"Monday 30th July 2018. An ascent of Pic du Grand Jer 948m/373m, near Lourdes, Hautes Pyrénées, France. 5.8km, with 505m of ascent and 60m of descent. 1hrs 55mins. In order to make a day of visiting the nearby town of Lourdes, ALT and I decided to scale this peak, which dominates the view south-east from the town. By the standards of Pyrenean mountains it is merely a foothill, but it rises some 550 metres from the plain below on which Lourdes is located. Its east face is rugged and precipitous. It is only ‘grand’ in relation to its subsidiary top to the north – the Petit Jer 709m/c.44m. The Grand Jer is a small peak indeed, but with pretensions to be a mountain. The weather was cloudy, humid and sultry, but no thunderstorms were forecast, so we decided to go ahead with our hike. We parked in a car park opposite the funicular station, where a signpost marked the start. At first the trail was steep, until it joined a wide track through the fir forest. At the connecting col with the Petit Jer the track turned south, ascending the north ridge in a series of zig-zags. Narrower paths made steeper shortcuts between the track bends. On one of these paths through decidu..." — marktrengove • Jul 30, 2018