Ansó, 15 – 16 October
by Isabel Isherwood - 14:19 on 16 October 2016
Inspired by a friend who did the same last weekend, we decided that we should make the most of the good weather before the cold sets in, get out into the mountains. We picked the Refugio de Respomuso for our alpine adventure, a two-hour walk from the road-end to a high valley tucked in between the chaotic serrated peaks of Balaïtous/Balaitús to the north and the Picos del Infierno to the south. These are big mountains, and there are still glaciers here tucked into the high cirques – although the extent of the glaciers is reducing year by year.
Today the first snow of the autumn picked out the shapes and rock formations of the highest peaks, and the pine woods were splashed with flames of turning aspen, rowan and beech. Familiar trees turn quite unexpected colours here – less rain and strong wind, and maybe different soil-types too, turn aspen to a fabulous range of colours from the familiar bright clear yellow through orange and red to a deep aubergine-purple, while rowan, cherry and field maple are flame-red and gold.
The girls were great on the walk, although it is interesting to notice their different approaches to a long walk. Rowan is completely absorbed by the landscape and surrounding habitat; the lower part of the walk was through what she called ‘elf forest’, and as we walked along she described how here an elf might swing across the path on a curving branch, or bathe in one of the river pools in the gorge below us, and how elf-dwellings are hidden cleverly in the trees so unobservant humans can’t see them. She exclaims over clusters of fungi and waterfalls and shafts of sunlight and sees magic everywhere. Iona also talks animatedly all the time, but she is planning things she intends to do when she gets back – craft projects or sewing or reorganising her room; and as she starts to get tired her focus shifts towards the things that irritate her at school and minor injustices that she has suffered or observed. Trying to bring the focus back to our fabulous surroundings I asked her what she liked most about being out in the mountains, and after thinking for a moment she answered ‘setting up camp and getting into the tent and organising everything’.
On this occasion, we were decadent and paid for a refuge rather than carrying camping gear. A decision that we came to regret bitterly, as once everyone was settled into our 14-bed dormitory a man on the bunk below us settled into forceful and rhythmic snoring which continued throughout the night. Jake and I coped by using earplugs (which reduced the snorer’s volume a little but by no means blocked him out), but the girls found earplugs too uncomfortable and barely got any sleep at all.
In the end we overslept (I think because we only really got into deep sleep once everyone else had left the dormitory!) and were woken up by the refuge warden wondering what had happened to us. We can’t help feeling that although it is not the snorer’s fault that he snores, it would have been decent of him to warn the refuge wardens and ask if there was a separate room he could go in. In this case there was plenty of space. But in effect what happened is that he was the only one of fourteen people to have a good night’s sleep!
The next morning was a little overcast but still dry, and we explored the valley and its scattering of lakes before heading back down to the car again. Jake, who is aiming for 40 outdoor swims in his 40th year, managed his 37th swim in the Ibón de Campoplano at about 2200 m altitude. It was a short swim, but he did actually swim – it was so cold up there I couldn’t even bring myself to put a hand in the water, and Rowan, who stuck her arm in to see what it was like, took about an hour to warm up again!
As we left the lake, a lammergeier drifted overhead, deceptively lazy, appearing to move barely a muscle and yet crossing a kilometre or so of valley in less than a minute, and disappearing over the ridge towards France.
Add your comment