I recently did an ascent of Bisaurin on ski’s – a superb peak with brilliant views. It might sound a bit strange, but most of the local skiers will tell you that the ski touring season actually starts in March in the Pyrenees.

Skiing on the main pass to Bisaurin

In March, the avalanche risk gets lower, the snow is in general not too hard and more homogeneous on higher mountains, and the snow quality is suitable for good skiing: you are less likely to find good light powder but the transformed snow can be an excellent surface when it gets a little bit soft during the day.

Bisaurin peak

The Bisaurin peak is the first peak of more than 2500m if you come from the west so it’s a popular summit for hikers and mountaineers. Its ascent is relatively common and easy in summertime, but it gets much harder on winter as its long final steep slop gets totally covered by a snow layer blown by cold winds. No snowshoes, no skis: the only proper way to climb it is by using crampons.  But once on the top, skiing is the fastest and most pleasurable way to get down!

Climbing the steep slope of Bisaurin with crampons

Last Sunday, weather conditions were perfect for ski touring. Too perfect??: My friends Marta and Javi and I were not sure about the best option to choose for a ski touring expedition, because we expected to find too many people on the roads and on the paths. But we were pleasantly surprised when we reached the top of Bisaurin at around 1:00pm: we were alone and we could get advantage of the views and quietness of the place, with good temperature and very little wind.

Marta, Javi and I on top of Bisaurin

The Bisaurin ascent has a 1100m hight gain from the car park to the peak. It is a rather straightforward ascent: although most of the first half is relatively soft and gentle, the second half is very steep and sustained. So many people stop their excursion on the obvious pass that marks the half of the ascent.

The main slope from the pass

The snow was a little hard on Sunday but not icy in general, so we were able to climb quite fast, first with skis and then shoeing our crampons when the slope got too steep and the snow too hard.  Although the very first bit of the descent was a little bit icy, we were able to enjoy a great skiing down to the very bottom of the mountain, until reaching the car.

It was a great success as none of us three had succeed  Bisaurin winter ascent before – stopped by avalanche risk or bad weather conditions. But we are definitively motivated to climb more peaks during the rest of the 2015 ski touring season!