Day 15 - Petraficha

Saturday 9th September - Petraficha

This was a long and full day. We started short of water, and our plan to nick some from the dog's bucket was scuppered by the arrival of the young shepherd, their keeper. We walked up a series of grassy ridges into a baranco and, thankfully, water. Then followed a serious slog up to a pass where we watched the boar and her two young cantering back after their night of foraging on the high slopes. Birds were starting to thermal over the East facing cliffs. 11:15, like clockwork, the smaller raptors start their tight, weak climbs, followed shortly by the vultures as the thermals start to gather pace. Again, we had to make a poorly informed decision as to whether to climb Quimboa Baja in one direction, or Petraficha in the other, and slogged on up to 2185m in the heat of what was starting to look like a good day.

When we reached the peak we looked over the edge of a massive cliff (and said "Oh F***") into a huge cirque - an awesome sight. By the time we were ready to launch the birds seemed to have stopped using the house thermal on the East facing cliffs. The plan was to try and get enough height on the front of launch to thermal over the back, or as a last resort to turn tail through the deep cleft that separated Petraficha from Chipeta (Collado Petraficha). In the event Simon launched into good air but I went straight for the gap. As Simon started thermalling up in front and right of launch I dived into the gully to the left, determined that at least we should get a glide across the valley behind. But round the corner, into the 'dark side', I hit rough but buoyant air and started to "S" my way up the back of the cliff. I saw Simon climbing up the other side - an extraordinary feeling to see two gliders thermalling opposite sides of the mountain. When high enough I straight lined back along the cliff towards Simon's booming thermal - going up all the way. Cloud base was at about 2700m, and then we set off on a long glide towards the South West facing ridge and Pic D'Arlet (2207m). The air was good, and we smacked into a smelly thermal just at the expected moment. At last, it was working! It was a short climb but enough to head along the ridge.

Then I made a mistake and bottled out of plunging straight into a rock bowl where birds were thermalling, instead trying to get some height in an outlier. But I lost it and sank out as Simon was spiralling skywards to join a sailplane I was grovelling along the side of the ridge, just about maintaining. It was hard work, and nerve-racking, working rough air close to the cliffs. At one point I thought I'd get above the ridge again, only to be drilled in a turn and forced to scratch along the cliffs again. Still I made it over the col and into the valley of Aguas Tuertas - an incredible hanging valley with a meandering river among the pastures. But I was going down. I reached the far end of the valley, peeked round the corner in a unexpected tail-wind, and got scared of the apparent lack of landing options. So I headed back again hoping to climb up the slopes but got slowly drilled by the headwind. Meanwhile Simon had skied out. I landed near a beautiful little stream, and eventually, after wandering from peak to peak, Simon joined me and we took a skinny dip in a deep green pool. Again it rubbed it in how hard it is to fly together.

We bivvied at the Eastern end of the valley near a beautifully fresh stream. Ice cold water from deep within the limestone massifs above, horses everywhere, and intended to climb Acue (2264m) the next morning. This was going to be a tough place to get out from.