Northeast ridge- Col d'Erroymendi

Approach

Start from the Col d'Erroymendi, placed at a height of 1362 m on the road from the french village of Larrau to the spanish border. The col is placed some four kilometers north of the Col de Larrau (the real border) and ten kilometers south of Larrau. There is a small parking lot here, just by a hut.
Another possibility is to reach the Col d'Erroymendi walking from the village of Larrau. That will mean a two hours walk, taking the path leading south from the village to the small chapel of St. Joseph. It is a climb of 750 meters, to be added to the day's effort.

Route Description

From the Col d'Erroymendi walk southwest, climbing the grassy ridge towards the spanish border. You will go past some hunting posts, for this is an area renowned for its dove hunting. A first summit (Atxurteria - 1829 meters high) will end this first part of the climb. After Atxurteria the final pyramid shall stand in front of you. Attack this last slope by its left side. It is defended by some rocky barriers and some of them can be avoided, but others will force you to use your hands and scramble. It's not a really difficult terrain, but pay attention for it may not be too safe. The whole climb from Erroymendi is 670 meters.
This route can be risky when wet, first because of the grassy slopes and afterwards because of the unstable scree in the upper pyramid.
Have a look at the attached photograph, the route goes on the right side ridge.

Essential Gear

No special needs if the route is not covered by snow and ice. In such a case, crampons and ice axe might be handy. It would be even better to switch to the east ridge (from the Col de Larrau) ;-)

Images

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