GMG at the top of Vallibierna

Last October 12, GMG summited the 3,067m Vallibierna.
We left on the 11th to spend the night at the Llauset refuge, 2,425 m, the most modern refuge in the Aragonese Pyrenees, with a construction typology reminiscent of the refuge on the Island of Andorra. Both are very well designed buildings adapted to their rigorous environment, built in wood and therefore with a very low carbon footprint and incorporating maximum energy efficiency measures. They are self-sufficient in photovoltaic energy and are completely self-sufficient thanks to storage batteries, as they do not have a connection to any electrical distribution network, they purify the black water they generate and carry out composting with their organic waste.

As architects and engineers who love the mountains, being able to visit and stay in a refuge like this is one more incentive to leave. The climb to the Vallibierna from the refuge does not present any difficulty, as it is a climb of just over 600 m of difference in level. Only the final meters to reach the top, run along a slightly overhanging ridge that complicates things if you suffer from vertigo.

Unfortunately, we will always remember this peak because of a very bad news we received while climbing it. Our friend Santi Miralda Escudé, with whom we have shared so many peaks, has left us.

Santi, we want to dedicate this peak to you and tell you that we will continue to climb mountains! See you up there!