Pico Cristales

Overview

Very interesting summit, easy to climb, situated in the border between France and Spain, in the central Pyrenees. It’s very close to the first 3000 summits coming from the west: Frondiellas (3069 m) and Balaitus (3146 m). The views from the Cristales top are amazing with Balaitus and Frondiellas summits very close, and a landscape full of impressive valleys and mountains: Infiernos, Gran Facha, Llena Cantal …

Landscape from Cristales summit. On the left Gran Facha summit NW face. On the right Infiernos (3082 m) N face

Getting There

The normal way to climb Cristales is from Respomuso hut.

By car you have to go to Sallent de Gállego village (Aragón, Spain). If you come from France you have to pass the border by Portalet pass and the first village you’ll find out is Sallent de Gállego. Near this village you have to park the car in La Sarra dam parking. From there to the hut it takes 2 h 30' walking.

From France you can arrive to Respomuso hut walking from Arrémoulit hut.

Another possibility is starting directly from Ledormeur hut, in France, to the Cristales summit by Peira San Martin pass.

Route

From Respomuso hut (2200 m) you have to go to the east following the way to the Campoplano lake. After the lake you have to turn left following the way to the Peira San Martín pass. Before getting this pass you have to turn left following the cairns and starting a hard climb up to the summit.

In this image you can see Cristales summit on the left and the Peira San Martin pass on the right. The normal way to climb to the top is following the cairns from the pass directly to the top:

When to Climb

In summer (July to Setember).

External Links

Respomuso hut: http://www.fam.es/web/listarefug/respumoso

Respomuso webcam : http://www.alberguesyrefugiosdearagon.com/webcam.php?id=9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrenees

Wikiloc:
http://es.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1204051