Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Pic du Han

Peaks: Pic du Han (2074m)
Area: Ariege, Pyrenees
After dropping the family off at Carcassonne Airport I drove to Mirepoix and then up to the ski station at Mont D'Olmes. This is essentially the edge of the Pyrenees, and the hills around here were the obvious place to start. I don't recall ever visiting Ariege before either, which was a further attraction (this was my fourth Pyrenees trip, the others being 1993, 1997 and 2016). I had no real intention of doing anything today, but when I arrived I realised the cable car was still running and I just had enough time for a reccie - it seemed a perfect opportunity. So I packed quickly and took it to the top station, where I embarked on zigzags up to an obvious Col de Cadene. From there, a short east ridge leads up via a little mild scrambling to the summit of Pic du Han. In my excitement at being here I initially felt I could run over to some of the neighbouring peaks, but I soon talked myself down from such foolishness. There was an obvious need to pace myself, so I contented myself with this as an ideal little reccie, spying out the peaks of my next destination like Pica d'Estats, and then descending for the return ride just before it closed.

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