All Articles (13)

Five hot hours in Madrid between flights

Eight hours between flights in Madrid, about five of them usable: a hot walk from the Plaza de Oriente through old streets, a bear and a strawberry tree, and air-conditioned breaks.

Range North Atlantic Islands

Montaña de Breña

On the way to the airport, a darkened dot on the map catches my attention. Dark signifies less than 100 meters of prominence. With a spare hour and few other plans, why not take a detour? I didn’t delve into the details but spotted a road at the base and headed for the peak. To…

Range North Atlantic Islands

Montaña Quemada

John shifted his flight from the afternoon to the morning, so I dropped him off at the airport. Now, with 3-4 hours to spare, I’m pondering my options. Naturally, I think of peaks. The more captivating ones like Volcán de la Deseada require more time than I have. Thus, I narrow down my search and…

Range North Atlantic Islands

Roque de los Muchachos

After a successful and memorable climb to Gran Canaria’s true high point, El Morrón de la Agujereada we stop at a restaurant chosen by Aron. After enjoying great food, we head to the airport. Our flight to La Palma is on time, and all procedures go smoothly. It takes a few minutes to disembark and…

Range North Atlantic Islands

El Morrón de la Agujereada

El Morrón de la Agujereada stands as the island’s highpoint—an ultra-prominent peak with nearly 100 km of isolation. It boasts an exposed climbing ‘trail’ that snakes its way to the true summit. This challenge is precisely why 99.99 percent of visitors park their cars, stop at the Pico de las Nieves (“touristic high point”) just…

Range North Atlantic Islands

Montaña de las Palmas

I landed right on schedule and promptly rejected the notion of shelling out fifty euros for a taxi, choosing a public bus instead. After a mere 15-minute wait and an expenditure of just 1.65 EUR, I arrived in Telde. Upon finding my accommodation, I engaged in a brief conversation with the hostel owner. It soon…

Range Cordillera Cantabrica

Iberian Peninsula 2022

The main objective of this trip is to climb the remaining three ultrapeaks in mainland Spain. And this trip perfectly matched a Atlas Mountains trip. The plane from Casablanca lands on time, we rent a car, and we roll towards Pico Almanzor. We spent the night in the small village of Hoyos del Espino. After…

Range Castile Ranges

Cruz de Hierro

I already think that Le Serrota was the first and the last mountain of the day. I was wrong. As I drive towards Madrid, I notice another pretty hill with windmills. If there are windmills, there will be a road. And so it was that I drove up. I could go almost to the top,…

Range Castile Ranges

La Serrota

An unplanned bonus peak on this trip. I wanted to hike it a few years ago, but I was probably distracted by other peaks, and my gaze constantly kept returning to this red dot. This time I have the whole day, and I’m in no hurry. Slow breakfast in the hotel, then driving towards a…

Range Cordillera Cantabrica

Torrecerredo

This peak is included in Core Europe’s 50 Most Prominent Peaks list, the World Peaks with 300 km of Isolation list, the Spain Autonomous Community High Points list (two), and the Iberian Top 100 by Prominence list. It has so many reasons to be climbed, and the most important reason is its beautiful scenery. Torrecerredo…

Range Pyrenees

Pico de Aneto

Top of the Pyrenees and Spain’s third-highest mountain, and also the birthplace of what were once the largest glaciers in the Pyrenees. Today, the glacier looked like a big patch of old snow in the summer. I was concerned about how we would avoid crevasses when we were planning the peak, but after watching a…

Range Castile Ranges

Pico Almanzor

After successfully climbing five ultrapeaks in Morocco, we arrive in Madrid, get in the car, and a couple of hours later, we stay in the village of Hoyos del Espino, which is reasonably close to the trail. Pico Almanzor is the first of three planned peaks in mainland Spain. Good, we have a plan; we…

Range Castile Ranges

Lobo

The main goal for the next few weeks is to target ultras in Morocco and the Spanish mainland. I stop in Madrid on the way; it’s only 2 p.m., and my next flight is tomorrow morning. The plan is clear: find the mountain. Of course, I found it. There is one more P600 mountain, just…