Pico del Veleta

"When the paradox occurs that the cold freezes your face and the sun burns your nose, when your body can't take it anymore and your lungs need more oxygen but your mind decides to continue ascending the mountain. When every small step seems like a great advance towards the summit and you also ask Heaven to help you, all those sensations occurred today with my son and other climbing companions helped by a high mountain guide. The temperature of about 14 degrees Fahrenheit and the large amount of snow accumulated thanks to the latest storms made our progress difficult during the route from Hoya de La Mora with the help of crampons and ice axe. The views from the top were worth all the effort, but during the descent a dense fog that appeared in less than ten minutes once again complicated today's beautiful adventure." — franciscobirruezo • Feb 2, 2025

"My son and I return to Sierra Nevada almost a year later to enjoy this national park. The late spring snowfalls have made snowfall more abundant than last year, temperatures are also lower and meltwater is more abundant. The day is cloudy and above seven thousand feet fog appears, complicating our ascent in the direction of Pico Veleta and forcing us to consult the GPS. In fact, at the summit visibility is poor and the wind hits us hard. In La Carihuela a fox suspiciously approaches us looking for food since it is almost 10,000 feet high." — franciscobirruezo • Jun 28, 2024

"My son and I are returning from a trekking in the Sierra Nevada National Park and there have been many experiences in the heights to describe them in a small text, so I will try to make the photos describe the adventure better than my words. One key is to acclimatize the body to the altitude, so the first night we slept in Pradollano and almost at sunset we went up to 2700 m The other two nights we slept above 3000 m, one of them under a sky full of stars at the foot of the Mulhacen, the other in a refuge. Up there only reigns the sometimes very strong wind, the rocks and the alpine goats, also tiny flowers and lagoons of glacial origin. Something unites the people who walk the high peaks that pushes us to help or be helped, being up there is like walking on another planet where the rules are not set by us but by the mountain itself." — franciscobirruezo • Jul 16, 2023

"Again in Sierra Nevada, the highest peaks of the Iberian Peninsula. A fresh but sunny morning allows us to move forward towards the Veleta Peak. The air feels light, oxygen is lacking, but it is also very pure and that helps our lungs. There is a pleasant feeling of tranquility and silence in the environment. We pass near huge blocks of rock that have a silver glow under the sun's rays. Alpine sparrows welcome us near the summit in exchange for bread crumbs. The views are wonderful and we enjoyed a good time at the summit." — franciscobirruezo • Aug 16, 2019

"The track start in Hoya de La Mora and go to Carihuela Refuge near Veleta Peak. Altitude sickness forced two members of the team to return. For its proximity to the sea the atmospheric conditions can change quickly." — franciscobirruezo • Oct 11, 2015

"First time I arrived in Granada I went trekking with an organized trip passing all 3000 m of the spanish Sierra Nevada during a week. Turned out later I bought a house at the feet of the Sierra Nevada in Niguelas. " — cvandaele • Aug 12, 2003