Mulhacen and the Sierra Nevada

I have always liked the idea of climbing high mountains and Mulhacen, in the Sierra Nevada at 3480 m above sea level, seemed a very accessible challenge. But it was not until I visited Granada for the first time in January 2009 and saw the Sierra Nevada sparkling white above the Alhambra that I thought: “I really must go there.” I ignored all the advice in guidebooks and on the web and devised this “easy” route to summiting Veleta, Mulhacen and Alcabaza, the “Big Three” of the Sierra Nevada.

Costs. Flight £120 (including hold baggage). Car parking £18.99. Granada hotel £34 (pre-paid). Poqueira Hut €42.50 (total bill, including food and drinks). Granada hotel (B&B) €52.50. Malaga–Granada bus €9.83 each way. Local Granada bus €1.20. Granada–Sierra Nevada bus €4.80. Trevelez–Granada bus €6.87. Typical evening meal in Granada with drinks €15–€30. Total cost of trip £360.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel Maciá Plaza, Granada (Days 1 and 4, Read my review).

Books. The Rough Guide to Andalucía (Rough Guides, 9th edition); Trekking in the Sierra Nevada by Richard Hartley (Cicerone, 1st edition).

Maps. I printed off various maps that I found on the web to take with me.

Day 1: Travel to Granada. Left home at 10.15 am and caught 12.55 pm flight from Prestwick, arriving Malaga at about 5 pm local time. Got train into city, bus to Granada, and then a local bus to the Plaza Nueva in the city centre. Found excellent hotel (pre-booked) and had dinner.

Day 2: Summit Veleta; walk to Poqueira Hut. Left hotel at about 8 am and got local bus back out to the main Granada estación de autobuses. Caught 9 am bus up to Los Albergues (2530 m), above (and via) the Sierra Nevada ski resort, where the public road ends. Started walking towards the summit of Veleta at 10.35 am, following an obvious track that cuts the corners off the switchbacks in the “old road”. Summited Veleta (3396 m) at 1.15 pm and found it a rather scruffy and untidy place but with fantastic views. It was also amazingly busy – I had not been aware of the fact that the chair-lift up from the ski resort runs even in the summer! From the summit I could see my accommodation for the night, the Poqueira Hut (2500 m), which was reassuring. After 40 min on the summit, I headed south, down to join the disused “old road”, walked east along it, then cut down to the Lagunas de Rio Seco (I probably left the “old road” too early) and followed the path down the Rio Seco to the Poqueira Hut (pre-booked), arriving 5.45 pm (so 7 h 35 min walking). Dinner was served at 9.50 pm, by which time I was gnawing the edge of the table top, such was my hunger.

Day 3: Summit Mulhacen and Alcabaza. Had breakfast and left Poqueira Hut at 9 am. Walked up the valley of the Rio Mulhacen, reaching the “old road” again at 11 am and the summit of Mulhacen (3480 m) at 12.05 pm. What a thrill that was! Spent 40 min there and then descended the south ridge, eventually finding correct route down to the Cañada de las Siete Lagunas, arriving there about 3 pm. My original plan was to overnight at this refugio natural and to summit Alcabaza the next day, but there was no real shade and so, after resting for about an hour, I set off again. I summited Alcabaza (3371 m) at 5.55 pm, left the summit at 6.15 pm, and was back at the Siete Lagunas at 7.30 pm (so 10 h 30 min walking, including about 2 h of stops). The refugio natural was a partly man-made cave under a large boulder; it was unappetising to say the least. So, armed with a favourable weather forecast by text from a friend, I did what nearly everyone else around me was doing (a few people had tents) and spread my foam mat and sleeping bag on the ground and slept under the wonderful stars (at 2900 m!).

Day 4: Walk to Trevelez; travel to Granada. Woke at 7.50 am and was packed and underway at 8.30 am. A cold wind had sprung up in the night but as I quickly descended towards Trevelez this soon disappeared. At 9.30 am I stopped and had a delightful wash in the mountain stream, enjoying the warm sun. As I descended further it became very hot and I pitied the many people I came across who were toiling uphill. Reached the upper part of Trevelez at 12.30 pm and the main square at 12.45 pm (so 4h 15 min walking). Drank some beer and caught 4 pm bus to Granada. Got bus to the Plaza Nueva and went back to the excellent hotel from Day 1. Had dinner and slept.

Day 5: Travel home. I was in no hurry to get up and leave the hotel the next morning. I pottered around cleaning my kit, took the latest breakfast I could, and checked out at 12 noon. I caught a bus out to the estación de autobuses and then a bus to Malaga. Enjoyed a couple of beers sitting in the sun outside the train station and then had a simple (burger) dinner. Caught the train out to the airport and then my 9.30 pm flight back to Prestwick. I was home at 1 am.

Kit notes. It seems ridiculous now but the Poqueira Hut had told me in an email (when I booked) to bring crampons and so I did. This is why my bag had to go in the aircraft hold (for a mere £40...). They were not needed, of course, but I could see that they might be, as there was still some hard snow covering the “old road” when I came down off Veleta. Since my bag was going in the hold, I grabbed the opportunity on this trip to take trekking poles and two 1-litre water bottles with me. I also took my best sleeping bag (used on Days 2 and 3) and a foam mat (used on Day 3).

Wildlife seen. Iberian Ibex.

Other useful links. Alsa buses

Bus services from Malaga

Sierra Nevada buses

Poqueira Hut information

Reflections. A very successful trip; summiting Mulhacen was a fantastic feeling. The overnight in the open air at the Siete Lagunas was an interesting (and so far unique) experience for me. In the August heat, I would not have been fit enough to have walked up from Trevelez or Capileira, unless I had started out at 3 or 4 am, so I think my route starting at Los Albergues has much to recommend it.

© 2014 The Untravelled World