How to get there:
A big, modern 4 lane Hwy. runs north from Leon, it is named AP-66. Exit at Campumanes
and drive the much smaller, paved road back up the valley to the highest village
named Turiza de Arriba. There is a large parking area at the lower end of this charming
old mountain village. This is the trailhead, location N43.02744, W005.91763, elevation
near 1230 meter.
See here For a quick summary of the peaks climbed on this trip.
Route::
There are signs for 2 different routes to the refuge, named Meicin located at about 1530 meter.
The rightmost is the summer route, the winter route is more avalanche safe. From near the
refuge, a climbers trail (no markings) heads uphill north-west to reach a key col
named Forqueta de Portillin at about 2050 meter. From this col, you will see the summit directly
across. The route turns left and traverses the left slope (south side) of the high valley.
It is easy to see that the route will contour (and climb) to reach a big, wide scree gully that
tops out at another small col on the main crest.
This section is best to climb staying all the way left next to the rock, in the beginning, then
cross over right atr the very upper part to complete the ascent to the col.
From here, descend slightly and traverse around
to reach easier terrain that gradually turns into a very gentle, final slope to the summit.
The summit is marked with a small cairn.
It is a short extra trip across to the more pointed north summit. This one being a little
lower than the south summit.
Comments:
I left Leon after breakfast shortly after 0800. A pleasant morning drive got me to
the charming village of Turiza around 0930. I needed to change and prepare for the
hike and was ready to walk around 0950. There is a pretty good trail ascending to
the key col, however it is not marked and it is less clear on the lower slope just above the
refuge. Higher up, it zig-zags to reach the col. A complete change of scenery, you
leave green grass behind and gaze across an upper mountain valley filled with
snow (June 21st.) and rocks. The route is pretty clear and a climbers trail continues
more or less all the way. I realized that I would need to cross several snow slopes
steep enough that care was needed. Fortunately, the surface was soft enough for
me to make steps that were safe. From this upper col, the rest is pretty easy, you
curve around a couple of corners then ascend to easier ground.
I was up by 1235, so 2:45 up, spending some time on careful snow slope crossings.
Very nice, but some smaller clouds kept disturbing the views. The view gradually
improved, I spent 25 minutes on top.
I next descended back down to the refuge, quite a surprise as I met another climber
in the middle part of the scree gully. He was happy to see my footsteps across the
snow! I was back down at the refuge in 1:30. A well deserved cerveza was definitely
in order. After 15 minutes, I continued back down to my car - only 25 more minutes.
