Sierra Nevada Summit Challenge

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Spanish Summit Challenge

The Challenge: Climb to the Peak of Mulhacén
The Ascent: 2200m; The Summit: 3482m
The Charity: Shooting Star Children's' Hospice

In late September I flew to Spain with a group from work to undertake another charity hiking challenge. (The previous one was in the highlands of Scotland a year ago.) The challenge this time was to trek to the top of Mulhacén, the highest mountain on the Iberian Peninsula in the Sierra Nevada range. The only peaks in Europe that are higher are found in the Alps and the Caucasus Mountains.

We flew into Malaga and drove two hours to the town of Lanjarón. We were escorted by our three guides for the weekend - Mike (an ex-army Geordie with a thick accent and wicked sense of humor), Jane (an English police officer who works in Spain as a guide half the year) and Jens (a German free spirit and all around extreme sports guru).

The morning of the challenge was chilly but very clear and sunny. We layered on clothes and filled our packs with provisions and set off early. We were driven by our guides up past the three charming white villages of Bubion, Pampaneirax and Capileira (the latter is the highest village in Spain) to the entrance of Sierra Nevada National Park. The views down into the Poqueira Ravine as we wound our way up into the mountains were spectacular.

From there, the hike to the summit and back down took us just over 9 hours. What began as a gentle slope soon turned rocky and steep and, over and above the difficulty of the hike, I could really feel the altitude taking its toll. My legs and feet felt like lead, I was huffing and puffing after barely covering any distance at all and I could feel my heart beating furiously in my chest. It was either the altitude or I'm much more out of shape than I'd like to admit (likely a combination of the two).

We didn't see much wildlife on the mountain at all although we saw droppings from what we assumed to be sheep or goats and closer to the top we saw a few ibex who never came very close but were recognizable by their impressive antlers. After a few hours, we had hiked above the tree line and the mountain turned into a rocky moonscape without so much as a wisp of grass in view. There were little patches of snow here and there but the sun had melted most of what had fallen a few days before.

After about six hours of hiking we reached the summit and the views were fantastic. We felt on top of the world with nothing between us and the bottom of the mountain but a few wisps of white cloud. There was a memorial plaque at the summit for three British climbers who died on Mulhacén from hypothermia in 2006. Other climbers have come and placed little mementos and messages at the spot.

After our triumphant climb we were all exhausted but somehow mustered the energy for a celebratory night on the town. We enjoyed mixed seafood paella and Flamenco at a local restaurant and then had enough energy left for dancing at what appeared to be the only discotheque in town.

We had some time on Sunday to explore the quaint Andalusian town of Lanjarón. The village (population 4,000) boasts castle ruins and freshwater springs. There are drinking fountains on most main streets so residents have access to this precious resource, which is also bottled at a plant in town and sold throughout Spain.

Thanks Neil for planning such a fun trip for a great cause!

You can check out a video of our hike here (courtesy of our guides)