Bird Watching in The Alpujarra

Bird Watching in The Alpujarra

This years grape harvest was poor in The Alpujarra with many bunches of grapes shriveling up or bunches with only 5 or 6 grapes. As a consequence, many of the “frugal” bunches were left unpicked awaiting our annual pruning session in mid December.  This coupled with a long, hotter than normal Autumn meant that not only did we have the normal birds hanging around, but that we even had a surprise visitor that we have not seen in the 11 years we have been here. A Sardinian Warbler which spent a lot of time feeding on the unpicked grapes. Even when we did finally prune the vines, we left the grapes dangling and were rewarded visitations from Robins and Blue Tits in addition to the Sardinian Warbler.

Sardinian Warbler feeding on grapes at Finca Montaña

Our House, Finca Montaña is 1300m above sea level and it can get quite cool up here in the late autumn and winter. Snow doesn’t usually last more than 3 days as it’s always warm when the sun is out. However the night time temperature does often get down to around -8 degrees centigrade. That said our winter resident birds include: Golden Eagles, Griffon Vultures, Kestrels, Larks (crested and Sky), Black Eared Wheatears, Black Caps, Stone Chats, Robins, Blue Tits, Jays, Magpies and Ravens. A little above us (in the Juniper) we have Ring Ouzels (from around 2100m). But never before a Sardinian Warbler.

We are now planning to leave bunches of grapes every year in the hope of attracting more birds.

Black-eared Wheatear at Finca Montaña

In Summer the list of birds to be seen expands dramatically to include Egyptian Vulture's, Hoopoe's, Bee Eaters and various swifts and Swallows to name a few. 

Higher up on the mountain tops we are rewarded with Alpine Accentors which are remarkably tame on the summit of Mulhacen 3482 (mainland Spain’s highest mountain) where they have got used to being amongst people and feeding off the crumbs and remnants of sandwiches.

Alpine Accentor on Mulhacen

Spring is a good time to visit with both the migratory birds passing through and the summer visitors arriving. Finca Montaña is ideally placed for bird watching, situated very remote, in its own 5 acres of grounds but surrounded by mostly undeveloped natural mountain side and a few small holdings still mainly farmed in a traditional way.

Mike and Jane who own Finca Montaña provide a full board package from £30 per night.  As qualified International Mountain Leaders they also offer guided walks and treks in The Alpujarra and Sierra Nevada.

Highest Mountains; an international experience!

We have had the opportunity to climb three of Europe's highest mountains this summer; Mulhacen, highest in mainland Spain, Ben Nevis in Scotland and most recently Triglav in Slovenia. All are popular and attract visitors from all over the world - we met eg. Norwegians, Poles, Austrians and Danes on Mulhacen, Russians, Germans, and French on Ben Nevis and Israeli, Americans and Dutch on Triglav.




Climbing your countries highest mountain is always an achievement, and for some almost an obligation - in Slovenia to be a true Slovene you must climb this challenging summit at least once in your life.
It is great to have the opportunity to share these these moments with others, and with our clients.

Mulhacen, Magnificent!

Mulhacen, Magnificent!

It’s normal for us at Mountain House Holidays to be guiding people up Mulhacen which at 3482m is the highest mountain in The Sierra Nevada and the whole of mainland Spain. However yesterday, having a day off we decided to climb Mulhacen ourselves for the sheer enjoyment of it. Legend has it that Mully Hasan the deposed and penultimate Arab King of Al Andalus is buried on the mountain.

Mulhacen Summit

Most people tackling Mulhacen take the National Park bus from Capileira up to Alto del Chorrillo at 2700m and ascend and descend Mulhacen’s South Ridge. It’s fine to use the bus and the South Ridge as part of the excursion but to only do a “there and back from the bus” is a short day and will leave you thinking it’s not been a proper day out!

Setting out early in summer is the best tactic. This allows you to get the climbing done before the heat of the day starts to sap your energy. We started from Hoya del Portillo 2160m at 7.30am. It was cold, 10 degrees C and for the first 20 minutes we were in the forest so no sun. Still the motto is: start cold and warm up walking up hill! By the time we had reached the view point of Puerto Molino 2380m (30 minutes) we were warm! Our route continued along the ridge of Prado Llano 2577m to 2622m before joining the old road along to Alto del Chorrillo arriving there for a breakfast break at 9.15am.

Dense Flowering Sandwort

The actual ascent of Mulhacen along the south ridge is pleasant, and in summer a well defined path with cairns marking the way through the screes just below the subsidiary summit of Mulhacen II at 3361m. Even though we stopped to take photo’s of plants and beetles, we reached the summit at 11.20am a total time of 3 hours and 50 minutes. A distance of 11.4Km with a total height gained of 1412m. An hour and 20 minutes ahead of Naismith (The rule for calculating the time to walk up mountains – allow 4Km per hour and add a minute for every 10m of ascent).

We were ahead of the crowd from the bus so the summit was fairly quiet. There was a small group of “Cabra” the Iberian Ibex mooching around not particularly afraid of us, the usual Alpine Accentor and a large squadron of Swifts giving a good display of aerobatics.

Iberian Ibex

After a short break on the summit, it was time to head downwards before the crowds from the bus arrived. There is a zig zag path down the screes of Mulhacen’s West flank which we took heading to the Collado de la Mosca which gives great views of both Mulhacen’s and Alcazaba’s 3371m North Faces. A further 10 minutes and you are down to the Caldera Hut, an unmanned “bivouac” hut with bunks, tables and chairs. From here there is an impressive view back up to Mulhacen’s summit. A spot of lunch was called for at The Caldera!

With clients if we had caught the bus we would continue down to the Poqueira Refuge 2500m to make a circuit back to Hoya del Portillo. However as we had not walked the old road back to Alto del Chorrillo for a few years we though we’d re-acquaint ourselves with this option. It proved as boring as we remembered it though a useful way out if the weather turns nasty. From Alto del Chorrillo we then returned the way we had ascended finally arriving back to Hoya del Portillo at 3.30pm.

Mulhacen's West Flank from the Caldera Refuge

All that remained was to drive back to a bar in Capileira for the customary drink and plan for the next outing!

Mountain House Holidays and our company “Sierra Nevada Guides” are the only British Qualified Guides (International Mountain Leaders) working in Spain’s Sierra Nevada and Alpujarra.

The Sierra Nevada Guides website has a lot of useful information for people wanting to visit the area, especially for walkers and climbers.

We are always happy to respond to emails answering questions about the area.

It’s cool in the mountains! Summer arrives in The Sierra Nevada

It’s cool in the mountains! Summer arrives in The Sierra Nevada

Although summer has been a few weeks late in arriving this year, it has now arrived and is firmly established. Although our Mountain House is at 1300m above sea level, a few days ago I found it hard to sleep as the bedroom was airless and it was too hot to be comfortable inside at 21 degrees C.  As a consequence I got up early and decided to check out the conditions on Veleta 3394m the second highest in Spain’s Sierra Nevada.

The Carrihuela Refuge from Veleta

Leaving home at 6am where it was 21 degrees I drove to Hoya de la Mora (2500m) where it was a cool 13 degrees and felt distinctly cooler with a brisk wind blowing. The ascent of Veleta is one of the easiest of all the mountains in the Sierra Nevada. A gentle ridge and fairly good path for all but the final 200m of ascent where there is a steep zig zag path up through scree and boulders. Reaching Posiciones del Veleta at 3100m a Griffon Vulture soared overhead reminding me that I always see them when on Veleta. By the time I got the camera out and switched on it was too far to make a decent picture.  

Griffon Vulture

In total it took me two hours to reach the summit and although there was snow around, I didn’t have to cross any patches on my ascent. For most of the climb I was just about warm enough in shorts and a t shirt though my hands started to get cold near the summit. Once on the summit and no longer generating heat from the exertion of ascending I needed a windproof fleece hat and gloves. I guess it was around 5 degrees with the windchill. Cool!

"Blue Dreams"

I choose to descend towards the Carrihuela refuge 3205m down by the old track that used to cross the Sierra Nevada from Granada to Capileira on the south side of the range. As usual for this time of year the track was buried in snow for about 1Km beyond the refuge. On the way to the refuge there were a number of alpine plants coming into flower as the snow had recently receded. And I managed to get a few photo’s before the battery in my camera gave up! Notable were the Sierra Nevada Violet (Viola crassiuscula) and “Blue Dreams” (Chaenorrhinum glareosum). It was at this point with the camera out of action that I noticed a group of six Grifon Vultures circling above me!

The Sierra Nevada Violet

At the Carrihuela refuge I met a cyclist who had wanted to take the old road and cross the snow with his bike heading for Capileira.  The snow was still frozen hard and the slope to cross is very steep with a bad run off if you were to slip. Fortunately he had already decided against it though it would be a massive 120Km detour. He said he’d cycled the route a few years ago and I left him considering whether or not to wait until late afternoon when the snow might be safe enough for safe passage without crampons.

Mulhacen from The Carrihuela Refuge

The rest of the descent back to Hoya de la Mora was a pleasant stroll though I could feel it warming up! Soon the gloves came off, the fleece hat was replaced by a buff and eventually the windproof came off too. It was a pleasant 22 degrees back at the car and I headed to the “University Albergue” for a cool beer and tappa.

Veleta from the comfort of Hoya da la Mora

Mountain House Holidays run guided walking holidays in Spain's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Mike and Jane the owners of Mountain House Holidays are both qualified International Mountain Leaders.

They also run Sierra Nevada Guides and undertake guided walks for individuals and groups. There is a lot of useful information for people wanting to visit the Sierra Nevada on the Sierra Nevada Guides website.

Charity Challenge for All!

“Everyone can rise to the Challenge!”

A few years ago Mountain House Holidays were contacted by national charity who provide services for people with learning disabilities.  They had been turned down by several companies who organise charity challenge events because they wanted to include people they support in a fund raising event. As we organise and run adventure holidays for people with learning disabilities we readily agreed to work with them and help organise their challenge!

The successful team on the summit of Mulhacen

The challenge consisted of four events in Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountains:

i. A Rock Climbing and abseiling day

ii. A day to acclimatise to altitude ascending Cerro del Caballo 3011m

iii. A Canyon descent

iv. An Ascent of mainland Spain’s highest mountain, Mulhacen 3482m over two days.

The group was split into two groups for the first two days (rock climbing and the

acclimatising day).

In total with travelling, the group were away for six days spending 5 nights in

Spain, two of the nights were in a mountain hut, The Poqueira Refuge.

Each person with a learning disability had a nominated “supporter” who was

either a friend or carer. The group all travelled and undertook the activities

together.

There were ten people who took part in the challenge, three who had a learning

disability.  Nine of the ten made it to the summit of Mulhacen. The charity

arranged flights and insurance for the participants, Mountain House met the

group and provided all accommodation (full board), transport in Spain and the

activities.

Would we do it again?  Definitely!

Since then, we have hosted a number of holidays for people with a learning disability, but thought it would be good for 2013 to return to the concept of an inclusive challenge.  Why not join us with a group of friends (including people with a learning disability) and raise some money for charity.
See our website for more details.

There is a short film clip on our website showing the sorts of activities we provide for people with learning disabilities and the inclusive approach we take.

Daily Walking Excursions from Lanjaron and Capileira with a qualified International Mountain Leader

Mike is leading a programme of guided walks in Spain's Sierra Nevada Mountains during the coming week.  If you know anyone who is on holiday in Spain, do pass on the details:

Sunday 11th September
An ascent of Trevenque  2079m “The Matterhorn of The Sierra Nevada”
Departing Lanjaron 9am returning around 6pm.

Monday 12th September
An ascent of  Alcazaba  3369m 3rd highest peak in the Sierra Nevada. A long hard day, departing Lanjaron 7am returning late.  Pick up in Capileira at 7.45 am.

Tuesday 13th September  and  Sunday 18th September
An Ascent of Veleta 3396m, 2nd highest mountain in the Sierra Nevada
Departing Lanjaron 9am returning around 6pm.

Wednesday 14th September  and  Monday 19th September
An Ascent of Mulhacen 3479m, the highest mountain in mainland Spain.
A long hard day, departing Lanjaron 7am returning late.  Pick up in Capileira at 7.45 am.

Thursday 15th September  and  Tuesday 20th September
“Excitement in the Rio Monachil”. A good days walk involving several rope bridges and narrow canyons. Departing Lanjaron 9.30am returning around 5pm.

Friday 16th September
An ascent of Pico del Caballo 3011m.  Europe’s most westerly 3000m peak.
Departing Lanjaron 8am returning around 6pm.

Cost for all excursions is €40. Price includes the qualified guide and transport.  You will need to wear good walking boots and clothing suitable for the high mountains.  Bring a picnic lunch, plenty to drink and warm clothing to withstand high winds and possible rain or snow.

All excursions depart from outside Lanjaron’s Tourist Information Office. Excursions to Mulhacen and Alcazaba can include a pick up in Capileira by appointment.

Please note, safety is paramount. If weather conditions deteriorate whilst on the mountain then we will have to shorten or even abandon the itinerary. No money will be refunded once the excursion has started.

Booking essential.
To book your place, please telephone Michael on: 688  312  497