Fueled by the thrill of reaching Teide’s summit years ago, my eyes remained fixated on the other ultra-prominent peaks that dominated the Atlantic horizon. Excuses kept popping up, but I never gave up hope for the perfect chance. And then it arrived! John invited me to hike Roque de los Muchachos. While tackling just one…
Country: Spain
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Frankfurt to Las Palmas
Catching an early morning Lufthansa flight from Vilnius to Frankfurt is pretty straightforward. After a brief layover in Frankfurt, I’m on a 4h30 flight with Discover Airlines to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. Lucky to have a window seat, I marveled at the views over the Pyrenees—clear skies and breathtaking scenery. Naturally, I couldn’t help but…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…