Area: French Pyrenees
Walk: Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube - Hourquette d' Ossoue (2,734m) - Refuge Bayssellance - Grottes Bellevue - le Pont de Neige - Oulettes d'Ossoue - Barrage d'Ossoue - Cabane de Lourdes - Cabane de Sausse-Dessus - Gavarnie
Distance: 14.25 miles 2,100ft ascent
With: Exodus trekking group
Conditions: Overcast to start, clearing to blue sky and sunshine by midday. Windy on the climb to the col
Comment: The time does not include the 2 hour stop / rest at the Refuge Bayssellance while we waited for some members of the group to ascent Petit Vignemale
Time: 8 hours 45 minutes
Sunrise
...but the cloud is down
Looking back down on Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube as we head for
Hourquette d' Ossoue
Higher still, the refuge can still be made out (bottom left) and
Lac de Gaube comes into view
Heading for Hourquette d' Ossoue
The Glacier du Petit Vignemale
Hourquette d' Ossoue (2,734m / 8,968ft) The highest col on the GR10
Looking down on Refuge Bayssellance. We spent a couple of hours
in the refuge while some of the group ascended Petit Vignemale (3,032m)
Petit Vignemale with Hourquette d' Ossoue on the right
Its a long way down, over 4,500ft in total from the col to Gavarnie
Looking back up the zig-zags
le Pont de Neige
The cloud starts to break up
Crossing the snow
Looking down on Oulettes d'Ossoue
Vignemale from our lunch stop near Barrage d'Ossoue
On the long contouring path along the side of the valley with Soum
Blanc de Secugnat ahead
Looking back to Vignemale
Soum Blanc de Secugnat (2,577m) on the left and Pimene (2,801m)
on the right
The view down the valley
Spectacular views
A last look back to Vignemale
Descending towards Gavarnie
Pimene
Looking down on Gavarnie
A glimpse of the Cirque de Gavarnie and la Grande Cascade, a 423m
/ 1,400ft waterfall, from near our campsite