Near the summit of Pic du Midi d'Ossau with a sea of clouds below

Pic du Midi d’Ossau is one of the iconic peaks of the French Pyrenees. It´s a fantastic looking mountain with rocky walls guarding each of it’s twin peaks. The ‘via normal’ is a pretty exciting scramble to the summit and another route I’ve been longing to do for ages.

Fabien at the top of the first chimney

Pic du Midi d'Ossau - the 'via normal' heads along the right hand ridge

We made an early start and although it was lovely and sunny in Biescas we were a little surprised to find the French border covered in cloud and a chilly -3 degrees! We soon walked up through the valley cloud towards Refugio Pombie and were rewarded with great views of the mountain ahead and a sea of clouds below.

Refugio and Lake Pombie emerging from the mist

From the refugio we headed across to Col de Suzon, along a short ridge to where the fun began. The route is famous for it’s 3 chimneys – each a highish grade scramble. We donned helmets and started up the first chimney. Rather unnervingly the first couple of moves weren’t that straightforward but thankfully the handholds got better as we went further up the chimney.

Fabien on the second chimney of Pic du Midi d'Ossau

The second chimney had the most exposure and required some care. Lots of good places for your feet on this chimney and I enjoyed this one the most (although the least when coming down!). The third and final chimney was pretty straightforward and we came out onto a boulder/scree field through which we ascended the final couple of hundred metres to the summit.

On the summit of Pic du Midi d'Ossau

The views all day were absolutely incredible – beautiful blue skies, clouds filling the valleys below and dozens of peaks poking through. The views across to Balaitous were particulary good.

A quick sarnie and a slice of Anna’s fab cake on the summit and we were back down again. Two of the chimneys were pretty exciting on the way down and it has to be said I was pretty glad when we reached the bottom of the final chimney. As we passed Refugio Pombie on the way down we couldn’t resist a cheeky vin chaude next to the wood burner. It tasted fantastic and had a bit of poke –  if we’d had a second we might have been there for the night!

Great day and a brilliant peak.

At the top of the third chimney