Walking and Trekking in the Sierra Nevada. Richard Hartley
or the Col de Ciervo. In 1989 an accident here cost the lives of six French mountaineers.
Paso de los Machos on the south side of Cerro de Los Machos where the old road cuts through a small pass (Routes 23, 31, 32). This area is normally heavily loaded with snow in winter, and the path is used as a quick and easy approach from Carihuela to Mulhacén or the Poqueira/Caldera areas. If heading for Refugio Poqueira, a safer descent is via Loma Pua, Pico de Sabinar and cut through the Terreras Azules below Pico del Púlpito.
Barranco de San Juan (Route 23), whose proximity to Hoya de la Mora and low altitude increase the risk to mountain-goers. It’s usually full of wind-blown snow after major snowfalls; there are lots of small localised dangers but a massive avalanche in February 2011 has increased awareness of the potential for large-scale slides here. The main route up Veleta (Route 21) totally avoids the valley.
It goes without saying that good mountaineering and avalanche awareness practices should be observed on all routes in the high mountains. There’s a useful online tutorial at www.avalanche.org; and ‘Be Avalanche Aware’, run by the Scottish Avalanche Information Service, provides a good online resource at www.beaware.sais.gov.uk. However, the above blackspots should always be avoided or bypassed.
Icing
After a southerly front from the African continent passes northwards through the Sierra Nevada there is a rapid rise in temperature followed by a quick return to sub-zero. This turns the Sierra Nevada into a gigantic block of ice where a slip by the tired or inexperienced can have disastrous consequences. In winter 2014 many experienced mountaineers got into difficulties on simple routes and had to resort to assistance from the rescue services.
Sharp crampons and ice axes are essential – along with knowledge of how to use them! Choosing a simpler or less exposed route will lessen the risk.
Winds
Predominantly from the west, these are a constant companion in the high mountains. It’s not uncommon for gusts of over 100km/hr to be recorded in winter – and indeed a winter gust of over 200km/hr was once recorded at an altitude of 2800m.
Progress will be difficult and may well be impossible in winds of over 60km/hr, especially on ridges and in areas where the wind is funneled through passes such as Collado de Carihuela. In addition, when strong, bitterly cold winds arrive from the north the wind chill will be extremely high.
Blizzards
A combination of snow and high winds can turn a relatively gentle outing on an accessible mountain into a life-and-death struggle. It’s important to remember and respect the high altitudes and the sometimes long distances involved in reaching safety. Local mountaineers don’t leave home in these conditions, but if you do happen to get caught out it will help if you’ve done your homework with regard to map, compass, escape routes etc. However, given today’s wealth of online weather resources, such problems should not occur.
Snow bridge collapse
This happens in the spring melt when rivers and streams carve tunnels beneath the valley snows. The unstable snows above look perfectly fine to walk on but can collapse, causing injury.
Water sources
In the spring, rivers and streams gush down the hillsides of the Sierra Nevada, swollen by the snowmelt waters, and there is no problem locating suitable drinking water. In fact water is not an issue until July, when these streams start to dry up and eventually disappear (although after ample snow years some patches of hard snow may remain throughout the summer on north-facing slopes, especially in the Corral del Veleta and on Mulhacén and Alcazaba). In late August, September and until the rains arrive, walkers may have to rely on the lakes for water, taking water from the lake itself if there is no flowing exit stream. The waters of the Sierra Nevada are normally very pure, but the best advice is to use a filter to remove any protozoa, bacteria or cryptosporidium.
An indication as to the location of water sources is given where necessary in individual route descriptions in this guide.
Conoce Tus Fuentes (Know Your Springs) is a good online resource that lists and maps all the springs and water sources in Andalucia (in Spanish): www.conocetusfuentes.com
Weather resources
Tajos Altos from the path traversing east of the summit of Cerro del Caballo (Route 12)
There are many online weather resources available for the Sierra Nevada. The following have been found to be useful in terms of both current and future weather influences.
Spanish Met Office (AEMET)
Specific mountain weather forecasts can be found at www.aemet.es/en/ (from the main menu, select Weather > Forecast > Mountains). Weather Alerts are available from the same site and are also available on the AEMET weather app for iOS and Android.
Others
The Sierra Nevada ski website (www.sierranevada.es/en/) is specifically designed for the ski area but their forecasts and webcams give a good indication of what can be expected in the mountains as a whole.
The Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía has a weather station (Observatario Sierra Nevada, 2880m) that is useful for determining current conditions and trends: www.osn.iaa.es/meteo.
Meteo Exploration mountain forecasts can be found at www.meteoexploration.com. Enter your required mountain summit into the search field. They have various locations in their database, including El Caballo (Cerro del Caballo), Veleta, Mulhacén, Picón de Jérez and Trevenque, as well as Refugio Poqueira and Refugio Postero Alto.
Planning and maps
Don’t expect the same level of accuracy in Spanish mapping that exists, for example, in the UK with Ordnance Survey maps. There are a variety of maps available that are relatively accurate, although you should be on the lookout for possible errors – especially with regard to dirt access roads. In addition, the names and altitudes of some peaks differ across the various maps.
The recommended and most accurate maps are listed below. In this guide, altitudes and nomenclature are standardised as per the Editorial Penibética maps.
Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada 1:40,000 (Editorial Penibética)
Sierra Nevada – La Integral de los 3000m 1:25,000 (Editorial Piolet)
These can be bought from most major retailers such as Stanfords (www.stanfords.co.uk). The Penebética map is also available from www.articodis.com
Open Cycle Map
With the onset of mobile apps to help navigate your way around the world, the standard and accuracy of digital mapping has improved in recent years. Mention must be made of the open source mapping software Open Cycle Map (www.opencyclemap.org) – an online global map based on data from the OpenStreetMap project. This can be a useful resource to download and use on your phone, tablet, computer or indeed GPS.
Using this guide
Information board at the mirador near the start of the route, with Trevenque prominent ahead and the snow-covered Sierra Nevada beyond (Route 16)
Routes are grouped according to access point, starting