I first saw the Pic du Midi d'Ossau over 20 years ago at the end of a short family hike in the Pyrénées and it made a big impression on me. Most mountains are really just big hills that can be easily walked up but this looked like a real mountain that required technical climbing. It was a lot higher and more spectacular than the surrounding mountains.
Now I'm living nearby and, of course, have to climb it. Its distinctive profile is visible from Pau and it dominates most of the Ossau valley. The easiest route up is a proper alpine route graded PD (Peu Difficile or 'a little bit difficult') with three technical pitches where a rope is often used (sometimes just for the descent). It's an hour and a half's drive away and can be climbed in a longish day or you can stay overnight at a refuge to reduce the strain. I choose the single day approach but (typically) set off a little later than I intended.
The result was that when I arrived at the first technical pitch there were already a couple of parties roping down it. When you're climbing without a rope you really don't want to be bumping into other climbers, so I let them clear the pitch before I set off. The climbing was interesting and steep enough but pretty straightforward and on excellent rock. Eventually the angle eased and there was a fairly dull scree section before the rocky summit where I joined three Spanish climbers for an extended lunch with a view. The summit is pointed and at 2,884 meters (around 9,500 feet) there are great views in all directions.
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| The summit! |
Of course, what goes up has to come down again, and I descended by the same route, passing a couple of parties in the process. Once I was below the technical climbing I could relax and I realized I was pretty tired. By the time I was back at the car I was about as tired as I've been after a day's climbing but glad I'd finally got round to climbing the Pic du Midi d'Ossau!
A few pics.
