summit the north ridge dropped to a col from where a simple path lead to the Etang de Bellongue. this would have been a very simple ascent!

Etang de Bellongue with Pic de Crabere behind. We climbed straight up the middle of the face.

Reflections in the lakes

By the time we reached the Etang d'Ayes once more the hailstorm started. fortunately it was only 45 minutes or so back to the car which we reached before the thunder started. 8km and about 640m of ascent.

Medium spotted Woodpecker

Starting to get the hang of the new camera....still lots to learn!