Suz and Bianca 'do' Mulhacen in the 3rd person..


Breaktaking views of the Sierra Nevada..
Sitting on the balcony in the mild heat of a Spanish spring evening Suz and Bianca decided to hatch a plan for their coming free two days. After a week-long, fun-filled apartment Bianca didn't feel much more for partying and Suz, always easily pleased, was up for anything. So they decided between two options; hitchhike to Cordoba or get altitude on the highest mountain in Spain. In the spirit of adventure and a little more of a challenge the gang commenced research into the latter. Weather looked good; only just negative temperatures at the summit and mostly sunny - a little bit of wind but nothing to worry about. Bus schedule; early morning to Capileiera and last bus back to Granada to catch a concert at 16:30 on Saturday - perfect! So at 23:00 Thursday night it was decided to rendezvous at 0930 hours in order to commence the journey.

Bianca awoke early to embark on an acquisition mission, calling on all the people she knew in Granada, to find a warm sleeping bag and hiking boots suitable for snow. Riding through the old cobbled streets of the Albaicin on her valiant steed and donned with backpack she enjoyed the fresh morning air and awesome views - snow capped mountains and golden light bathing the 1000 year old castle perched on the hill. She stole into the cave of two of her adventure buddies who were more than happy to provide item one on the acquisition list. She failed to find the boots and took two pairs of socks and plastic bags instead.

Suz was waiting patiently when Bianca arrived and indicated, without being pushy, that the two really 'ought to get a wriggle-on if they were to make the appropriate bus. And that they did, without a hitch. Although shortly into the ride Suz was overcome with a sense of deja vu feeling as though they would find out in a few hours that they were actually on the wrong bus in the wrong direction. Bianca chuckled and hoped she was wrong.

After two and a half hours of winding roads and spectacular views of white-painted villages dotting the hills of the Alpjuarras the pair disembarked the bus in Capileira (alt. 1486 meters). The little old lady at the information was delightful as she drew in by hand on the map the path to reach the summit of Mulhacen - dominating the Sierra Nevada 3,478 meters.



For a lack of words to describe the scenery Bianca prefers to do it with pictures instead.

Packed light and ready to go..
Start of the journey leaving Capileira..
Mountain goats on the way..
Suz in the mountains..
At some point hours into their walk and just before the first refugio the pair stumbled upon the cortijo of Antonio who was talking to his dogs - a kind old goat farmer who invited them in for a wine and a little food. This was good timing as the two were rather parched and in need of a small rest. They learned many a thing - or thought that they did with their basic Spanglish - had a laugh and exchanged a shared passion for a life lived simply.

Lunch in Antonio’s simple yet awesome house..
Antonio the hospitable goat farmer..
A kitchen filled with colour..
Ye old trusty farm dog..
Passing only by the first refugio only to stop and collect some water a group of middle-aged dutchmen exhibited wonderment at the small amount of provisions the two had decided to bring and advised that the sign above the water-tap read 'water not drinkable.' Much to the groups concern - Bianca decided to drink it anyway.

The girls arrived, much later than expected, at the site where they assumed they would find the second refugio after meandering for some time, crisscrossing along the river. The sun was setting, the wind was picking up and it was starting to get a touch cold. Without saying so - it would achieve nothing - the two started to find themselves a little bit concerned. Silently agreeing that this was not an ideal situation to be in at this hour the pair went over the contingency plans if no refugio was found in the coming mintues. Option one: build an igloo. Option two: walk an undetermined distanced to a possibly existing refugio down the trail. Or option three: descend to the refugio they had passed two-hour before with head-torch assist. Bianca at that moment quite fancied the idea of building an igloo - after all it's what MacGyver would have done. But before putting contingency plan number one into place the pair gave one last try at finding the 'un-missable' refugio. And.. Eureka! There it was. Perched in the bosom of the mountains bathed in a stream of light while cherubs chorused hallelujah.

Inside the refugio the glow of headtorches turned on the girls like the peering eyes of bats in a cave. They'd awoken their slumber. But the girls didn't mind - not one bit - because now they could feast on their after hike pasta and rice in the warmth of a small space heated only by the bodies of other sweaty hikers.

After stealing a little more sleep than the other savvy mountaineers - armed with icepicks, crampons, climbing gear and assorted goretex - the duo awoke to an empty refugio, snarling winds and air crisper than when they'd arrived. Donning every last item of warm clothing they owned - Bianca was glad she brought that extra jacket - it was hard to believe in the heat of the day yesterday that they would have needed it right now. Under-prepared and over-enthusiastic Adventure Barbie Suz and Bianca started up the mountain.

As they ascended towards the ridge the views became incredible while the wind became unbearable. Little-by-little the wind picked up and when they had almost reached the summit it was almost impossible to stand. "We should find a windbreak!" Yelled Bianca as she dove to the ground. Suz was quick to follow and the two, huddled together behind the safety of two-feet of mounted rock, giggled at this ridiculousness. As Bianca braved the wind and cold to remove her camera Suz scrambled on all fours outside the safety perimeter of the windbreak. Rushing back after only a few moments she concluded that it was probably ideal that they didn't do that again. And with that the two decided - after all, safety first - to again brave the elements and head back on down the little old mountain.

Early morning sumiteers..
Back at the refugio safe and sound..
Now you'd think the adventure were over - but neigh. The girls had one more mission to accomplish; make it 2000 meters back down the mountain to the bus stop in order to catch the bus at 16:25. Their ever so talented Alaskan friend was playing her very first concert and should they miss it.. well, they simply couldn't. Suz had started to walk a little bit gimpy and the next time Bianca turned around she was sporting a rather large tree-branch as a walking stick. Reaching the cortijo of Antonio he inquired as to the nature of Suz's injury. "Oh no problem, just a little pain." Bianca was also concerned to the extent of Suz's injury and hoped she wasn't pushing herself too much on account of reaching the bus for that evenings highly anticipated event! Antonio recommended an alternative route down the mountain to Capileira - shorter and a more gradual descent. Perfect, just perfect!

Only that this route didn't end up being much shorter and walking along the 'impossible to get lost' path the two achieved just that. Winding along the water canals and through the pine forests they tried as hard as possible to enjoy the fog crawling through the mountains and the ever changing landscape.

Aware of the impeding bus departure and unideal nature of their situation - not one said a word. Not until Suz said, "Go ahead without me! Maybe you can stop the bus. And.. if you can't then take it anyway." But Bianca wouldn't have it. They started together, they finished together. So half jogging (Bianca) and half gimping (Suz) down the mountain they pushed forth. The alternative path popped the girls out at the end of the village with 2 minutes to spare and no idea where the bus stop was. So with a lucky-optimist frame of mind they continued against the odds through the village until they sighted their departure point - it was 16:30. They sighed. A bus full of grey-nomads was there but alas it was not the one. "Shit." Bianca was just about to ask the driver if there was enough room for a little Australian and Alaskan - after all who could say no? - when he informed the deflated and exhausted duo that the public bus had not yet departed. "No?" They inquired with disbelief. So when, 5 minutes late, the public bus turned the corner and rolled to a stop the squealed with triumph! Thank-god this is Spanish time.

Check out more photos from along the way at my account on Flickr