Avalanche Risk

The first snow has fallen on the Pyrenees and it will not be long before the winter season starts.

I like to attend this annual training day on avalanche risk. The event put on in Toulouse, is at the start of November and I find the day a great way to prepare before the start of the winter season proper. This year, the day was hosted by the FFME, the French Mountain and Climbing Federation, in Toulouse. Last year the event was also in Toulouse but hosted by Meteo France.

The main speaker was Francois Sivardière, technical consultant on avalanches to the FFME and a former director of ANENA, Association National pour l'Etude de la Neige et des Avalanche (1994 - 2007).

The talks, including some more practical sessions about route choice, covered skills and knowledge familiar to me from my training as an International Mountain Leader, but were a valuable refresher about a subject which is crucial when looking after groups in the winter environment.

Other venues for this traing day: Chambéry/Aix les Bains (20 November), Paris (4 December) and Munster (11 December 2010). Further details here.

ANENA also run Avalanche Risk Training days. Grenoble (4 December) and Paris (11 December). Further details here.

Soulcem Valley

The Soulcem Valley, in the Ariege, is an impressive 'U' shaped valley carved by a glacier during the last ice age 10,000 years ago. The flat, fertile valley floor has been the high, summer pasture for sheep, cattle and Merens horses for centuries.

 The yearly movement of animals to the higher, richer pasture in summer, is called 'la transhumance' in French. The term derives from the Latin trans 'across' and humus 'ground'. Although less important now than in the past with the decline of agriculture, there are farmers who still move their animals to the higher Soulcem Valley each June, the animals staying until October .

The large number (15 or so) of dry stone shelters with a turf roof, or orris, is evidence of the importance of the valley as summer pasture in the past.

It is in these very simple shelters that the shepherds would have stayed, amongst the animals, to watch over them. The Orris de Carla, just above the lake created by the Soulcem dam, were used as recently as 1968. Two modern shelters have been built for the use of the shepherds now.

My last visit to the valley was at the height of summer and it was crowded with people. This time there was no one and I had the whole valley to myself. I made my way up the valley on one side of the river, ascended to the Médécourbe Lake and then returned the other side of the river.

High above the lake is the Pic Médécourbe which is unusual in that it is where the borders of  France, Spain and Andorra meet. On the summit it would be possible to hop in and out of the three countries. Today the summit  was out of the question with the snow cover. An idea for next summer!     

1% for the Planet

This week Pyrenees Mountain Adventure became a proud member of 1% for the Planet.

This not for profit organistion was started in 2002 by Yvon Chouinard, founder and Managing Director of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies. It is a growing, global movement of companies that donate 1% of their sales to environmental organizations worldwide.

By 2009 the 1% for the Planet community numbered 1200 members in 38 countries. In total, over $50 million of critically needed funds has been given to non – profit environmental groups.

Members contribute one percent of revenues directly to any of the approved non-profit environmental organisations in 1%’s network. Non-profits are chosen based on referrals, track record and environmental focus. Over 1,600 non-profits worldwide are included in the 1% program.

“The shared belief that you can do well as a business by doing the right thing with respect to the environment is clearly apparent.” Terry Kellogg, Managing Director, 1% for the Planet.

To learn more about 1% for the Planet visit www.onepercentfortheplanet.org

"The idea of wilderness needs no defence, it only needs defenders" Edward Abbey

"Do something for wild places and wild creatures" John Muir

Autumn Colours

During a recent autumn walk in the Galbe Valley, there were the yellows, golds and browns of the tree leaves, but it was not the only colour I found.

Autumn Croci (Crocus nudiflorus)

Browning grass

Cotton Grass (Eriophorum)

Snow Gentian (Gentiana nivalis)

There are more photos of autumn colours here.

Megalithic Art and a Mouflon!

In late October, I revisited a favourite valley of mine - the Galbe Valley, which begins near the village of Espousouille or Espolla. There are several small lakes at the end of the valley which is dominated by the Pic Baxouillade (2546m).

Pic Baxouillade

Having seen a fox near to one of the lakes, I made my way out of the valley towards the Camporells Lakes and the refuge there. On route, I wanted to find the Engraved Stones (Peyra Escrita in Catalan.) Some say that there are engravings on the rocks that date from the Magalithic Period (4000 BC)

I found 2 large blocks of stone with  flat tops. They appeared like large stone tables. I could have sat down by either stone and eaten from it.  Unusually, they were not covered with lichen as were other rocks nearby. The smooth surfaces of both the rectangular blocks were indeed engraved.

There were many names and dates that were very modern, but some of the names and particularly some of the shapes looked much older.

Perhaps the older engraved names are those of shepherds who would have spent the summer months in the area tending their flocks. As for the shapes and signs?

The cold night was spent camped by the Estany del Mig. In the morning I could see ice had begun to form on the lake.

Estany del Mig. The view from the Refuge des Camporells

I returned to Esposolla by a path that allowed me to look down on the valley where I had been the day before. While descending I saw some prints in the snow on the path. Shortly afterwards I came across a mouflon - a type of wild sheep. It was a male with the characteristic horns. The thick horns curl almost in one complete revolution.

Galbe Valley

Mouflon prints

 There are more photos of the rock engravings here.

The Merens – Black Prince of the Ariege.

The Merens or Merenguais is a small, black horse, originally found in the Ariège valley, in the Eastern Pyrenees. It is the Ariege village of Merens-les-Vals, that gives the horse its name. It is an ancient breed, and closely resembles the horses painted on the walls of the Niaux cave, near Tarascon-sur-Ariège,13 000 years ago.

 

Given the mountainous terrain of its native land, it is no surprise that the Merens is surefooted and hardy with good endurance and agility. The Merens horse has long been a companion to the "Montagnol" (mountain farmer), the horse being comfortable working on steep slopes. It was also used in mining, forestry and the army. In the Middle Ages, the famous Count of Foix, Gaston Phoebus, had Merens horses in his army, and later Napoleon made use of them during the Russian campaign.

Originally the Merens would have spent all year in the mountains. Now, in June, the herds move up from the lower valleys to spend 5 months in the high summer pastures, roaming in a semi-wild state.

While Merens horses are increasingly bred in other regions of France and even other countries, an authentic Merens is one who has run free in the high Pyrenees like his ancestors thousands of years ago.

Each 3rd week in August at Bouan in the Ariege, there is the National Merens Day with over 200 Merens horses on show.

Lovely Lichen

As summer turns to autumn there are less and less flowers in bloom but still plants of interest to find in the mountains. In the forest, various lichens can be found. Lichen is pronounced LIE-ken and is from the Latin word lichen, a kind of plant.

A lichen is a plant composed of an algea and a fungus in a symbiotic relationship. This means a relationship where both parts are reliant on each other. The function of the algae in the relationship is to provide the food for the lichen. This is done through photosynthesis. The fungus, having no chlorophyll, cannot manufacture its own food, but can absorb food from the algae. The fungus is responsible for providing the structure to the lichen, enwraping the algea completely, providing protection from the sun and moisture. 

Lichens are a food source for animals and humans, can be used to make perfume and produce dyes, and provide a source of primitive antibiotics. Lichens are also used in flower displays and in model railway landscapes to represent trees and shrubs.

On a recent walk in the Planès valley, I found several lichens in the forest.

Pixie Cups (Cladonia fimbriata).

Pixie Cups (Cladonia fimbriata)

The cup is where the spore-like soredia reside. The lichen need the spore-like soredia to be scattered for the lichen to grow. The next generation of Pixie Cups will not grow until the soredia connect with the host algae, Pleurococcus on the ground near the site. When they enter the symbiotic relationship, the Pixie Cup will grow again in the new location.The soredia are dispersed by raindrops landing in the cup or by the action of the wind blowing in the cup and creating a vortex. 

It is said that Pixie Cups were valued by the Eskimos who used them as wicks in their blubber oil lamps. The lichens would be floated in the oil and then lit. 

Old Man's Beard (Usnea filipendula)

Old Man's Beard (Usnea filipendula)

Old Man's Beard is sensitive to air pollution especially sulphur dioxide. It contains Usnic acid which is a potent antibiotic. This combined with the hairlike structure resulted in the use of this lichen to treat surface wounds. It is also high in Vitamin C. The lichen does not feed on the tree and causes no harm. The tree is just a host.


Tree Moss (Pseudevernia furfuracea)

Tree Moss (Pseudevernia furfuracea)

Tree Moss grows on the bark of furs and pines. It is used in the perfume industry and has been found inside Egyption mummies. The lichen does not feed on the tree and causes no harm. The tree is just a host.

For more information about lichen, see the British Lichen Society or British Lichens.

'The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness'

John Muir