Area: Picos de Europa, Cantabria
Pena Remona is the subject of a million tourist photos from Fuente De and the top of El Cable. It is lower than surrounding peaks, but a striking mountain of tiered limestone that looks particularly good from the car park. After a night in Potes, we drove back to Fuente De and pitched tents in the tranquil El Redondo. It was too late, and far too hot, when we set off for the notoriously steep slog up the Canal del Embudo as a result. These 'canals' are typical Picos features, but unlike those on our return leg yesterday, this was in full midday sunshine with the steep walls concentrating the heat. The path weaves around the broad lower part of the gully before traversing up higher and higher on the right-hand wall. It certainly gains height quickly but I was shedding a lot of water. A few shelves higher up eventually gain the Collado de Liordes, almost 1000 metres above. Here, the day changes completely because ahead is the dreamlike meadow of the Vega de Liordes. I had been here before, with Kate in 2000, and vividly remember it - in fact, it is my clearest memory of that trip. An almost level green meadow high and hidden above the valleys, with horses and cows grazing, surrounded by shimmering limestone peaks and spires. The onward route to Pena Remona was not obvious, but I picked my way across broken rock to a little gully where I picked up a series of tiny cairns. These weaved up the steep slopes, a mixture of grass, scree and open rock. It was hard but satisfying and enjoyable. As I approached the top of the ridge, I spied a cross further right and decided I would head there first (there are four different peaks on the ridge). I gained a little col, then a short wall led to a narrow ridge - which was short-lived and gave access to a final little rock scramble. This peak turned out to be Torre Alcacero, so I retraced my steps to gain the normal (still fairly tenuous) route up Pena Remona itself, with its summit a mini-pyramid. The views throughout were tremendous - with sheer drops to Fuente De and Espinama on one side. To the west, Torre de Salinas towers over the Vega. Then to the north, the high peaks of the central massif. Again, crystal clear throughout, despite the fact that it was early afternoon. Peter and I had split up on the climb but met again on the summit of Remona. He decided to drop down the steep slopes direct to Fuente De and our camp, while I decided to return direct to the Vega de Liordes, to spend more time in this wonderful place and perhaps to head over the pass to make a circuit (I remember doing that with Kate). The descent was a little more comfortable and better defined, and I rested near the shepherd's hut at the far side of the vega. The issue was water: it had been so hot in the gully that my 1.5 litres was running out, so I decided to make a high loop tracing the edges of the Vega, drinking it in from every angle, then make a speed descent of the Canal del Embudo. Not what I would normally do, retracing steps like this, but the Canal is so spectacular that I gained an entirely different perspective on the way down, which was predictably hot, dusty and arduous. At the bottom, slightly desperate, I plunged into the Fuente De cafeteria for a memorable can of Pepsi, then refuelled on Cantabrian beef cheeks at El Redondo.
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