We had originally intended to climb the Gran Vignemale or Pique Longue which is the highest point of the Massif de Vignemale but because of time constraints we had to make do with the hikers peak of the Petit Vignemale.
Our biggest mistake was that we parked our little hire car too low and too far below the dam. The road is unpaved but with a little persistence and basic off road driving skills one can actually drive all the way to the dam saving precious time if you plan to do an out and back. From the dam it is a picturesque walk up the Oulettes d'Ossoue valley passing beautiful waterfalls and impressive cliffs and crossing the le Pont de Neige until the lower reaches of the glacier d'Ossoue moraine. Here there is a bivouac possibility in the form of the Grottes Bellevue, although not very pleasant. It is also where the route for the highest peak leaves the main GR10 footpath. Crampons for the ice and a rope in case of crevasses are a good idea, as is a helmet if the last scramble up to the Picque Longue is busy.
We chose to do the easier hiking peak and so continued up to the Refuge Bayssellance at 2651m where we had a short break to feast on their homemade chocolate pudding and then hiked up the remaining rock pyramid to the peak of the Petit Vignemale 3032m. The last bit is a bit steep and loose and care should be taken not to knock rocks down. The view from the summit is exceptional and very rewarding. However we could not help looking across the spectacular north wall of the Massif de Vignemale at the main Gran Vignemale summit and wondering what if.