Sleeping under the stars on the peaks of the Sierra Neveda

Traversing the peaks of the Sierra Nevada range on foot - June 2019

The idea for this trip was born during a four day hike in the Julian Alps (more on that trip here)  where Martin and I met a British fellow who strongly recommended trekking in the Sierra Nevada. It was supposed to be very beautiful, rugged and devoid of people. Generally speaking the Sierra Nevada is a range of peaks between 3000m and 3500m with a sheer drop of more than 1.000m to the north and a gentler slope to the south. An interesting feature of the range is that the peaks are close to one another and that passes between them are only a few hundred meters lower than the mountains themselves.

So when it came to planning a trek for 2019 we picked up the idea and found ourselves in the stunning city of Granada in southern Spain in sweltering early summer heat. The plan was to take a Bus to Guejar Sierra at the foot of the north face of the Sierra and to hike into the mountains through Arroyo del Ahori. Then up and over more and a dozen 3.000m plus peaks including the highest mountain in mainland Spain - the Mulhacen. We would decend at the other end of the range to the ski resort of Pradollano and take the bus down the main road back to Granada. As one can gather from this paragraph planning such a trip on paper does tell you very little about how the actual terrain will be, whether that blue line on the map is actually a viable water source and how you deal in the face of real obstacles that look tiny on a map.

Day 1 - Guejar Sierra to Loma de Maitena

After meeting in Granada (700m n.n.) late at our day of arrival and more or less going right to sleep in a scrappy little hostel we took the bus to Guejar Sierra (1.100m n.n) the next morning at where on the trail before noon. Only a few kilometers in the weight of our 15kg backpacks (as there are no resupply stops on the route we took we had to carry food and gear for five days) became noticeable in the more than 30 degree C weather. As the trail headed into the foothills of the range we were looking forward to the temperatures dropping higher up. This first day let us along the river Genil and then out of the valley and up to a small plateau at 2.500m n.n. We spent the night in a small shelter we found up there. Looking towards the north and the black wall we know that the next day would bring us into the proper mountains of the Sierra.

Day 2 - Down to the Arroyo and into the mountains

Day 2 started with a loop somewhat away from the main range that brought us into the Arroyo de Ahori, a steep valley leading up to the first 3.000m peak of the trip. The valley was reached at around lunch time and we spend the rest of the day climbing from 1.800m n.n. up to 2.700m n.n.. During planning we had noticed a small cirque at the top of the Arroyo just below the actual ridge surrounded by 300-400m high walls to three sides on the maps. The place that we reached in the real world was what I had expected and more. A 300m wide almost flat area with cliffs towering over it, a fresh water supply and some leftover snow. We did not set up our tents but simply slept under the open sky with only a few iberian ibexes for company.

Day 3 - Bagging peaks

Climbing out of the cirque the next day we reached the Puntal de Juntillas (3.146m n.n.) and had made the actual ridge connecting the high peaks. The landscape up there a moonscape of broken rock with spots of white snow and circular blue lakes. We spent the day walking and scrambling from one peak to the next with only a small snow field and the one part of the ridge with a bit of exposure posing some difficulty (not taking into account the altitude and the heavy packs though). We slept next to a small lake 250m below the ridge to the south this night content with our progress and the accuracy of our planning so far.

Day 4 - The Alcazaba incident and Mulhacen

During breakfast on the morning of Day 4 we reviewed what was in store for that day: First we had to get up La Alcazaba, then down to the seven lagunes and then up and over Mulhacen - the highest point of our trek and mainland Spain for that matter. We packed our stuff and started the climb back onto the ridge and looked towards La Alcazaba - which means fortress in Spanish. How we would get up the last 300m of altitude was definitely not obvious from our point of view. The planned route would take us a bit into the north face and up through couloir with tons of loose rocks and exposure. The alternative would be a diversion to the south over steep scree and then through a weakness in the wall which was full of snow. Pick your poison...

After two hours of looking and trying we actually lost sight of each other and with no cell signal were unable to rejoin - rookie mistake. The end of the story was that Martin found a way around which led him to the seven lagunes while I went up the planned route over the peak of Alcazaba (which was terrifying in the loose and steep terrain to say the least - some research later did show that this route is to be avoided during the summer to the rocks not being frozen solid).

After reuniting at the seven lagunes and telling each other the heroic ways we defeated “the fortress” we climbed up another few hundred meters of elevation to the high point of the trip - Mulhacen. From there we descended to the bivvy hut used by people climbing up Mulhacen from the other aka normal side. In this bivvy we met the first other persons we had seen in four days - in the middle of Europe mind you.

Day 5 - The last peak and a look back

After the adventures of the last day the last part of the trek was tame in comparison. Following some well maintained walking trails we first halfway walk around our last peak the Veleta and then up it in quite strong winds. From the Veleta the view back did allow us to see almost all the peaks we traversed during the last few days.

Walking down towards Pradollano the temperature rose with every meter of altitude lost and we started to encounter more and more people. Upon reaching Granada with the Bus from Pradollano we spend the last night going from tapas bar to tapas bar and trying out tons of dishes without any regard to the calories that might be in fried stuff and spanish sausage.

In summary the guy we met in Slovenia was right: Trekking the Sierra Nevada was an awesome experience. But if you do not want to take my word for it just look at the pictures. The route we took was almost perfect - just note that La Alcazaba somewhat cuts the ridge into two parts with the peaks north-east of that mountain being even more remote than the other side.

Here is our route for reference:

Adventurers: Martin and Bengt