Winter walking skills

As I write this in late November it would seem that winter has finally arrived. The fire is on and we’ve had two days of rain which I hope will be falling as snow on the high mountains. All bodes well for some good winter walking at last. So far this season I’ve already experienced a white out and hail storm on a Mulhacen ascent in early November followed by a superb ascent with crisp white snow under a blue sky later that month. The first ascent was miserable, the second one of those days when it was a dream to be in the mountains. For me walking in the under a clear blue sky in snow covered mountains is perhaps the best way to experience the high peaks. Many summer walkers are very wary of setting out in winter and whilst clearly it is more difficult and possibly more dangerous a few basic skills and some common sense means that it can be open to all with reasonable experience and fitness. There is a saying amongst UK walkers that there is no such thing as bad weather only bad gear. To a certain extent that’s true and certainly you need better and more gear for winter than summer walking. Good boots and waterproofs are essential as are enough layers of clothing to keep you warm. One of the main issues in the Sierra Nevada is high wind speed which due to wind chill can dramatically drop the temperatures particularly on exposed ridges and mountain sides. Whilst not as dramatic as in the UK winter days are shorter than in summer so carrying a head torch in your rucksack (along with spare batteries) is useful as are spare gloves and hats Snow and weather conditions vary a great deal from day to day so keeping an eye on the forecast is essential. Whilst on the mountain conditions change quickly, snow moved by strong winds can create areas of ’’wind slab’’ on lee slopes which are often prone to avalanche. Good route planning and navigation skills are more important than at other times of the year. A safe winter route may not be the same as one done in clear summer conditions when following a GPS. For those who want to gain more winter mountaineering experience and learn skills such as safe use of ice axes, creating snow shelters and avalanche awareness in early February together with colleagues at Sierra Nevada Guides I am running a Winter Mountaineering Skills Course. Contact me for more details or see the link from my website.

Winter Mountain Skills Course

Winter Mountain Skills Course

Sierra Nevada Guides run a series of winter skills events in Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountains each winter. The aim is to give mountain walkers the breath of skills and experience necessary to tackle “non technical” mountains. i.e. mountains that can be ascended without the need for ropes and climbing ability.

Winter Skills, Learning the Ropes!

Winter Skills, Building Snow Shelters

These courses cover the following topics:

Walking with crampons;

Walking with snowshoes;

How to use an ice axe to cut steps and to arrest you if you fall down a slope;

Navigation and route planning;

Building emergency shelters and snowholes;

The use of a rope in emergency situations;

The use of avalanche tranceivers;           

Mountain weather;            and

Snowpack analysis.

Winter Skills, Ice Axe Arrest

Because for most people, the course is a holiday we consider it important to make it fun and to have some mountain objectives. For the week long course we aim to ascend mainland Spain’s highest mountain, Mulhacen 3482m from the Refugio Poqueira. The week long course spends 3 nights in a hotel and 4 nights at the Refugio.

The course is headed by Andy Say (IML and MIC) the Chief Officer of Mountain Training England and staffed and supported by IML’s from Sierra Nevada Guides.

For 2015 we are running from 31^st January to 7^th February.  Cost £825, this includes airport pick ups from Malaga Airport, a week of full board accommodation and tuition. All you need to provide are your flights, personal equipment and beer money!

Sierra Nevada Guides will provide any ropes, snowshoes, helmets, tranceivers and snow shovels, though you are welcome to provide your own.

Sierra Nevada Guides

Winter Skills - Relaxation!!

You can read more about walking in the Sierra Nevada mountains in our article winter on UK Hill Walking.

Winter Skills Training in Spain’s Sierra Nevada

Winter Skills Training in Spain’s Sierra Nevada with Sierra Nevada Guides

Winter Skills Course - Mulhacen Summit, 3482m

The Sierra Nevada has the highest mountain in mainland Spain, Mulhacen 3482m. Although it is Europe’s most southerly major mountain chain, it usually has a good covering of snow from December through to March with winter mountaineering  and skiing possible from late November until early May.

This year Sierra Nevada Guides are running a week of winter mountain skills training from 31^st January until 7^th February. 3 nights spent in a hotel and 4 at the Refugio Poqueira at 2500m. The week is being led by Andy Say, Executive Secretary (Chief Officer) of Mountain Training England, assisted by Sierra Nevada Guides.

Winter Skills Course - Descending Steep Ground

Although weather dependent, the proposed itinerary is as follows:

Saturday 31st

Arrive at Malaga Airport

Depart for Lanjaron, optional lunch at Salobrenea (beach bar 10 Euro’s).

Arrive Hotel Alcadima, tour of Lanjaron.

Evening session: Safety and Equipment.

Sunday 1st

Depart hotel around 9am.

Puento Palo for introduction to walking with crampons, snow shoes and ice axe breaking techniques.

Back to hotel for debrief and session discussion re: ascending to Refugio Poqueira.

Winter Skills Course - Learning the ropes!

Monday 2nd

Depart hotel with gear and clothes for 4 nights, 9am.

Walk from Capileira to Refugio Poqueira.

Evening session: Navigation and Route Planning.

Tuesday 3rd

Navigation Practice,  Use of Avalanch Tranceivers,  Building Snow Shelters.

Evening session: Mountain Weather

Wednesday 4th

Putting it into Practice 1 – Rio Seco / Rio Mulhacen

Winter Skills Course - Near Mulhacen's summit

Thursday 5th

Putting it into Practice 2 – A winter ascent of Mulhacen 3482m.

Friday 6^th

Walk out from Refugio to Capileira.  Hotel

Saturday 7^th

Depart for Malaga Airport and Home.

The Cost £825 includes full board accommodation, airport pick up and drop off and tuition throughout the week. You will need your own ice axe and crampons (we have some spares) and winter clothing. We will provide helmets, ropes, snowshoes and tranceivers.  Oh yes, you will also need some beer money!

Full details of the course are on the Sierra Nevada Guides website.

Sierra Nevada Guides are a company of International Mountain Leaders based in Spain's Sierra Nevada.

Walking the acequias of the Alpujarra

Many of us who live in the countryside areas around the Sierra Nevada rely upon the acequia system to bring us much needed water. For those not in the know, acequias are man-made water channels which run throughout the area bringing water to lower agricultural land They are often essential, allowing us to grow fruit and veg., fill swimming pools (perhaps illegally) shower or even wash the car.

Thought to have been fully developed by the Moors when they ruled the area, the system probably reaches further back into history. It seems obvious that digging channels to route water to where it was most needed must have gone on for millennia in order to make the most of what is a precious resource. The system has spread across the whole of the region with hundreds of channels creating a massive irrigation system that feeds the whole of the area. On my hillside alone there are four major acequias channels. The Acequia Alta which ultimately feeds my cortijo, runs directly from the Rio Lanjaron at about 1,400m and traverses the hillside before it finishes above the Tablate gorge about whole 10km from its start. En route, sluices allow the water to be managed and fed down a network of smaller and smaller channels before ultimately watering my lettuce.

When walking in the region most of us will have come across acequias. Often with a path alongside, they can provide relatively easy walking routes along steep hillsides and river valleys reaching into the mountain ranges of the area. Whilst providing easy graded walks, they sometimes have short steep sections where the channel itself will be sent down rock outcrops in order to change the level at which it runs. Sometimes however they give much more dramatic walking as they pass through rather than down an outcrop. If you do come across these sections it seems incredible that the original builders had the skill to create these parts of the system. I must admit I actually seek out some of the more dramatic bits and have found many during my exploration of the area.

Some of the best are actually on the Acequia Alta where about 2km from the river the acequia clings to high cliffs above a vertical drop of about 50m. These sections are unfenced and if crossed when the water is flowing are breathtaking. Another dramatic section is found in the Rio Chillar gorge near Nerja. Here the acequia cuts through cliffs high on the east side of the valley. The ‘’path’’ is about a foot wide and runs around the cliffs as the water channel itself runs through on a narrow tunnel. Even though these sections are fenced they still need a good head for heights.
Perhaps one the most used routes is that through the Monachil Gorge. Here though, you may not know it, the channel is covered for most of its length and the acequia takes you through dramatic natural rock scenery.

The High Sierra road.

One of the more remarkable features of the Sierra Nevada range is the road that traverses the main ridge at around 3,000m. The road, an un surfaced dirt track, is now closed to all traffic, in summer however it is a clear route across the range and is popular with walkers, mountain bikers and occasionally horse riders. The history of the road dates back to 1916 when it was thought that it would be possible to create a link from Granada to the Alpujarra across the mountains. Construction began from the west side of the range and in 1932 a section of the road reached 3,100m on the side of Veleta, the peak high above Granada. This section of road, now surfaced in parts, is still on the ground and is used to service the ski tows and chair lifts on the mountainside. This particular section is also mentioned by Wikipedia as the highest surfaced road in Europe. During the civil war construction stopped and it wasn’t until the mid sixties when the link between Veleta and the south ridge of Mulhacen was opened. Once finished the route was open to all who wanted to venture across what would have been a very dramatic route which could be followed all the way from Granada to Capileira. This high sierra route was popular with drivers and remained open until the late nineties when the Parque Nacional was created and public access stopped. Remarkable as it was in its own right, as well as the road, it was also envisaged that a tunnel would be constructed below Veleta which would be used as a part of the route. Work on the tunnel was started from both sides of the St Juan ridge on the north side of the mountain. The work however was stopped by the onset of the civil war and never restarted after. The eastern entrance to the tunnel is still open and lies in the Coral de Veleta below the path known as the Verdon Superior. The ‘’tunnel’’ is about 50m deep and is often used as a bivouac site by mountaineers. When I first started walking in the Sierra Nevada I bought a copy of what was then the only English guide book to the area. That first edition of ‘’Walking in the Sierra Nevada’’ has a number of routes from the road and describes one route up Mulhacen which involved parking your car at 3,000m and walking the last 400m up the west ridge. It even describes a branch of the road that ran to a parking area on the south ridge itself which would require any intrepid “mountaineer” to walk a kilometre and ascend 75m before reaching the top!

Day walks from Granada

As well as offering a great city break Granada is also ideally based for walking in the Sierra Nevada range. The mountains lie just east of the city and are designated as a Parque Nacional because of their important habitat and landscapes. Walking in the Granada area great at any time of the year and couldn’t be easier to access from the city. Day walks can be arranged to suit a wide range of abilities and interests from rugged 3,000m peaks to low level cool gorge walks. Examples of the walks include Monachil Gorge , a stunning medium grade walk in the magnificent rock gorge of the Rio Monachil. The path clings to the rock face of the gorge, passes through natural rock tunnels and crosses the river on a number of suspension bridges . This is a great adventure for families groups or individuals and can be undertaken at any time of the year. Verada de Estrella. Following the route of an old mine access track we walk into the north side of the Sierra Nevada range. The high mountain scenery of this route is breathtaking with views of the north faces of the three main peaks of the range , Alcazaba , Veleta and Mulhacen. Veleta. High above Granada at 3396m this is the second highest peak in the range yet can be scaled via a non technical walking route from Hoya de Mora just 45 minutes drive from Granada centre. This is a challenging days walking achievable by those with a reasonable level of fitnes. For more information see

The Three Peaks

The Three Peaks

A lot is made in the U.K. of the “3 Peaks” though this means different things to different people.  There is the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge whereby you have to complete a round of Ingleborough, Great Whernside and Pen-y-Gent in under 12 hours and the National 3 Peaks Challenge which is an ascent of Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis, usually in under 24 hours.

Mulhacen's West Ridge seen from The Caldera Refuge

However here in the Sierra Nevada we have our own 3 Peaks Challenge, an ascent of Mulhacen 3482m, Veleta 3394 and Alcazaba 3371m. Some seriously high mountains compared to their U.K. counterparts.

Summit of Mulhacen 3482m

Mulhacen3482m the highest mountain in mainland Spain is named after Mully Hassan the penultimate Arab ruler of this part of Spain.

Veleta 3394m is the 2^nd highest mountain in the Sierra Nevada and 3^rd highest in  mainland Spain (after Aneto 3404m in the Pyrenees). Veleta translates from the old Arabic as The Weather Vane and is clearly seen from The Alhambra Palace in Granada where the Arab Kings resided.

Alcazaba 3371m is the 3^rd highest in the Sierra and joint 4^th / 5^th in height in mainland Spain (Equal with Pico Posets also 3371m). Alcazaba translates as The fortress, aptly named as its most commonly viewed from the North revealing its awesome North Face.

Although it is possible to complete all 3 peaks in a day as a challenge, this would really spoil the enjoyment of a truly great mountain walking experience. We would highly recommend allowing for 3 days in the mountains spending 2 nights at the Refugio Poqueira as the best option for 

completing the Sierra Nevada 3 Peaks.

Near the Summit of Veleta 3394m

Day 1, Alcazaba and to the Refugio Poqueira.

Day 2 Veleta from the Refugio Poqueira.

Day 3 A circuit on Mulhacen returning to the valley.

Sierra Nevada Guides would be happy to facilitate your 3 peaks expedition or include it as part of a weeks walking taking in some of the other great mountains the Sierra Nevada has to offer.

Sierra Nevada Guides are the only qualified British Guides (International Mountain Leaders) living and working in the Sierra Nevada. Details about the guides and their qualifications are listed on the Sierra Nevada Guides website.

Alcazaba 3371m - A very impressive mountain!

If you are planning a visit to the Sierra Nevada, there is much useful information on the Sierra Nevada Guides website and we are always happy to advise on routes and conditions.